Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 vs Apple A8X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A8X
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Apple A8X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 and the Apple A8X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 4 core processor released in Q1/2017 with the Apple A8X which has 3 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2014.
Intel Xeon E3 (43) Family Apple A series (22)
Intel Xeon E3 v6 (10) CPU group Apple A8/A8X (2)
6 Generation 8
Kaby Lake S Architecture A8
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple A6X
-- Successor Apple A9X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.90 GHz (4.20 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Apple A8X clocks with 1.50 GHz, has 3 CPU cores and can calculate 3 threads in parallel.

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Characteristic Apple A8X
4 Cores 3
8 Threads 3
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.90 GHz Frequency 1.50 GHz
4.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
4.10 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Characteristic Apple A8X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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.

no iGPU GPU Apple A8X
GPU frequency 0.45 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 5
Technology 20 nm
Max. displays 1
-- Compute units 32
-- Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU Apple A8X
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 64 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6, while the Apple A8X supports a maximum of 2 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s enabled.

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Characteristic Apple A8X
DDR4-2400 Memory LPDDR3-1600
64 GB Max. Memory 2 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache 2.00 MB
8.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 has a TDP of 72 W. The TDP of the Apple A8X is 8 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Characteristic Apple A8X
72 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 8 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 has 8.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 14 nm. The cache of Apple A8X is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 20 nm.

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Characteristic Apple A8X
14 nm Technology 20 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions --
LGA 1151 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems iOS
Q1/2017 Release date Q3/2014
-- Release price --
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 (100%)
Apple A8X (32%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 (100%)
Apple A8X (25%)

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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.20 GHz
1218 (100%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
386 (32%)

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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
4710 (100%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
1075 (23%)

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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
8957 (100%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
2356 (26%)

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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
427 (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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
959 (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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz
230 (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.
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.20 GHz
187 (100%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 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 Xeon E3-1280 v6 Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6
4C 8T @ 4.10 GHz
927 (100%)
Apple A8X Apple A8X
3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Xeon E3-1280 v6 Apple A8X
Unknown Apple iPad Air 2

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