Apple M1 Max
VS
Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple M1 Max
VS
Intel Core i9-12900K

Which to select

It is time to pick the winner. What is the difference between Apple M1 Max vs Intel Core i9-12900K? What CPU is more powerful? It is quite easy to determine – look at comparison table. The processor with more cores/ threads and also with higher frequency is the absolute winner!

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Who will win between Apple M1 Max vs  Intel Core i9-12900K. The general performance of a CPU can easily be determined based on the number of its cores and the thread count, as well as the base frequency and Turbo frequency. The more GHz and cores a CPU has, the better. Please note that high technical specs require using a powerful cooling system.

3.20 GHz
Frequency
3.70 GHz
10
CPU Cores
16
No turbo
Turbo (1 Core)
5.30 GHz
No
Hyperthreading
Yes
No
Overclocking
Yes
no data
Turbo (16 Cores)
5.00 GHz
No turbo
Turbo (10 Cores)
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
8x Firestorm
A core
8x Golden Cove
2x Icestorm
B core
8x Gracemont
--
C core
--

CPU generation and family

Apple M1 Max
Name
Intel Core i9-12900K
Mobile
Segment
Desktop / Server
Apple M1
CPU group
Intel Core i 12000
Apple M series
Family
Intel Core i9
1
Generation
12
--
Predecessor
Intel Core i9-11900K
--
Successor
--

Internal Graphics

Some manufacturers complement their CPUs with graphic chips, such a solution being especially popular in laptops. The higher the clock frequency of a GPU is and the bigger its memory, the better. Find a winner - Apple M1 Max vs Intel Core i9-12900K. 

Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
GPU name
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S)
1.30 GHz
GPU frequency
0.40 GHz
No turbo
GPU (Turbo)
1.45 GHz
1
Generation
12
DirectX Version
12
4096
Execution units
32
0
Shader
256
3
Max. displays
3
5 nm
Technology
10 nm
Q3/2021
Release date
Q4/2021
32 GB
Max. GPU Memory
16 GB

Hardware codec support

Here we deal with specs that are used by some CPU manufacturers. These numbers are mainly technical and can be neglected for the purpose of the comparison analysis.

Decode / Encode
h264
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
JPEG
Decode / Encode
Decode
VP8
Decode
Decode / Encode
VP9
Decode / Encode
Decode
VC-1
Decode
Decode
AVC
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
Decode / Encode
No
AV1
Decode

Memory & PCIe

These are memory standards supported by CPUs. The higher such standards, the better a CPU’s performance is.

no data
Memory type
DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
no data
Max. Memory
256 GB
no data
Memory channels
2
no data
ECC
No
no data
PCIe version
5.0
no data
PCIe lanes
20

Encryption

Data encryption support

Yes
AES-NI
Yes

Memory & AMP; PCIe

LPDDR5-6400
Memory type
64 GB
Max. Memory
No
ECC
12
Memory channels
4.0
PCIe version

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often a CPU, GPU or system on a chip) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate under any workload.

--
Tjunction max.
100 °C
60 W
TDP up
--
--
TDP down
--
30 W
TDP (PL1)
125 W
--
TDP (PL2)
228 W / 56 s

Technical details

10
CPU Threads
24
--
L3-Cache
30.00 MB
5 nm
Technology
10 nm
M1
Architecture
Alder Lake S
None
Virtualization
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
N/A
Socket
LGA 1700
Q3/2021
Release date
Q4/2021
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
x86-64 (64 bit)
28.00 MB
L2-Cache
--
--
Part Number
--
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
ISA extensions
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512

Devices using this processor

You probably know already what devices use CPUs. These can be a desktop or a laptop.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Used in
Unknown

Compatibility

Technologies and extensions

Virtualization technologies

Memory specs

Peripherals

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is based on Cinema 4 Suite. It is the software used to create 3D forms. The benchmark runs for single-core test procedure without counting of hyperthreading ability.

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

It is the new version of the benchmark which is developed on the basis of Cinebench R15 (both versions are operated on the basis of Cinema 4 - the most popular 3D modeling software). Cinebench R20 is used for multi-core processor performance benchmark tests and hyperthreading ability.

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the newest instalment of the most popular CPU Rendering Benchmark Single-Core Cinebench. We have the Score Results for all modern Processors

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 benchmark is the newest software suit. Completely new algorithms provide the quite accurate benchmark testing results of the single-core CPU.

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 software suite shows benchmark testing results of the memory performance and speed of the multi-core processor. Here the hyperthreading ability is counted.

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

This test serves for determining the performance of integrated graphics in Intel and AMD processors. The result is the estimated computing power in the Single-Precision FP32 mode