Apple A5X vs MediaTek Helio P20

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A5X CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Helio P20
Apple A5X MediaTek Helio P20

CPU comparison

Apple A5X or MediaTek Helio P20 - 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 MediaTek Helio P20 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.30 GHz. The CPU supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The MediaTek Helio P20 was released in Q3/2016.
Apple A series (22) Family Mediatek Helio (37)
Apple A5/A5X (2) CPU group MediaTek Helio P20/P30 (4)
5 Generation 2
A5 Architecture Cortex-A53
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 MediaTek Helio P20 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the MediaTek Helio P20 is at 2.30 GHz.

Apple A5X Characteristic MediaTek Helio P20
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 2.30 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
-- B-Core 1.30 GHz
4x Cortex-A53

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 MediaTek Helio P20
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Apple A5X or MediaTek Helio P20 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 ARM Mali-T880 MP2
0.20 GHz GPU frequency 0.90 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.90 GHz
-- GPU Generation Midgard 4
45 nm Technology 16 nm
1 Max. displays 2
8 Compute units 2
64 Shader 32
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
10 DirectX Version 11

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 ARM Mali-T880 MP2
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
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 MediaTek Helio P20 supports up to 6 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 12.8 GB/s.

Apple A5X Characteristic MediaTek Helio P20
LPDDR2-800 Memory LPDDR4X-1600, LPDDR4-1600, LPDDR3-933
1 GB Max. Memory 6 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A5X is --, while the MediaTek Helio P20 has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A5X Characteristic MediaTek Helio P20
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- 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 MediaTek Helio P20 is manufactured in 16 nm and has a 0.00 MB cache.

Apple A5X Characteristic MediaTek Helio P20
32 nm Technology 16 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv7-A (32 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
iOS Operating systems Android
Q1/2011 Release date Q3/2016
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A5X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the MediaTek Helio P20 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


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 (42%)
MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Helio P20
ARM Mali-T880 MP2 @ 0.90 GHz
61 (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%)
MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Helio P20
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
151 (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%)
MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Helio P20
8C 8T @ 2.30 GHz
457 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A5X MediaTek Helio P20
Apple iPad 2 (3. Gen) Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple A5XApple A5 Apple A5X vs Apple A5
2. Apple A5XApple A7 Apple A5X vs Apple A7
3. MediaTek Helio P22MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Helio P22 vs MediaTek Helio P20
4. MediaTek Dimensity 700MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Dimensity 700 vs MediaTek Helio P20
5. Qualcomm Snapdragon 625MediaTek Helio P20 Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 vs MediaTek Helio P20
6. AMD Ryzen 7 5700GApple A5X AMD Ryzen 7 5700G vs Apple A5X
7. MediaTek Helio P35MediaTek Helio P20 MediaTek Helio P35 vs MediaTek Helio P20
8. Apple A5XApple A8X Apple A5X vs Apple A8X
9. Apple A5XApple M1 Apple A5X vs Apple M1
10. Apple A5XIntel Core i7-6700 Apple A5X vs Intel Core i7-6700


back to index