Apple M1 vs A8-3870K

Place in the ranking	2156	1190
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Apple Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	1.39	no data
Architecture codename	Llano (2011−2012)	no data
Release date	20 December 2011 (12 years ago)	10 November 2020 (3 years ago)

Detailed specifications

A8-3870K and Apple M1 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	4 (Quad-Core)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	4	8
Base clock speed	3 GHz	2.064 GHz
Boost clock speed	3 GHz	3.2 GHz
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	2 MB
L2 cache	1 MB (per core)	16 MB
L3 cache	0 KB	16 MB
Chip lithography	32 nm	5 nm
Die size	228 mm²	no data
Number of transistors	1,178 million	16000 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on A8-3870K and Apple M1 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	1	no data
Socket	FM1	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A8-3870K and Apple M1 are enumerated here.

AMD-V

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A8-3870K and Apple M1. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types

DDR3

no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare

AMD Radeon HD 6550D

Apple M1 8-Core GPU

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.

A8-3870K 1.52

Apple M1 5.36
+253%

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.

A8-3870K 2328

Apple M1 8207
+253%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.52	5.36
Integrated graphics card	1.04	14.54
Recency	20 December 2011	10 November 2020
Physical cores	4	8
Threads	4	8
Chip lithography	32 nm	5 nm

Apple M1 has a 252.6% higher aggregate performance score, 1298.1% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 8 years, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and a 540% more advanced lithography process.

The Apple M1 is our recommended choice as it beats the A8-3870K in performance tests.

Note that A8-3870K is a desktop processor while Apple M1 is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between A8-3870K and Apple M1, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.