Apple A9 vs AMD EPYC 7401

Comparative analysis of Apple A9 and AMD EPYC 7401 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Compatibility, Peripherals, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

Apple A9

AMD EPYC 7401

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD EPYC 7401

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 8 month(s) later
Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
22 more cores, run more applications at once: 24 vs 2
46 more threads: 48 vs 2
Around 62% higher clock speed: 3 GHz vs 1.85 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 14 nm vs 16 nm
18432x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
4x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
16x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 56% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1850 vs 1187
26.7x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 55280 vs 2069

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	June 2017 vs 9 Sep 2015
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	24 vs 2
Number of threads	48 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3 GHz vs 1.85 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm vs 16 nm
L1 cache	96 KB (per core) vs 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 3 MB (shared)
L3 cache	64 MB vs 4 MB (shared)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1850 vs 1187
PassMark - CPU mark	55280 vs 2069

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Apple A9
CPU 2: AMD EPYC 7401

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1187

1850

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2069

55280

Name	Apple A9	AMD EPYC 7401
PassMark - Single thread mark	1187	1850
PassMark - CPU mark	2069	55280
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		3541
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		24681

Compare specifications (specs)

	Apple A9	AMD EPYC 7401
Essentials
Architecture codename	Twister	Zen
Launch date	9 Sep 2015	June 2017
OS Support	iOS 9.0, iOS 15.7.5, iPadOS 16.4.1, tvOS 16.2
Place in performance rating	2059	134
Processor Number	APL1021
Family		AMD EPYC
Series		AMD EPYC 7000 Series
Vertical segment		Server
Performance
Base frequency	1.85 GHz	2 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)	96 KB (per core)
L2 cache	3 MB (shared)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	64 MB
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	1.85 GHz	3 GHz
Number of cores	2	24
Number of threads	2	48
Transistor count	2 billion	4800 million
64 bit support
Die size		192 mm
Unlocked
Memory
Max memory channels	1	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	307/341 GB/s
Maximum memory size	2 GB
Supported memory types	LPDDR4-3200	DDR4
Supported memory frequency		2400/2666 MHz
Graphics
Execution Units	24
Graphics base frequency	650 MHz
iGPU core count	6
Processor graphics	Custom PowerVR Series 7XT @ 650MHz
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		2
Socket Count		1P/2P
Sockets supported		TR4
Thermal Design Power (TDP)		155/170 Watt
Peripherals
PCI Express revision		x128
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)