Apple A5X vs Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A5X CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
Apple A5X Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)

CPU comparison

Apple A5X or Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple A5X has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.00 GHz. Up to 1 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Apple A5X was released in Q1/2011.

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) was released in Q3/2021.
Apple A series (22) Family Apple M series (25)
Apple A5/A5X (2) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
5 Generation 1
A5 Architecture M1
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
Apple A6X Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A5X has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A5X is 1.00 GHz while the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) is at 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
2 Cores 8
2 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.00 GHz
2x Cortex-A9
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
6x Firestorm
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A5X or Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Apple M1 Pro (14 Core)
0.20 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
45 nm Technology 5 nm
1 Max. displays 3
8 Compute units 224
64 Shader 1792
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
10 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Apple M1 Pro (14 Core)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple A5X can use up to 1 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 12.8 GB/s. The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 102.4 GB/s.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
LPDDR2-800 Memory LPDDR5-6400
1 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache 24.00 MB
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A5X is --, while the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has a TDP of 35 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A5X is manufactured in 32 nm and has 1.00 MB cache. The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has a 24.00 MB cache.

Apple A5X Characteristic Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
32 nm Technology 5 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv7-A (32 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
-- Socket --
None Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems macOS
Q1/2011 Release date Q3/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
PowerVR SGX543MP4 (4 Cores) @ 0.20 GHz
26 (1%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
4580 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
113 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
628 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9569 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1768 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9996 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
10412 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
181 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple A5X Apple A5X
1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
9,569 CB R23 MC @ 35 W
273 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple A5X Apple A5X
2C 2T @ 1.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A5X Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
Apple iPad 2 (3. Gen) Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

News and articles for the Apple A5X and the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)


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