Intel Xeon Gold 6138 vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Xeon Gold 6138 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)

CPU comparison

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 or Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) - 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 Xeon Gold 6138 has 20 cores with 40 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. Up to 768 GB of memory is supported in 6 memory channels. The Intel Xeon Gold 6138 was released in Q3/2017.

The Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) has 20 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) was released in Q1/2022.
Intel Xeon Gold (163) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Xeon Gold 5100/6100 (34) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
1 Generation 1
Skylake Architecture M1
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Apple M2 Ultra (60-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Xeon Gold 6138 is a 20 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.00 GHz (3.70 GHz). The Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) has 20 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20 Cores 20
40 Threads 20
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.00 GHz (3.70 GHz) A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
16x Firestorm
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

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 Xeon Gold 6138 Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 32 Neural cores @ 22 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.

no iGPU GPU Apple M1 Ultra (48 Core)
GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
Technology 5 nm
Max. displays 5
-- Compute units 768
-- Shader 6144
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 64 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 M1 Ultra (48 Core)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Xeon Gold 6138 supports a maximum of 768 GB of memory in 6 memory channels. The Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) can connect up to 128 GB of memory in 8 memory channels.

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
DDR4-2666 Memory LPDDR5-6400
768 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
6 (Hexa Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
128.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 819.2 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache 52.00 MB
28.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
48 PCIe lanes --
47.3 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Xeon Gold 6138 has a TDP of 125 W, that of the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) is 60 W.

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 60 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 120 W
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Xeon Gold 6138 has a 28.00 MB cache, while the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) cache has a total of 52.00 MB.

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
14 nm Technology 5 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
LGA 3647 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems macOS
Q3/2017 Release date Q1/2022
2750 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Xeon Gold 6138 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 (57%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 (57%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) (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 Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
1067 (60%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1793 (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 Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
15439 (64%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24055 (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 Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
1261 (53%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (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 Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
20226 (49%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
41059 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
114 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1624 (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.
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-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 multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24189 (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 Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
23970 (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 Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Apple M1 Ultra (48 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
15900 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
379 (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 Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 3.70 GHz
161 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.80 GHz
3069 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon Gold 6138
20C 40T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 0.60 GHz
22 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Unknown Apple Mac Studio (2022)

News and articles for the Intel Xeon Gold 6138 and the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)


Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)Apple M2 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) vs Apple M2
2. Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) vs Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
3. AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WXApple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
4. Intel Core i9-7940XIntel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Core i9-7940X vs Intel Xeon Gold 6138
5. AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990XApple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
6. Intel Xeon Gold 6138Intel Xeon Gold 6144 Intel Xeon Gold 6138 vs Intel Xeon Gold 6144
7. Intel Xeon Gold 6138Intel Xeon Gold 6148 Intel Xeon Gold 6138 vs Intel Xeon Gold 6148
8. Intel Xeon Gold 6138Intel Core i5-7287U Intel Xeon Gold 6138 vs Intel Core i5-7287U
9. Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
10. Intel Xeon E5-2687W v4Intel Xeon Gold 6138 Intel Xeon E5-2687W v4 vs Intel Xeon Gold 6138


back to index