Apple A9X vs AMD RX-421BD

Comparative analysis of Apple A9X and AMD RX-421BD 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), GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps).

Apple A9X

AMD RX-421BD

Differences

Reasons to consider the Apple A9X

CPU is newer: launch date 10 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 16 nm vs 28 nm
Around 50% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Launch date	7 Sep 2016 vs 21 October 2015
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm vs 28 nm
L2 cache	3 MB (shared) vs 2 MB

Reasons to consider the AMD RX-421BD

2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
2 more threads: 4 vs 2
Around 150342% higher clock speed: 3400 MHz vs 2.26 GHz
2560x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later

Number of cores	4 vs 2
Number of threads	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3400 MHz vs 2.26 GHz
L1 cache	320 KB vs 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Apple A9X
CPU 2: AMD RX-421BD

Name	Apple A9X	AMD RX-421BD
PassMark - Single thread mark	1509
PassMark - CPU mark	2514
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		3.817
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		10.518
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.189
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		0.608
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		4.623
GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Frames)		8
GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Frames)		1942
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames)		7025
GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Fps)		8
GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Fps)		1942
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps)		7025

Compare specifications (specs)

	Apple A9X	AMD RX-421BD
Essentials
Architecture codename	Twister	Merlin Falcon
Launch date	7 Sep 2016	21 October 2015
OS Support	iOS 9.1, iOS 15.7.5, iPadOS 16.4.1, tvOS 16.2
Place in performance rating	1697	1721
Processor Number	APL1W24	RX-421BD
Family		AMD R-Series
Vertical segment		Embedded
Performance
Base frequency	2.16 GHz	2100 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB instruction + 64 KB data (per core)	320 KB
L2 cache	3 MB (shared)	2 MB
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	28 nm
Maximum frequency	2.26 GHz	3400 MHz
Number of cores	2	4
Number of threads	2	4
Transistor count	3 billion
64 bit support
Die size		1073 mm2
Memory
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.2 GB/s	38.4 GB/s
Maximum memory size	4 GB
Supported memory types	LPDDR4-3200	DDR3-2133, DDR4-2400
ECC memory support
Graphics
Execution Units	48
Graphics base frequency	650 MHz	800 MHz
iGPU core count	12
Processor graphics	Custom PowerVR Series7XT	Radeon R7 series
Number of pipelines		512
Unified Video Decoder (UVD)
Video Codec Engine (VCE)
Graphics interfaces
DisplayPort
DVI
eDP
HDMI
Number of displays supported		3
Graphics API support
DirectX		12
OpenGL		4.4
Compatibility
Configurable TDP		12-35 Watt
Package Size		micro-BGA
Sockets supported		BGA (FP4)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)		35 Watt
Peripherals
PCI Express revision		3.0
UART
USB revision		3.0
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP)
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Fused Multiply-Add 4 (FMA4)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)