Intel Core i5-8279U vs Apple A17 Pro

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-8279U CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A17 Pro
Intel Core i5-8279U Apple A17 Pro

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-8279U or Apple A17 Pro - 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 Intel Core i5-8279U has 4 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.10 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-8279U was released in Q2/2019.

The Apple A17 Pro has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.78 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A17 Pro was released in Q3/2023.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Apple A series (22)
Intel Core i 8000U (8) CPU group Apple A17 (1)
8 Generation 17
Coffee Lake U Architecture A17
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A16 Bionic
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-8279U is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.40 GHz (4.10 GHz). The Apple A17 Pro has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.78 GHz.

Intel Core i5-8279U Characteristic Apple A17 Pro
4 Cores 6
8 Threads 6
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.40 GHz (4.10 GHz) A-Core 3.78 GHz
-- B-Core 2.11 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.

Intel Core i5-8279U Characteristic Apple A17 Pro
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU Apple A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores)
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 1.40 GHz
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
9.5 GPU Generation --
14 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 3
48 Compute units 24
384 Shader 768
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory 6 GB
12 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.

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU Apple A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores)
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 / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-8279U supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A17 Pro can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 1 memory channels.

Intel Core i5-8279U Characteristic Apple A17 Pro
DDR4-2400 Memory LPDDR5-6400
32 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 20.00 MB
6.00 MB L3 Cache 24.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i5-8279U has a TDP of 28 W, that of the Apple A17 Pro is 11 W.

Intel Core i5-8279U Characteristic Apple A17 Pro
28 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 11 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-8279U has a 6.00 MB cache, while the Apple A17 Pro cache has a total of 44.00 MB.

Intel Core i5-8279U Characteristic Apple A17 Pro
14 nm Technology 3 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.6-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions --
BGA 1528 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems iOS
Q2/2019 Release date Q3/2023
320 $ Release price --
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-8279U to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.5 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple A17 Pro to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.9 stars (88 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-8279U (46%)
Apple A17 Pro (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-8279U (63%)
Apple A17 Pro (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
1035 (48%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
2140 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
3953 (67%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
5868 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
1255 (43%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
2952 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
4382 (59%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
7462 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 @ 1.15 GHz
883 (41%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
Apple A17 Pro (6 GPU Cores) @ 1.40 GHz
2147 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
402 (100%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
1702 (100%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)

AnTuTu 10 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 10 benchmark is one of the best-known benchmarks for mobile processors, which is now available in version 10. There is a version for Android-based smartphones and tablets, as well as a version for Apple mobile devices, i.e. iPhones and iPads.

The Antutu 10 benchmark has 3 phases. In the first phase, the device's RAM is tested, in phase 2 the graphics are tested and in the final phase the entire device is pushed to its performance limits by rendering 3D graphics.

Antutu 10 is therefore ideal for comparing the performance of different devices.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
1488440 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
1108570 (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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
7965 (100%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
171 (100%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
782 (100%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Intel Core i5-8279U Intel Core i5-8279U
4C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A17 Pro Apple A17 Pro
6C 6T @ 3.78 GHz
35 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-8279U Apple A17 Pro
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2019) Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

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