Intel Core i9-12900K
VS
Apple M2
Intel Core i9-12900K
VS
Apple M2

Which to select

It is time to pick the winner. What is the difference between Intel Core i9-12900K vs Apple M2? 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 Intel Core i9-12900K vs  Apple M2. 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.

3.70 GHz
Frequency
3.50 GHz
16
CPU Cores
8
5.30 GHz
Turbo (1 Core)
No turbo
Yes
Hyperthreading
No
Yes
Overclocking
No
Turbo (8 Cores)
No turbo
5.00 GHz
Turbo (16 Cores)
no data
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
8x Golden Cove
A core
4x Unknown
8x Gracemont
B core
4x Unknown
--
C core
--

CPU generation and family

Intel Core i9-12900K
Name
Apple M2
Desktop / Server
Segment
Mobile
Intel Core i 12000
CPU group
Apple M2
Intel Core i9
Family
Apple M series
12
Generation
2
Intel Core i9-11900K
Predecessor
--
--
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 - Intel Core i9-12900K vs Apple M2. 

Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S)
GPU name
Apple M2 (8 Core)
0.40 GHz
GPU frequency
3.50 GHz
1.45 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
No turbo
12
Generation
2
12
DirectX Version
32
Execution units
128
256
Shader
0
3
Max. displays
3
10 nm
Technology
5 nm
Q4/2021
Release date
Q1/2022
16 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 / Encode
AVC
Decode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode
AV1
Decode

Memory & PCIe

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

DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
Memory type
LPDDR5-5500
256 GB
Max. Memory
16 GB
2
Memory channels
2
No
ECC
No
5.0
PCIe version
4.0
20
PCIe lanes

Encryption

Data encryption support

Yes
AES-NI
Yes

Memory & AMP; PCIe

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.

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

Technical details

24
CPU Threads
8
30.00 MB
L3-Cache
--
10 nm
Technology
5 nm
Alder Lake S
Architecture
M2
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Virtualization
None
LGA 1700
Socket
N/A
Q4/2021
Release date
Q1/2022
x86-64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
--
L2-Cache
16.00 MB
--
Part Number
--
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
ISA extensions
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation

Devices using this processor

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

Unknown
Used in
Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)

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.