Macs with Apple Silicon M1 chips running x86 emulation is still faster than other Mac models in a single-core benchmark test.
A new benchmark test on Apple Silicon Macs running x86 emulation through Rosetta 2, the translation layer of the company, showed the Cupertino-based tech giant's latest machine outperforming every other Mac models in the market in the single-core section. A previous test involving only the new Apple Silicon M1 Mac showed that the machine suffered a performance hit when running x86 emulation through Rosetta 2. The new benchmark test also showed that the latest Mac's M1 chip runs at a much lower speed of 2.40 GHz than its maximum 3.20Ghz frequency.
Leaked performance data showed the new Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air is faster than other Mac models out there in single-core workloads. For instance, the new machine easily beat the Intel 8-core Core i9 chip-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro running x86 emulation under Rosetta 2.
Apple Silicon M1 Emulating x86 is Still Faster Than Every Other Mac in Single Core Benchmark https://t.co/pAXi2T0H58 by @frankmcshan pic.twitter.com/SD0e6E5UyR — MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) November 15, 2020
The new Mac also effortlessly thrashed the $5,000-base iMac Pro in single-core benchmark test results and was a mere 8.5% slower compared to the workstation in multi-core workloads. The Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air also proved it is faster than many other Mac models out there when running x86 emulation through Rosetta 2 in a single-core benchmark test.
This shows that the 5nm M1 chip the company developed and launched with the new Macs on November 10 delivers a bunch of computing punches in case the situation demands it. At the same time, it still handles the workload well with Geekbench 5 running through Rosetta 2. Geekbench revealed the first native Apple Silicon M1 chip benchmarks recently, showing impressive results. New benchmarks have since then started showing up for Apple's M1 chip-powered Macs emulating x86 through Rosetta 2 in single-core tests.
According to Apple, there is always a drop in performance when emulating x86 under Rosetta 2. Despite the performance dip, however, it is still faster than other Macs, at least in single-core benchmark tests. Results showed that the M1 MacBook Air emulating x86 scored 1687 in single-core tests and 7433 in multi-core benchmarks. The same machine running without x86 emulation scored 1313 in single-core benchmark tests and 5888 in multi-core tests.
Based on the results, there is around 11% to 12% performance drop between an Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air emulating x86 under Rosetta 2 and the same machine without the emulation. Still, if you compare the results generated with x86 emulation with other Mac models, results show that the Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air is still faster and outperforms them all, particularly in single-core workloads. The benchmark results also roused the excitement of industry observers for Apple's reported 5nm A14T chipset rumored to come with the new iMac. Since leaks classify the chipset as desktop-class silicon, observers say they are eager to see how it performs when Apple officially launches it next year.
