Apple M3 | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U | |
CPU comparisonApple M3 or AMD Athlon Silver 7120U - 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 M3 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. Up to 24 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M3 was released in Q4/2023. The AMD Athlon Silver 7120U has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Athlon Silver 7120U was released in Q3/2022. |
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Apple M series (25) | Family | AMD Athlon (29) |
Apple M3 (6) | CPU group | AMD Athlon Silver 7000 (2) |
3 | Generation | 5 |
M3 | Architecture | Mendocino (Zen2) |
Mobile | Segment | Mobile |
Apple M2 | Predecessor | -- |
Apple M4 | Successor | -- |
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CPU Cores and Base FrequencyThe Apple M3 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M3 is 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz) while the AMD Athlon Silver 7120U has 2 CPU cores and 2 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Athlon Silver 7120U is at 2.40 GHz (3.50 GHz). |
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Apple M3 | Characteristic | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
8 | Cores | 2 |
8 | Threads | 2 |
hybrid (big.LITTLE) | Core architecture | normal |
No | Hyperthreading | No |
No | Overclocking ? | No |
0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz) 4x P-Core |
A-Core | 2.40 GHz (3.50 GHz) |
0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz) 4x E-Core |
B-Core | -- |
Artificial Intelligence and Machine LearningProcessors 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. |
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Apple M3 | Characteristic | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
Apple Neural Engine | AI hardware | -- |
16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS | AI specifications | -- |
Internal GraphicsThe Apple M3 or AMD Athlon Silver 7120U 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. |
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Apple M3 (10 Core) | GPU | AMD Radeon 610M |
0.39 GHz | GPU frequency | 0.40 GHz |
1.40 GHz | GPU (Turbo) | 1.90 GHz |
3 | GPU Generation | 9 |
3 nm | Technology | 6 nm |
2 | Max. displays | 3 |
160 | Compute units | 2 |
1280 | Shader | 128 |
Yes | Hardware Raytracing | Yes |
No | Frame Generation | No |
24 GB | Max. GPU Memory | 8 GB |
-- | DirectX Version | 12 |
Hardware codec supportA 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. |
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Apple M3 (10 Core) | GPU | AMD Radeon 610M |
Decode / Encode | Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) | Decode / Encode |
Decode / Encode | Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) | Decode / Encode |
Decode / Encode | Codec h264 | Decode / Encode |
Decode / Encode | Codec VP9 | Decode / Encode |
Decode | Codec VP8 | Decode / Encode |
Decode | Codec AV1 | Decode |
Decode | Codec AVC | Decode / Encode |
Decode | Codec VC-1 | Decode |
Decode / Encode | Codec JPEG | Decode / Encode |
Memory & PCIeThe Apple M3 can use up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 102.4 GB/s. The AMD Athlon Silver 7120U supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 44.0 GB/s. |
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Apple M3 | Characteristic | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
LPDDR5-6400 | Memory | LPDDR5-5500 |
24 GB | Max. Memory | 16 GB |
2 (Dual Channel) | Memory channels | 2 (Dual Channel) |
102.4 GB/s | Max. Bandwidth | 44.0 GB/s |
No | ECC | Yes |
20.00 MB | L2 Cache | 1.00 MB |
-- | L3 Cache | 2.00 MB |
4.0 | PCIe version | 3.0 |
-- | PCIe lanes | 4 |
-- | PCIe Bandwidth | 3.9 GB/s |
Thermal ManagementThe thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M3 is 22 W, while the AMD Athlon Silver 7120U has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently. |
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Apple M3 | Characteristic | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
22 W | TDP (PL1 / PBP) | 15 W |
-- | TDP (PL2) | -- |
-- | TDP up | -- |
15 W | TDP down | -- |
100 °C | Tjunction max. | 95 °C |
Technical detailsThe Apple M3 is manufactured in 3 nm and has 20.00 MB cache. The AMD Athlon Silver 7120U is manufactured in 6 nm and has a 3.00 MB cache. |
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Apple M3 | Characteristic | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
3 nm | Technology | 6 nm |
Chiplet | Chip design | Unknown |
Armv8-A (64 bit) | Instruction set (ISA) | x86-64 (64 bit) |
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation | ISA extensions | SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 |
-- | Socket | FT6 |
Apple Virtualization Framework | Virtualization | AMD-V, SVM |
Yes | AES-NI | Yes |
macOS, iPadOS | Operating systems | Windows 11, Linux |
Q4/2023 | Release date | Q3/2022 |
-- | Release price | -- |
show more data | show more data | |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz |
Apple M3
Apple M3 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
AMD Radeon 610M @ 1.90 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz |
Apple M3
10,437 CB R23 MC @ 22 W |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2.40 GHz |
Apple M3
8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz |
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AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz |
Devices using this processor |
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Apple M3 | AMD Athlon Silver 7120U |
Apple iMac 24 (2023) | Unknown |