Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 vs Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)

CPU comparison

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 or Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.15 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 was released in Q3/2020.

The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) has 10 cores with 10 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (104) Family Apple M series (25)
Qualcomm Snapdragon SQ1/SQ2 (2) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
1 Generation 1
Kryo 495 Architecture M1
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Apple M2 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 is 3.15 GHz while the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) has 10 CPU cores and 10 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) is at 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
8 Cores 10
8 Threads 10
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.15 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Gold
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
8x Firestorm
2.42 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Silver
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 or Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Qualcomm Adreno 690 GPU Apple M1 Pro (14 Core)
GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
6 GPU Generation 1
7 nm Technology 5 nm
0 Max. displays 3
-- Compute units 224
-- Shader 1792
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
12.0 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Qualcomm Adreno 690 GPU Apple M1 Pro (14 Core)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 can use up to 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 68.3 GB/s. The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 102.4 GB/s.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
LPDDR4X-2133 Memory LPDDR5-6400
16 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
8 (Octa Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.3 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 28.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 is --, while the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) has a TDP of 45 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 is manufactured in 7 nm and has 0.00 MB cache. The Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has a 28.00 MB cache.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
7 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
Android, Windows 10 (ARM) Operating systems macOS
Q3/2020 Release date Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.7 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (27 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 (45%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 (24%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
793 (45%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1768 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
3053 (24%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12574 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
113 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
802 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12390 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12407 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
Qualcomm Adreno 690 @ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
4580 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
192 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
12,390 CB R23 MC @ 45 W
275 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
10C 10T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)
Microsoft Surface Pro X Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

News and articles for the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 and the Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 14-GPU)


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