Apple A9X vs Intel Core i7-2657M

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple A9X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-2657M
Apple A9X Intel Core i7-2657M

CPU comparison

Apple A9X or Intel Core i7-2657M - 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 i7-2657M has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.70 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-2657M was released in Q1/2011.
Apple A series (22) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
Apple A9/A9X (2) CPU group Intel Core i 2000M (46)
9 Generation 2
A9 Architecture Sandy Bridge H
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple A8X Predecessor --
Apple A10X Fusion Successor --

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 i7-2657M has 2 CPU cores and 4 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-2657M is at 1.60 GHz (2.70 GHz).

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i7-2657M
2 Cores 2
2 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
2.26 GHz Frequency 1.60 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 2.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

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 i7-2657M
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Apple A9X or Intel Core i7-2657M 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 HD Graphics 3000
0.65 GHz GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.00 GHz
6 GPU Generation 6
16 nm Technology 32 nm
1 Max. displays 2
48 Compute units 12
384 Shader 96
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- DirectX Version 10.1

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 HD Graphics 3000
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

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 i7-2657M supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i7-2657M
LPDDR4-3200 Memory DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333
4 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
3.00 MB L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
-- PCIe version 2.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple A9X is 8 W, while the Intel Core i7-2657M has a TDP of 17 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i7-2657M
8 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 17 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 i7-2657M is manufactured in 32 nm and has a 4.00 MB cache.

Apple A9X Characteristic Intel Core i7-2657M
16 nm Technology 32 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
-- Socket BGA 1023
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
No AES-NI Yes
iOS Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2015 Release date Q1/2011
-- Release price 270 $
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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 A9X Apple A9X
Apple A9X @ 0.65 GHz
499 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.00 GHz
192 (38%)

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 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2657M Intel Core i7-2657M
2C 4T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple A9X Intel Core i7-2657M
Apple iPad Pro (1. Gen) Unknown

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