Xeon 656 vs Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 632 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Server |
| Series | Apple M3 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 21.46 | no data |
| Designer | Apple | Intel |
| Manufacturer | no data | Intel |
| Architecture codename | no data | Granite Rapids (2024−2026) |
| Release date | 30 October 2023 (2 years ago) | 2 February 2026 (recently) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $1,399 |
Detailed specifications
M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656 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 cores | 12 (Dodeca-Core) | 20 (Icosa-Core) |
| Performance-cores | no data | 20 |
| Threads | 12 | 40 |
| Base clock speed | 2.748 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.06 GHz | 4.8 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 0 GT/s |
| L1 cache | no data | 112 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | no data | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 72 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | Intel 3 nm |
| Die size | no data | 2x 598 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 74 °C |
| Number of transistors | 37000 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656 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 configuration | no data | 1 |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA4710 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 210 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| SGX | no data | - |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR5(6400MT/s) |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 4 TB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 8 |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon 656.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 128 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 30 October 2023 | 2 February 2026 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 20 |
| Threads | 12 | 40 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 210 Watt |
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core has 677.8% lower power consumption.
Xeon 656, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and 66.7% more physical cores and 233.3% more threads.
We couldn't decide between Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Intel Xeon 656. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is a notebook processor while Xeon 656 is a server/workstation one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
