With all these comparisons being thrown around, i figured i'd do my own little test. My father owns a Surface Pro 4 with the m3 processor, the exact same that's in the rMB m3.
From what we've seen from tests of the 2016 Macbooks, they draw roughly 7-9w under full CPU load, throttle to 1.9-2.1 ghz and reach temps of 90-100c. All of this while encoding a video sample using Handbrake and monitoring with Intel Power Gadget.
So i decided to run the same test on the SP4, using handbrake to encode a 4k video sample and recording temps, cpu speed and power draw with Intel Power Gadget. While it boosted to the same 2.0 ghz dual core (as is max for the m3) and used the same 7-9w power, it reached a max temperature of..... 54c during the 10 minutes i let it run! That's a huge difference, and mostly due to the heatsink Microsoft put in there. The SP4 is 8.5mm thick and weighs 766g, but without a keyboard. So with a keyboard it is comparable to the Macbook in thickness and weight (1058g/13.1mm).
This makes me wish Apple made the rMB a millimeter or two thicker to make space for a heatsink like on the SP4, thus eliminating throttling and allowing great, sustained performance like the i5/i7 rMBPs.
Finally, i am in no way saying the SP4 is the better device, as i have owned one and had quite a few issues with it, and went back to a rMBP which i currently use. I'm simply saying i wished Apple would've given the Macbook a cooling solution similar to the SP4.
TL;DR
Macbook (m5/m7)
- Throttled CPU speed: 1.9-2.1 ghz (max dual core turbo speed: 2.4ghz/2.9ghz)
- CPU power draw: 7-9w
- CPU max temp: 90-100c
SP4 m3
- Throttled CPU speed: 2.0ghz (max dual core turbo speed: 2.0ghz)
- CPU power draw: 7-9w
- CPU max temp: 54c