Apple A8X vs Intel Core i7-9800X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A8X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-9800X
Apple A8X Intel Core i7-9800X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A8X and the Intel Core i7-9800X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A8X 3 core processor released in Q3/2014 with the Intel Core i7-9800X which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2018.
Apple A series (22) Family Intel Core i7 (298)
Apple A8/A8X (2) CPU group Intel Core i 9000X (8)
8 Generation 9
A8 Architecture Skylake X Refresh
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple A6X Predecessor --
Apple A9X Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A8X is a 3 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.50 GHz. The processor can compute 3 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-9800X clocks with 3.80 GHz (4.50 GHz), has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 16 threads in parallel.

Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Core i7-9800X
3 Cores 8
3 Threads 16
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
1.50 GHz Frequency 3.80 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.50 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.20 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 A8X Characteristic Intel Core i7-9800X
-- 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.

Apple A8X GPU no iGPU
0.45 GHz GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
5 GPU Generation --
20 nm Technology
1 Max. displays
32 Compute units --
256 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- 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.

Apple A8X GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2 GB of memory in a maximum of 1 memory channels is supported by the Apple A8X, while the Intel Core i7-9800X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 85.4 GB/s enabled.

Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Core i7-9800X
LPDDR3-1600 Memory DDR4-2666
2 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 85.4 GB/s
No ECC No
2.00 MB L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 16.50 MB
-- PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 44
-- PCIe Bandwidth 43.3 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple A8X has a TDP of 8 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-9800X is 165 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Core i7-9800X
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 165 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Apple A8X has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-9800X is at 16.50 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Core i7-9800X
20 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
-- Socket LGA 2066
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q3/2014 Release date Q4/2018
-- Release price --
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A8X (32%)
Intel Core i7-9800X (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple A8X (12%)
Intel Core i7-9800X (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
386 (33%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
1155 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
1075 (11%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
9402 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
427 (31%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
1372 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
959 (13%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
7654 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
2356 (13%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
18113 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
1271 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
13067 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
455 (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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
4338 (100%)

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 A8X Apple A8X
Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz
230 (100%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-9800X Intel Core i7-9800X
8C 16T @ 3.80 GHz
4467 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A8X Intel Core i7-9800X
Apple iPad Air 2 Unknown

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