So, let's do some quick math. Assuming the A12z runs in the same power envelope as the M1, it uses roughly half the power of the preceding Intel chip. That makes sense, since both the performance and efficiency cores are using a much denser process. Generously speaking, both of these chips have a similar performance profile, which leads me to believe that Apple's real 'boon' here was simply switching to a denser node. Comparing IPC across ISAs is largely guesswork, but I'm not convinced that AMD or Intel are incapable of manufacturing 5nm chips that decimate Apple's offerings. Apple hasn't allowed it to happen, so we can't say for sure.
Are you comparing an x64 chip with an ARM one and then deciding the only difference is the node process?
We’re talking here about what is unequivocally the most complex manufactured goods in the world. You can’t just boil it down to one thing. Apple made so many decisions that lead them to their extraordinary performance, including financial ones. They heavily paid TSMC for priority access to their new node.
And once again, the gains are nowhere near 200%, your initial claim that is patently wrong and that you refuse to acknowledge as a mistake on your part.
I'd love to compare it with a 5nm x86 chip, but thanks to Apple we can only make conjecture. You can agree with me or say my approximations are wrong, but I acknowledged that there's an architectural difference (which is why I used Geekbench instead of comparing useless numbers like clock speed or memory bandwidth). x86's performance on 14nm seems to correlate with ARM's performance on 7nm. Again, if you think that's a BS conclusion; fine. I'm painting funny-numbers with Geekbench scores and approximate power scaling. You'll just have to be contented with waiting until we have a 5nm x86 chip to compare it with, because apparently we can't make ballpark estimates on HN without getting pitchforked.
Apple's chips are fast because they have lots of money. If you disagree with that, then you're no different than the kid at Disney Land who thinks Splash Mountain got built because some genius invented it. We can fight about exact figures until the sun sets, but I think my approximation was fair.
Developer transition kit, running A12z, 7nm:
https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/search?q=eperm-d995af6e...
Last-gen Mac Mini, running i7-8700B, 14nm:
https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/mac-mini-late-2018
So, let's do some quick math. Assuming the A12z runs in the same power envelope as the M1, it uses roughly half the power of the preceding Intel chip. That makes sense, since both the performance and efficiency cores are using a much denser process. Generously speaking, both of these chips have a similar performance profile, which leads me to believe that Apple's real 'boon' here was simply switching to a denser node. Comparing IPC across ISAs is largely guesswork, but I'm not convinced that AMD or Intel are incapable of manufacturing 5nm chips that decimate Apple's offerings. Apple hasn't allowed it to happen, so we can't say for sure.