MacBook Pro M1 vs Dell XPS 13 9310

Dec 20, 2020

M1 Mbp Mac book pro Dell X p s

M1 MacBook Pro vs Dell XPS 13 9310 comparison - Max Tech. The MacBook Pro M1 is not just slightly faster. It crushes the XPS.

tl;dw - in favor of the M1:

SSD write speed +100% 😱
Browsing speed +35%
CPU single core +15% multi core +40% (with XPS plugged and performance mode "utlra" activated, which would have an adverse effect on the battery and is not enabled by default)
GPU +20%
GFX Gaming bench +100%
Idle temp 35C vs 25C and power 1.5W vs … 26mW for the M1!
Cinebench R23 (10 minutes run) +60% (with throttling on the Dell despite full fans, while Apple let the heat build up to keep quiet fans, dubious choice but still a far better outcome)
Lightroom Export: same speed, except if Chrome is opened with plently of tabs, then M1 80% faster. Looks like there is a huge difference in memory management! Davinci Resolve export +120%
Screen slightly better on the M1
Webcam and microphone seriously better on the M1

My numbers are rough approximations of the measures seen in the video.

My take on it: PC laptop manufacturers haven’t innovated much in years, if at all. They are limited by Intel performance, that has not been doing much good for years, unable to move away from 14nm. They failed to exploit the potential of AMD (faster, cheaper, better battery and cooler). We only see small performance increments each year, while prices remain steady. Good job.

In contrast, Apple made the smartest move by ditching Intel, and executed it flawlessly.

Sure, Apple hardware is as closed as it gets, and maintainability is close to zero. It may not seem as a sustainable choice, but you get easily 8 years of OS support, and you have a head start of possibly several years in the performance department, postponing the need to replace your hardware when it becomes old. Also the ridiculous difference in power efficiency does make a difference in the long run.