> It wasn't mentioned if the chip was running at its full 54W TDP
The 14 core (which are 2 more than the Ryzen) M3 Max has a TDP of 78 watts, so if the numbers are correct this could mean a very impressive performance per watt (which is what actually matters, why does anyone care about raw power?).
Better yet, the chip appears to not even be made with the latest process (TSMC 4nm vs Apple’s 3).
It's not an electrical spec. The main difference is that a chip can overclock itself to 200W on 45W TDP, as long as the overclock period is short enough to not fill up the heatsink with heat.
And it can take minutes to fill up the heatsink in practice. Heat travels slower than electricity after all, even across copper and heat pipes.
I want to grow a single piece diamond heat sink.
Even single crystal ones: https://www.msesupplies.com/products/single-crystal-diamond-...
Raw power determines whether games run smoothly, how fast things compile, how fast a render takes etc. The performance per watt determines battery life but for some people that isn't particularly important. I can only run the Unreal Engine Editor for about an hour before the battery runs out on my laptop (5800H/16GB/3070). The raw performance when plugged in is much more useful to me than trying to squeeze another 20 minutes out of it. Of course I prefer using my desktop for those tasks, but sometimes I need to travel or demo so laptop (with charger) it is.