Comparison Apple MacBook Air 13 2020 [MWTL2] vs Apple MacBook Air 13 2019 [MVFM2]

Each series combines chips that are similar in general level, purpose, and often also in individual specific features. At the same time, most series include processors of several generations at once, which can differ significantly in actual characteristics. It is worth noting that until recently, laptops were almost exclusively equipped with processors from AMD or Intel - until in 2020, Apple introduced its own chip Apple M1(with updated versions of Apple M1 Pro and Apple M1 Max), Apple M2(2022) with productive chips M2 Pro, M2 Max and Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max(2023). Then Qualcomm entered the arena with its Snapdragon processors.

At the moment, the following series are mainly relevant in laptops:

— AMD Ryzen 3. The cheapest series of AMD chips in the Ryzen family (Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9 and Ryzen AI), using the Zen microarchitecture. In ter...ms of general design, Ryzen 3 is similar to its older brothers, but half of the computing cores are deactivated. Nevertheless, it is quite advanced and is even found in ultrabooks.

— Ryzen 5. The second series on the Zen architecture is a more affordable alternative to the Ryzen 7 chips. Ryzen 5 chips have slightly more limited performance characteristics (in particular, a lower clock frequency and, in some models, L3 cache volume). Otherwise, they are completely similar to the "sevens" and are also positioned as high-performance chips for gaming and workstations. For more details, see "Ryzen 7" below.

— Ryzen 7. The first series of processors from AMD, built on the Zen microarchitecture. It was introduced in March 2017. In general, Ryzen chips (of all series) are promoted as high-end solutions for gamers, developers, graphic designers and video editors. One of the main differences between Zen and previous microarchitectures was the use of simultaneous multithreading, due to which the number of operations per clock was significantly increased at the same clock frequency. In addition, each core received its own floating-point calculation unit, the speed of the first-level cache memory increased, and the L3 cache volume in Ryzen 7 chips is 16 MB by default.

— Ryzen 9. AMD Ryzen 9 processors on the Zen microarchitecture debuted in 2019. The series became the top among all Ryzens, displacing Ryzen 7 from this position. First of all, the CPU line is usually used for professional tasks (design, video editing, 3D rendering), games, streaming and other high-load applications. The first Ryzen 9 models had 12 cores and 24 threads, in later ones this number was increased to 16 and 32, respectively.

— Ryzen AI. The Ryzen series of processors with artificial intelligence was launched in 2024. The first in the lineup was the AMD Ryzen AI 300 subfamily. It introduces the new Zen 5 computing core architecture, has integrated RDNA 3.5 graphics, and a powerful XDNA 2 neural processor with a performance of up to 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second). The Ryzen AI chips are perfect for a wide range of tasks — from everyday work to complex calculations using AI algorithms.

— Atom. Processors specially developed by Intel for mobile devices (including smartphones). Used mainly in ultra-compact laptops.

— Core M. Processors designed for portable devices (in particular, ultra-compact laptops) and featuring extremely low heat generation, allowing the use of passive cooling systems. They were introduced in 2014 as the first serial chips using the 14 nm process technology.

— Celeron. The most budget series in the modern line of desktop processors from Intel. However, the latest generations are equipped with integrated graphics.

— Pentium. Budget desktop processors from Intel, slightly superior in characteristics to Celeron, but not up to the Core i3. Also have integrated graphics.

— Processor. A line of entry-level processors that precedes the Core i3 family in Intel's modern hierarchy. These chipsets are found in entry-level laptops designed for everyday home or office use, as well as undemanding games.

— Intel Core i3 / Core 3. A series of entry-level and mid-range processors, the most budget-friendly in the Core family. However, in terms of characteristics and computing power, the processors of this line are superior to the Pentium and Celeron series (see above).

— Intel Core i5 / Core 5. A line of mid-range processors — both in general and by the standards of the Core family in particular. Most often, the processors of the series contain from 4 to 10 cores, and in terms of performance, they are between the relatively inexpensive i3 (Core 3) and the powerful i7 (Core 7).

— Intel Core i7 / Core 7. A series of high-performance processors from Intel. Before the i9, it was the most advanced in the Core family, but then it gave way to the "nine". Core 7 chips have at least 4 cores and integrated graphics.

— Core i9. Top-end processors released in 2017; the most powerful line of consumer-grade notebook processors at the time of their release, displacing Core i7 chips from this position. They have 6 cores and a large L3 cache.

— Core Ultra 5. A transformation of the popular series of mobile processors of the strong mid-range Intel Core i5, which received the Ultra prefix since the end of 2023 — when the Meteor Lake generation of chipsets debuted. The main feature of the Core Ultra 5 processors is a separate NPU, which gives advantages when working with AI models.

— Core Ultra 7. A pre-top series of high-performance mobile processors from Intel, which replaced the Core i7 family at the end of 2023 (with the advent of the new generation of Meteor Lake chipsets). A mandatory attribute of the Ultra models has become a neural coprocessor, responsible for accelerating the operation of artificial intelligence algorithms.

— Core Ultra 9. The most powerful line of laptop processors from Intel, released to replace the Core i9 family at the end of 2023. The premiere of models with the Ultra addition took place in the Meteor Lake chipset generation. A distinctive feature of Intel Core Ultra 9 is the presence of a separate NPU to improve the efficiency of using artificial intelligence models.

— Apple. A series of processors from Apple, which debuted in November 2020 with the release of the next generations of MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. In the initial configurations, they are equipped with 8 cores - 4 productive and 4 economical; the latter, according to the creators, consume 10 times less energy than the former. This, combined with the 5 nm process technology, made it possible to achieve very high energy efficiency and, at the same time, performance. It is also worth noting that the processors of this series are made according to the system-on-chip scheme: a single module combines a CPU, a graphics adapter, RAM (in the first models - 8 or 16 GB), a solid-state NVMe drive and some other components (in particular, Thunderbolt 4 controllers).

— Snapdragon. Snapdragon processors are essentially mobile solutions — they are traditionally installed in smartphones and tablets. Separate lines of Snapdragon chips have been released specifically for laptops (for example, X Elite on ARM architecture). Many laptops based on such processors are equipped with built-in LTE or even 5G modules. Their advantage is also high energy efficiency.

The specific model of the processor installed in the laptop, or rather, the processor index within its series (see above). Knowing the full name of the processor (series and model), you can find detailed information on it (up to practical reviews) and clarify its capabilities.

The code name for CPU installed in the laptop.

This parameter characterizes, first of all, the generation to which the processor belongs, and the microarchitecture used in it. At the same time, chips with different code names can belong to the same microarchitecture/generation; in such cases, they differ in other parameters - general positioning, belonging to certain series (see above), the presence / absence of certain specific functions, etc.

Nowadays, the following code names are relevant in Intel processors: Coffee Lake, Comet Lake, Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Jasper Lake, Alder Lake, Raptor Lake (13th Gen), Alder Lake-N, Raptor Lake (14th Gen), Meteor Lake (Series 1), Raptor Lake (Series 1), Lunar Lake (Series 2). For AMD, the list looks like this: Zen 2 Renoir, Zen 2 Lucienne, Zen 3 Cezanne, Zen 3 Barcelo, Zen 3+ Rembrandt, Zen 3+ Rembrandt R, Zen 2 Mendocino, Zen 3 Barcelo R, Zen 4 Dragon Range, Zen 4 Phoenix Zen 4 Hawk Point, Zen 5 Strix Point. Detailed data on different code names can be found in special sources.

The clock speed of the processor installed in the laptop (for multi-core processors, the frequency of each individual core).

Theoretically, a higher clock speed has a positive effect on performance, as it allows the processor to perform more operations per unit of time. However, in fact, the capabilities of the CPU depend on a number of other characteristics — primarily on the series to which it belongs (see above). It even happens that of the two chips, the more performant in the overall result is the slower one. With this in mind, it makes sense to compare by clock frequency only processors of the same series, and ideally, also of the same generation; and the laptop as a whole should be judged by the complex characteristics of the system, as well as by the results of tests (see below).

Processor clock speed achieved in TurboBoost or TurboCore "overclocking" mode.

Turbo Boost and Turbo Core technologies are used by different manufacturers (Intel and AMD, respectively), but they have the same principle of operation: load distribution from more loaded processor cores to less loaded ones to improve performance. The "overclocking" mode is characterized by an increased clock frequency, and it is indicated in this case.

For more information about clock speed in general, see the relevant paragraph above.

The result shown by the laptop processor in 3DMark06.

This test is primarily focused on testing performance in games — in particular, the ability of the processor to process advanced graphics and artificial intelligence elements. Test scores are reported as scores; the higher this number, the higher the performance of the tested chip. Good 3DMark06 results are especially important for gaming laptops.

The result shown by the laptop processor in the Passmark CPU Mark test.

Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that is more detailed and reliable than the popular 3DMark06 (see above). It checks not only the gaming capabilities of the CPU, but also its performance in other modes, based on which it displays the overall score; this score can be used to fairly reliably evaluate the processor as a whole (the more points, the higher the performance).

Laptops mainly use different variants of DDR (so-called double data transfer memory). Here is a list of common types of such memory:

— DDR3. Third generation DDR RAM. Outperforms outdated DDR2 in terms of speed and power efficiency. However, it is also outdated against the background of the fourth version and new items - DDR5.

— DDR3L. A modification of DDR3 memory that supports operation at a reduced voltage - 1.35 V instead of 1.5 V (Low Voltage - hence the index L). Lower voltage contributes to both lower power consumption and better performance. Note that conventional DDR3 memory cannot be installed in such a slot, while the reverse option is quite possible.

— DDR4. A memory standard released in 2014. Introduced further improvements in speed (up to 25.6 GB / s in the future) and energy efficiency. The most popular among laptops of recent years of release.

— DDR5. The procession of the fifth generation of the DDR standard began at the turn of 2020-2021. It provides for approximately a twofold increase in memory subsystem performance and increased bandwidth compared to DDR4. Instead of a single 64-bit data channel, DDR5 uses a pair of independent 32-bit channels that work with 16-byte packets and allow 64 bytes of information to be delivered per clock on each channel. New memory modules require a voltage of 1.1 V, and the maximum volume of one DDR5 bar can rea...ch an impressive 128 GB.

It is worth noting that different types of RAM are not interchangeable.

Some laptops have LPDDR4, LPDDR4X, LPDDR5, LPDDR5X RAM. It was developed by a specialist for mobile devices and is non-expandable, since the corresponding memory modules are built directly into the motherboard. The use of "RAM" standards LPDDR is determined by the achievement of an optimal balance between the performance of the laptop, its size and battery life.

The clock speed of the RAM installed in the laptop.

The higher the frequency (with the same type and amount of memory) — the higher the performance of RAM in general and the faster the laptop will cope with resource-intensive tasks. However modules with the same frequency may differ somewhat in actual performance due to differences in other characteristics; but this difference becomes significant only in very specific cases, for the average user it is not critical. As for specific values, the most popular modules on the modern market are 2400 MHz, 2666 MHz, 2933 MHz and 3200 MHz. Memory at 2133 MHz or less is found mainly in outdated and low-cost devices, and in high-performance configurations this parameter is 2933 MHz, 3200 MHz, 4266 MHz, 4800 MHz, 5200 MHz, 5500 MHz, 5600 MHz and more.