Xeon E5-1603 vs Apple M2

Aggregate performance score

Apple M2
2022
8 cores / 8 threads, 20 Watt
9.58
+332%
Xeon E5-1603
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 130 Watt
2.22

Apple M2 outperforms Xeon E5-1603 by a whopping 332% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking8071837
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopServer
SeriesApple Apple M-Seriesno data
Power efficiency44.491.59
Release date10 June 2022 (2 years ago)1 January 2012 (12 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores8 (Octa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.424 GHz2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed3.48 GHzno data
Bus rateno data0 GT/s
L1 cache2 MBno data
L2 cache20 MBno data
L3 cacheno data10 MB
Chip lithography5 nm32 nm
Maximum core temperatureno data64 °C
Number of transistors20000 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibilityno data-
VID voltage rangeno data0.6V - 1.35V

Compatibility

Information on Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configurationno data1
Socketno dataFCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)20 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® AVX
AES-NI-+
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data-
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data-
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switchingno data+

Security technologies

Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603 are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR3-800, DDR3-1066
Maximum memory sizeno data375 GB
Max memory channelsno data4
Maximum memory bandwidthno data31.4 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardApple M2 10-Core GPU ( - 1398 MHz)no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data40

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Apple M2 9.58
+332%
Xeon E5-1603 2.22

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Apple M2 14933
+331%
Xeon E5-1603 3463

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 9.58 2.22
Recency 10 June 2022 1 January 2012
Physical cores 8 4
Threads 8 4
Chip lithography 5 nm 32 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 20 Watt 130 Watt

Apple M2 has a 331.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, a 540% more advanced lithography process, and 550% lower power consumption.

The Apple M2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E5-1603 in performance tests.

Be aware that Apple M2 is a notebook processor while Xeon E5-1603 is a server/workstation one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M2 and Xeon E5-1603, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Apple M2
M2
Intel Xeon E5-1603
Xeon E5-1603

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Community ratings

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