Paul Haddad 
I'm so confused by what's what now. Are there now 3 types of M5 cores? Is an M5 performance core an M4 performance core or an efficiency core? WTH is going on?
Mar 4 at 12:38pmWeb
Show threadhalcy​ Mar 4
@paul SUPERCORES
Show threadjustbustrMar 4
@paul Yep, three types of cores. I found the post and table from @gruber very helpful for explaining this. https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/03/apple-debuts-m5-pro-and-m5-max
Apple Debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max, and Renames Its M-Series CPU Cores

Link to: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-debuts-m5-pro-and-m5-max-to-supercharge-the-most-demanding-pro-workflows/

Daring Fireball
Show threadVorsosMar 4

@Justbustr @paul @gruber No need to consult a genocide apologist ¹. In ascending speed it’s Efficiency, Performance (new multithread focus), Super (previously Performance).

¹ https://beige.party/@Vorsos/115499360647025445

Vorsos (@[email protected])

Attached: 4 images John Gruber's "enjoying Palestine genocide" shirt has people asking a lot of questions about tech instead of his shirt.

beige.party
Show threadoscillikMar 4
@paul Yeah, this is probably the most confusing Apple hardware line–up I've ever seen. From what I understand after reading the Ars Technica article about them (https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/m5-pro-and-m5-max-are-surprisingly-big-departures-from-older-apple-silicon/) the previous M4 Max will serve me better personally due to the way Ableton Live uses performance cores.
M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon

Apple is using more chiplets and three types of CPU cores to make the M5 family.

Ars Technica
Show threadnSonicMar 4

@oscillik @paul Who cares? 🤔 Max is faster than pro is faster than base. Pay more, get more speed. (Given all other parameters are equal like ssd and ram)

Might be interesting to see some real world comparisons but I stay with: for probably 95% of users the base model is best bang for the buck. Have more to spend? Bump up ram and ssd whatever you think you need more off (for me it’s ssd)

Show threadoscillikMar 5
@nSonic @paul I guess you didn't read the article?
Show threadnSonicMar 5

@oscillik @paul You mean that they renamed the performance to super and introduced a new performance in between super and efficient?

I can simplify my take further: the M chips are fast enough for probably 95%+ of what people do. If you are the 5% you know it and choose what you are willing to pay for.

„We“ (my guessed 95+%) shouldn’t care about the naming or amount of Cores 🤷‍♂️

Show threadoscillikMar 5
@nSonic No, I don't mean that part. Anyway, I'm going to desist from conversing with you and I hope you have a day.
Show threadnSonicMar 5
@oscillik Fair 🙂 but I would be happy if you had wrote what / which aspect you meant. (Then I could’ve analyzed if I missed some aspect or could’ve learned to see a different perspective)
But you don’t have to. 😅
Have a nice day
Show threadBidouilleurMar 4
@paul https://9to5mac.com/2026/03/04/m5-chips-now-have-three-types-of-core-what-does-this-actually-mean/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky
M5 chips now have three types of core – what does this mean?

Prior to yesterday’s launch of the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, Apple Silicon chips had two types of...

9to5Mac
Show threadRené [¬º-°]¬Mar 4
@paul Just buy the most expensive one.
Show threadJason CoxMar 4
@meNeither @paul This. This is what you do. Just max it out!
Show threadMachielMar 4
@paul marketing
Show threadStuart BreckenridgeMar 4
@paul it’s a high performance efficiency core.
Show threadRhys MorganMar 4
@paul Efficiency cores were renamed to performance cores, performance cores renamed to super cores.
Apparently too many people think “efficiency” means “shit”, which was never true on Apple silicon.
Show threadKuba Suder • @mackuba.eu on 🦋Mar 4
@rhysmorgan @paul Wait, but on the MacBook Air M5 it still says "performance cores" and "efficiency cores"…
Show threadFrancesco MariniMar 4

@mackuba @rhysmorgan @paul because it now is:

Super (the old Performance) > Performance (new one) > Efficiency (yep, the old one, only in the M5)

Show threadKuba Suder • @mackuba.eu on 🦋Mar 7
@fmarini @rhysmorgan @paul ಠ_ಠ
Show threadAngus McIntyreMar 4

@paul Someone else asked the same question.

The TL;DR seems to be that super cores are the new name for performance cores, and what they're now calling performance cores are upgraded efficiency cores.

https://www.macworld.com/article/3077260/what-the-hell-is-an-m5-super-core.html

M5 deep dive: What the hell is a super core?

Apple rebrands its CPU cores so people know they're really fast.

Macworld
Show threadEugene KimMar 4
@paul From what I can tell, the normal M5 has the previously named efficiency cores and the previously named performance cores, which they rebranded super. The Pro and up have faster than normal efficiency cores, which they rebranded performance, and the previously named performance cores that are now “super”. It’s just Efficiency, Efficiency Pro, and Performance.
Show threadKonrad KołakowskiMar 4

@paul They're different after all - but it's how to say whether they're just „bumped" old-efficiency cores, or „nerfed" old-performance cores with a much lower clock or cache for example.

It might be, that those new "performance" cores are like AMD Zen 4/5c cores - basically the same architecture but nerfed in some areas - mostly cache.

Show threadPoopiSanMar 4
@paul You should not complain. They could have called call them Pro and charge even more for the SoC.
Show threadfedward Mar 4
@paul yes, three types of cores. Seems like they renamed the old performance core and added a new one in the middle. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/m5-pro-and-m5-max-are-surprisingly-big-departures-from-older-apple-silicon/
M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon

Apple is using more chiplets and three types of CPU cores to make the M5 family.

Ars Technica
Show threadkaiserkiwi Mar 5
@paul Efficiency Cores got so good they got Performance Cores and therefore the better performance Cores are now Super Cores? I have no idea.
Show threadJosh “Yoshi” VickersonMar 5

@kaiserkiwi @paul Ars explains:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/m5-pro-and-m5-max-are-surprisingly-big-departures-from-older-apple-silicon/

M5 Pro and M5 Max are surprisingly big departures from older Apple Silicon

Apple is using more chiplets and three types of CPU cores to make the M5 family.

Ars Technica