Apple Is Finally Moving To A Chiplet Design With Its M5 Pro & M5 Max; The Question Is Will Qualcomm Go Down A Similar Route?

The M5 Pro and M5 Max are expected to be Apple’s first SoCs to offer separate CPU and GPU blocks, thanks to TSMC’s new ‘Small Outline Integrated Circuit’ packaging (SoIC), unlocking more possibilities on its portable Macs. From lowering manufacturing costs by improving yields to obtaining new performance levels, these are a few benefits that companies can witness by moving to a chiplet design, but if that’s the case, why has Qualcomm yet to adopt it? We’ve discussed some possibilities below, but we also believe that it will be necessary for the company to eventually make the transition.

If bringing chipsets like the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme becomes a regular practice, Qualcomm will eventually have to move to a chiplet design

As the complexities and physical sizes of chips begin to increase, companies like Apple are moving to chiplet designs to accommodate those changes properly. AMD has embraced this architecture for a few generations, with Intel’s Panther Lake series also accomplishing something similar. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite, we don’t see any of that, and there are likely a few reasons why.

For one thing, the San Diego firm is only into its second iteration of ARM-based SoCs for laptops, whereas the physical stacking of chips on a single die requires tons of R&D, not to mention sophisticated engineering knowledge. Based on the discussion happening on Reddit, there’s also going to be a ton of trial and error involved, meaning that it could take Qualcomm years before it has a Snapdragon product boasting a chiplet design.

Then again, as mentioned above, with physical chip sizes increasing, if Qualcomm intends to unveil a Snapdragon X3 Elite Extreme, it will have to move expeditiously, or else it will be behind the competition for a whole generation.

Qualcomm may avoid a chiplet design due to the extra power requirements

To remind readers, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme can run in excess of 100W when operating unconstrained, and when multiple chiplets communicate with one another, it requires extra juice. It is possible that Qualcomm could avoid this design since it wishes to prioritize efficiency and thermals, as going for a chiplet architecture means the company’s partners will also have to re-engineer cooling solutions, making notebooks bulkier and heavier.

However, if there are concerns about high temperatures with a chiplet design, why is Apple adopting it in the M5 Pro and M5 Max? The Cupertino firm is in an entirely different ballgame compared to Qualcomm, with its mastery of architectural improvements and efficiency leading it to develop powerful SoCs that consume the least power, resulting in record-high battery life in portable Macs.

If the technology giant’s M5 Pro and M5 Max are based on a chiplet design, it means the company has already addressed the thermal aspect. Evidence of this achievement can be highlighted with the A19 Pro, as its efficiency cores not only deliver up to 29 percent increased performance, but the SoC achieves this feat with zero power draw.

Recent benchmarks indicate that Qualcomm is experiencing limitations with the Snapdragon X2 Elite, making the chiplet design highly viable

An early look at the Snapdragon X2 Elite revealed that the chipset delivers stellar performance gains in the CPU department, beating the M5 in the majority of benchmarks. However, on the gaming side of things, that’s where the cracks in the armor appear. Sure, the Snapdragon X2 Elite is miles ahead of the Snapdragon X Elite, but the M5 is on another level, suggesting that the iGPU is a major limiting factor because of Qualcomm’s current design approach.

If you look at our review of Intel’s Core Ultra X9 388H, its graphics performance shines thanks to the newer architecture, and this ultimately is the direction Qualcomm needs to take if it is going to stay relevant in this race.

News Source: Reddit

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