Apple A9X vs Intel Core i9-10900

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A9X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i9-10900
Apple A9X Intel Core i9-10900

CPU comparison

Apple A9X or Intel Core i9-10900 - 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 A9X has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.26 GHz. Up to 4 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple A9X was released in Q3/2015.

The Intel Core i9-10900 has 10 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-10900 was released in Q2/2020.
Apple A series (22) Family Intel Core i9 (78)
Apple A9/A9X (2) CPU group Intel Core i 10000 (43)
9 Generation 10
A9 Architecture Comet Lake S
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple A8X Predecessor Intel Core i9-9900
Apple A10X Fusion Successor Intel Core i9-11900

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple A9X has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple A9X is 2.26 GHz while the Intel Core i9-10900 has 10 CPU cores and 20 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-10900 is at 2.80 GHz (5.20 GHz).

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i9-10900
2 Cores 10
2 Threads 20
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
2.26 GHz Frequency 2.80 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 5.20 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.60 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 A9X Characteristic Intel Core i9-10900
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Apple A9X or Intel Core i9-10900 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.

Apple A9X GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
0.65 GHz GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.20 GHz
6 GPU Generation 9.5
16 nm Technology 14 nm
1 Max. displays 3
48 Compute units 24
384 Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 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 A9X GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode 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

The Apple A9X can use up to 4 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i9-10900 supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 46.9 GB/s.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i9-10900
LPDDR4-3200 Memory DDR4-2933
4 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 46.9 GB/s
No ECC No
3.00 MB L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 20.00 MB
-- PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A9X is 8 W, while the Intel Core i9-10900 has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i9-10900
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple A9X is manufactured in 16 nm and has 7.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i9-10900 is manufactured in 14 nm and has a 20.00 MB cache.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i9-10900
16 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, Windows 11, Linux
Q3/2015 Release date Q2/2020
-- Release price 439 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple A9X (47%)
Intel Core i9-10900 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple A9X (12%)
Intel Core i9-10900 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
652 (47%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 5.20 GHz
1379 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
1198 (11%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
10744 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
763 (46%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 5.20 GHz
1662 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
1251 (14%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
8972 (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 A9X Apple A9X
Apple A9X @ 0.65 GHz
499 (100%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.20 GHz
461 (92%)

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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
2501 (12%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
20233 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 5.20 GHz
1354 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 5.20 GHz
529 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
6378 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
272103 (100%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
562 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 2.80 GHz
6781 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 5.20 GHz
231 (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 A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-10900 Intel Core i9-10900
10C 20T @ 4.60 GHz
2541 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A9X Intel Core i9-10900
Apple iPad Pro (1. Gen) Unknown

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