Apple A8X vs Intel Xeon W-1290P

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A8X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Xeon W-1290P
Apple A8X Intel Xeon W-1290P

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple A8X and the Intel Xeon W-1290P and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple A8X 3 core processor released in Q3/2014 with the Intel Xeon W-1290P which has 10 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2020.
Apple A series (22) Family Intel Xeon W (83)
Apple A8/A8X (2) CPU group Intel Xeon W-1200 (13)
8 Generation 10
A8 Architecture Comet Lake W
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 Xeon W-1290P clocks with 3.70 GHz (5.30 GHz), has 10 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel.
Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Xeon W-1290P
3 Cores 10
3 Threads 20
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
1.50 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 5.30 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.40 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 Xeon W-1290P
-- 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 Intel UHD Graphics P630
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.20 GHz
5 GPU Generation 9.5
20 nm Technology 14 nm
1 Max. displays 3
32 Compute units 24
256 Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory 64 GB
-- 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.
Apple A8X GPU Intel UHD Graphics P630
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2 GB of memory in a maximum of 1 memory channels is supported by the Apple A8X, while the Intel Xeon W-1290P supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s enabled.
Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Xeon W-1290P
LPDDR3-1600 Memory DDR4-2933
2 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
1 (Single Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
12.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 46.9 GB/s
No ECC Yes
2.00 MB L2 Cache 20.00 MB
4.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple A8X has a TDP of 8 W. The TDP of the Intel Xeon W-1290P is 125 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.
Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Xeon W-1290P
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 125 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down 95 W
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple A8X has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 20 nm. The cache of Intel Xeon W-1290P is at 20.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.
Apple A8X Characteristic Intel Xeon W-1290P
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
-- Socket LGA 1200
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2014 Release date Q2/2020
-- Release price 539 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple A8X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Xeon W-1290P to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A8X (24%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple A8X (10%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P (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 (25%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
1522 (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 (9%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
10C 20T @ 4.40 GHz
11689 (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 (23%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
1854 (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 (10%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
10C 20T @ 4.40 GHz
10012 (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 (50%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
Intel UHD Graphics P630 @ 1.20 GHz
461 (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 (10%)
Intel Xeon W-1290P Intel Xeon W-1290P
10C 20T @ 4.40 GHz
22744 (100%)

Devices using this processor
Apple A8X Intel Xeon W-1290P
Apple iPad Air 2 Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple A8XApple A12 Bionic Apple A8X vs Apple A12 Bionic
2. Apple A8XApple A10 Fusion Apple A8X vs Apple A10 Fusion
3. Apple A8XApple A9 Apple A8X vs Apple A9
4. Apple A13 BionicApple A8X Apple A13 Bionic vs Apple A8X
5. Apple A8XApple A14 Bionic Apple A8X vs Apple A14 Bionic
6. Apple A8XApple M1 Apple A8X vs Apple M1
7. Apple A8XApple A8 Apple A8X vs Apple A8
8. Apple A8XApple A9X Apple A8X vs Apple A9X
9. Apple A7Apple A8X Apple A7 vs Apple A8X
10. Apple A8XApple A10X Fusion Apple A8X vs Apple A10X Fusion


back to index