The single-core performance of the A19 chip in the iPhone 17 crushes desktop CPUs and tops the PassMark.

At the beginning of this month, Apple introduced the latest generation of iPhones at its fall product launch event, which are powered by the company's latest A19 chip. The standard iPhone 17 comes with the standard - edition A19, while the iPhone 17 Air and Pro series are equipped with the A19 Pro. Simply put, this is currently the most powerful chip Apple can offer.

Recently, PassMark, an established performance testing agency, conducted a single - core performance test on the A19 chip. The results showed that the A19 scored the highest among all tested chips, even outperforming some desktop CPUs. Even more surprisingly, while achieving such high performance, it consumes less power and still uses passive cooling (no fan required). In terms of single - core performance, the A19 is currently the fastest CPU.

PassMark's single - core performance test mainly measures the computational ability of a processor when running on a single core. It assigns scores by simulating common tasks such as data processing, logical operations, and compression/decompression. Since many daily applications (such as opening software, loading web pages, and simple calculations) mainly rely on single - core performance, this score reflects the "smoothness in daily use" of the chip to some extent.

The test results showed that the scores of the A19 and A19 Pro were quite similar. The A19 scored 5149 points in single - core performance, firmly ranking first. The A19 Pro scored slightly lower, at 5088 points. This is also in line with expectations, as they use the same type of cores but differ in quantity.

Even more surprisingly, the A19's performance exceeded that of some large - sized desktop chips, including Apple's own M3 Ultra (28 - core and 32 - core versions), Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K, and even AMD's EPYC 4585PX. All of these chips require fans for significant heat dissipation.

After the test results were announced, some netizens raised doubts, stating that the actual power consumption of these CPUs during single - core operation is much lower than their officially stated Thermal Design Power (TDP). TDP is actually just the "theoretical maximum power consumption" and does not equal the actual power consumption of the chip during single - core operation.

In response, PassMark provided estimates: the A19 consumes approximately 4W in single - core operation, the Intel 285K about 44W, and the AMD EPYC about 56W. Even if there are deviations in these estimates, the gap among the three is still significant, and the A19's lead in energy efficiency is undeniable.

However, in terms of multi - core performance, the A19 is not as good as desktop CPUs, which is expected since mobile phone chips have a limited number of cores and less computing power compared to desktop processors. Considering that the iPhone 17 does not use a fan or a vapor chamber, its performance is still quite remarkable.

Technical experts also reminded that the PassMark test should not be regarded as an absolute standard, but the conclusion is clear: Apple leads again in single - core performance.

Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/apples-a19-becomes-the-fastest-single-core-cpu-in-the-world-on-passmark-beating-pc-chips-and-apples-own-m3-ultra-passively-cooled-iphone-17-chip-catapults-past-power-hungry-competitors

This article is from the WeChat official account "CSDN". Compiled by Su Mi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.