Apple A9 vs AMD RX-225FB

Comparative analysis of Apple A9 and AMD RX-225FB processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Graphics API support, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

Apple A9

AMD RX-225FB

Differences

Reasons to consider the Apple A9

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 3 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 16 nm vs 28 nm
3x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 49% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1187 vs 794
2.3x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2067 vs 892

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	9 Sep 2015 vs 20 May 2014
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm vs 28 nm
L2 cache	3 MB (shared) vs 1 MB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1187 vs 794
PassMark - CPU mark	2067 vs 892

Reasons to consider the AMD RX-225FB

Around 162062% higher clock speed: 3000 MHz vs 1.85 GHz
1024x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later

Maximum frequency	3000 MHz vs 1.85 GHz
L1 cache	128 KB vs 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Apple A9
CPU 2: AMD RX-225FB

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1187

794

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2067

892

Name	Apple A9	AMD RX-225FB
PassMark - Single thread mark	1187	794
PassMark - CPU mark	2067	892
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		6.411
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		175.137
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.606
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		7.094
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		25.166

Compare specifications (specs)

	Apple A9	AMD RX-225FB
Essentials
Architecture codename	Twister	Bald Eagle
Launch date	9 Sep 2015	20 May 2014
OS Support	iOS 9.0, iOS 15.7.5, iPadOS 16.4.1, tvOS 16.2
Place in performance rating	2056	2104
Processor Number	APL1021	RX-225FB
Family		AMD R-Series
Vertical segment		Embedded
Performance
Base frequency	1.85 GHz	2200 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	3 MB (shared)	1 MB
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	28 nm
Maximum frequency	1.85 GHz	3000 MHz
Number of cores	2	2
Number of threads	2	2
Transistor count	2 billion
64 bit support
Die size		928 mm2
Memory
Max memory channels	1	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size	2 GB
Supported memory types	LPDDR4-3200	DDR3-1600
Graphics
Execution Units	24
Graphics base frequency	650 MHz	464 MHz
iGPU core count	6
Processor graphics	Custom PowerVR Series 7XT @ 650MHz	Radeon R4 Graphics
Graphics max frequency		533 MHz
Number of pipelines		192
Unified Video Decoder (UVD)
Video Codec Engine (VCE)
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		4
Graphics API support
DirectX		11.1
OpenGL		4.2
Compatibility
Configurable TDP		15-17 Watt
Package Size		micro-BGA
Sockets supported		BGA (FP3)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)		17 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		16
PCI Express revision		3.0
Advanced Technologies
AMD Mantle API
Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP)
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Fused Multiply-Add 4 (FMA4)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)