Ask HN: Why hasn't x86 caught up with Apple M series?

Hi,

My daily workhorse is a M1 Pro that I purchased on release date, It has been one of the best tech purchases I have made, even now it really deals with anything I throw at it. My daily work load is regularly having a Android emulator, iOS simulator and a number of Dockers containers running simultaneously and I never hear the fans, battery life has taken a bit of a hit but it is still very respectable.

I wanted a new personal laptop, and I was debating between a MacBook Air or going for a Framework 13 with Linux. I wanted to lean into learning something new so went with the Framework and I must admit I am regretting it a bit.

The M1 was released back in 2020 and I bought the Ryzen AI 340 which is one of the newest 2025 chips from AMD, so AMD has 5 years of extra development and I had expected them to get close to the M1 in terms of battery efficiency and thermals.

The Ryzen is using a TSMC N4P process compared to the older N5 process, I managed to find a TSMC press release showing the performance/efficiency gains from the newer process: “When compared to N5, N4P offers users a reported +11% performance boost or a 22% reduction in power consumption. Beyond that, N4P can offer users a 6% increase in transistor density over N5”

I am sorely disappointed, using the Framework feels like using an older Intel based Mac. If I open too many tabs in Chrome I can feel the bottom of the laptop getting hot, open a YouTube video and the fans will often spin up.

Why haven’t AMD/Intel been able to catch up? Is x86 just not able to keep up with the ARM architecture? When can we expect a x86 laptop chip to match the M1 in efficiency/thermals?!

To be fair I haven’t tried Windows on the Framework yet it might be my Linux setup being inefficient.

Cheers, Stephen

Show context

fafhnir ◴[26 Aug 25 10:53 UTC] No.45024834[source]▶

>>45019483 (OP) #

I have the same experience here with my MacBook Air M1 from 2020 with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. After three years, I upgraded to a MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, 36GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. I use this as my main machine with 2 displays attached via a TB4 dock.

I'm working in IT and I get all new machines for our company over my desk to check them, and I observed the exact same points as the OP.

The new machines are either fast and loud and hot and with poor battery life, or they are slow and "warm" and have moderate battery life.

But I had no business laptop yet, ARM, AMD, or Intel, which can even compete with the M1 Air, not to speak of the M3 Pro! Not to speak about all the issues with crappy Lenovo docks, etc.

It doesn’t matter if I install Linux or Windows. The funny point is that some of my colleagues have ordered a MacBook Air or Pro and use their Windows or Linux and a virtual machine via Parallels.

Think about it: Windows 11 or Linux in a VM is even faster, snappier, more silent, and has even longer battery life than these systems native on a business machine from Lenovo, HP, or Dell.

Well, your mileage may vary, but IMHO there is no alternative to a Mac nowadays, even if you want to use Linux or Windows.

replies(4): >>45025036 #>>45026653 #>>45027708 #>>45028504 #

1. devjab ◴[26 Aug 25 13:57 UTC] No.45026653[source]▶

>>45024834 #

I'm still using my MacBook Air M1 with 8gb of Ram as my personal workhorse. It runs docker desktop and VSC better than my T14 whatever windows machine with 32gb ram. But that is windows and it has a bunch of enterprise stuff running. I assume it would work better with Linux, or even windows without whatever our IT does to control it.

With Nvidia Now I can even play games on it, though I wouldn't recommend it for any serious gamers.

replies(2): >>45026829 #>>45030029 #

2. zikduruqe ◴[26 Aug 25 14:10 UTC] No.45026829[source]▶

>>45026653 (TP) #

Ha. Same here. My personal MBA M1/8GB just chugs along with whatever I need it to do. I have a T480 32GB linux machine at home that I love, but my M1 just does what I need it to do.

And at the shop we are doing technology refreshes for the whole dev team upgrading them to M4s. I was asked if I wanted to upgrade my M1 Pro to an M4, and I said no. Mainly because I don't want to have to move my tooling over to a new machine, but I am not bottlenecked by anything on my current M1.

replies(1): >>45028875 #

3. elzbardico ◴[26 Aug 25 16:33 UTC] No.45028875[source]▶

>>45026829 #

Man, it's absolutely trivial to migrate your configurations to a new machine.

replies(1): >>45034324 #

4. commakozzi ◴[26 Aug 25 17:57 UTC] No.45030029[source]▶

>>45026653 (TP) #

I'm using Geforce Now on my M1 Air and it's wonderful. Yeah, i'll play competitive multiplayer on dedicated hardware (primarily Xbox Series X because i refuse to own a Windows machine and i'm too lazy for Linux right now -- also, i'm hoping against hope for a real Steam console), but Geforce Now has been wonderful for other things, survival, crafting, MMO, single player RPGs, Cyberpunk, Battlefield, pretty much anything you can deal with a few milliseconds of input latency. To be honest, what they're doing here is wizardry to my dumb brain. The additional latency, to me, just feels like the amount of latency you will get from a controller on an Xbox. However, if you play something that requires very quick input (competitive FPS, for example) AND you're connected to servers through the game with anywhere from 5ms to 100ms+ latency (playing on EU servers, for example), that added latency just becomes too much. I'll say this though: I've played Warzone solo on Geforce Now, connected to a local server with no more than 5ms latency via that connection, and it felt pretty decent. Definitely playable, and i think i got 2nd or 1st in a few of those games, but as soon as it gets over like 15-20ms, you're cooked.

5. zikduruqe ◴[27 Aug 25 01:14 UTC] No.45034324{3}[source]▶

>>45028875 #

Oh I know. Just lazy and have other things to do than to migrate a machine.

replies(1): >>45039552 #

6. elzbardico ◴[27 Aug 25 13:41 UTC] No.45039552{4}[source]▶

>>45034324 #

I understand, it is that for me, as a hardware addict, it is almost personally offensive that someone would refuse an upgrade. I am unsettled and disturbed. :-D

↑