Xeon E3-1280 vs Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
Aggregate performance score
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core outperforms Xeon E3-1280 by a whopping 365% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 393 | 1512 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 1.06 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Server |
| Series | Apple M3 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 57.62 | 3.52 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) |
| Release date | 30 October 2023 (1 year ago) | 3 April 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $450 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280 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) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2.748 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.06 GHz | 3.9 GHz |
| L1 cache | no data | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | no data | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 8 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | no data | 216 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 74 °C |
| Number of transistors | 37000 Million | 1,160 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | - |
Compatibility
Information on Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280 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 | LGA1155 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | + |
| FDI | no data | - |
| Fast Memory Access | no data | + |
Security technologies
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280 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 Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 21 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 20 |
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 17.06 | 3.67 |
| Recency | 30 October 2023 | 3 April 2011 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 4 |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 32 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core has a 364.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, 200% more physical cores and 50% more threads, a 966.7% more advanced lithography process, and 251.9% lower power consumption.
The Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1280 in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is a notebook processor while Xeon E3-1280 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Xeon E3-1280, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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