Apple A6X vs Intel Core i7-8559U

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A6X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-8559U
Apple A6X Intel Core i7-8559U

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A6X and the Intel Core i7-8559U and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A6X 2 core processor released in Q3/2012 with the Intel Core i7-8559U which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2018.
Apple A series (22) Family Intel Core i7 (298)
Apple A6/A6X (2) CPU group Intel Core i 8000U (8)
6 Generation 8
A6 Architecture Coffee Lake U
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A5X Predecessor --
Apple A8X Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A6X is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.40 GHz. The processor can compute 2 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-8559U clocks with 2.70 GHz (4.50 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Apple A6X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8559U
2 Cores 4
2 Threads 8
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
1.40 GHz Frequency 2.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.50 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.20 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

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. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Apple A6X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8559U
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

PowerVR SGX554MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.30 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.20 GHz
-- GPU Generation 9.5
32 nm Technology 14 nm
1 Max. displays 3
16 Compute units 48
128 Shader 384
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
10 DirectX Version 12

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 SGX554MP4 (4 Cores) GPU Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
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 / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode / Encode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 1 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Apple A6X, while the Intel Core i7-8559U supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s enabled.

Apple A6X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8559U
LPDDR2-1066 Memory DDR4-2400
1 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
17.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 38.4 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 6.00 MB
-- PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple A6X has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-8559U is 28 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple A6X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8559U
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 28 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple A6X has 1.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 32 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-8559U is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Apple A6X Characteristic Intel Core i7-8559U
32 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv7-A (32 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
-- Socket BGA 1528
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q3/2012 Release date Q2/2018
-- Release price --
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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 A6X Apple A6X
PowerVR SGX554MP4 (4 Cores) @ 0.30 GHz
77 (8%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 @ 1.20 GHz
922 (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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 4.50 GHz
1103 (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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
4288 (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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 4.50 GHz
1390 (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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
4682 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 4.50 GHz
431 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1572 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Apple A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8665 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Apple A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 2.70 GHz
2324 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 4.50 GHz
184 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 A6X Apple A6X
2C 2T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-8559U Intel Core i7-8559U
4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
675 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A6X Intel Core i7-8559U
Apple iPad (4. Gen) Unknown

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