Apple M1 vs Intel Core i9-7940X

Let's find out which one of Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Apple M1 Intel Core i9-7940X
• Segment
  Mobile Desktop / Server
• Family
  Apple M series Intel Core i9
• Generation
  1 7
• CPU group
  Apple M1 Intel Core i 7000X

In this block we are going to compare Apple M1 vs Intel Core i9-7940X by main technical specifications: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies, process technology and cache size. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

• Frequency
  3.20 GHz 3.10 GHz
• CPU Cores
  8 14
• Turbo (1 Core)
  No turbo 4.30 GHz
• CPU Threads
  8 28
• Hyperthreading
  No Yes
• Overclocking
  No Yes
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) normal
• A core
  4x Firestorm --
• B core
  4x Icestorm --

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  Apple M1 (8 Core) no iGPU
• GPU frequency
  3.20 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo No turbo
• Execution units
  128
• Max. GPU Memory
  8 GB --
• Max. displays
  2
• Generation
  1
• Technology
  5 nm
• Release date
  Q4/2020

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• h264
  Decode / Encode No
• VP9
  Decode / Encode No
• VP8
  Decode No
• AV1
  Decode No
• AVC
  Decode No
• VC-1
  Decode No
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode No

To choose the best model between Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X you need to pay special attention to memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4X-4266 DDR4-2666
• Max. Memory
  16 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 4
• PCIe version
  4.0 3.0
• PCIe lanes
  44

AES-NI encryption support for CPUs Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X.

• AES-NI
  Yes Yes

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Apple M1 or Intel Core i9-7940X? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

• TDP (PL1)
  15 W 165 W
• TDP up
  20 W --
• TDP down
  10 W --

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
• ISA extensions
  Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
• L2-Cache
  16.00 MB --
• L3-Cache
  -- 19.00 MB
• Architecture
  M1 Skylake X
• Technology
  5 nm 14 nm
• Socket
  N/A LGA 2066
• Release date
  Q4/2020 Q4/2017

List of devices based on Apple M1 and Intel Core i9-7940X.

• Used in
  Apple iMac 24 (2021)Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)Apple MacBook Air (2020)Apple Mac mini (2020)Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) Unknown