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Intel Core i9 12900K vs Apple M1 Ultra

Intel Core i9 12900K
VS
Apple M1 Ultra
Intel Core i9 12900K
Apple M1 Ultra

We compared two desktop CPUs: the 3,2 GHz Intel Core i9 12900K with 16-cores against the 3.2 GHz Apple M1 Ultra with 20-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (4)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of electricity consumption
NanoReview Final Score
Generic CPU rating

Key Differences

What are the key differences between Ultra and 12900K
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12900K
  • Unlocked multiplier
  • 12% faster in a single-core Geekbench v5 test - 1982 vs 1772 points
Advantages of Apple M1 Ultra
  • Around 723.2 GB/s (942%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • More modern manufacturing process – 5 versus 10 nanometers
  • Has 4 more physical cores

Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs in benchmarks
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Core i9 12900K +32%
2006
M1 Ultra
1514
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12900K +15%
27427
M1 Ultra
23916
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Core i9 12900K +8%
4213
M1 Ultra
3888
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12900K +1%
41598
M1 Ultra
41061
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Core i9 12900K +12%
1991
M1 Ultra
1772
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12900K
17270
M1 Ultra +38%
23912
Submit your Cinebench R23 result

Specifications

Full technical specification of Intel Core i9 12900K and Apple M1 Ultra

General

Vendor Intel Apple
Released October 27, 2021 March 8, 2022
Type Desktop Desktop
instruction set x86-64 ARMv8
Codename Alder Lake Apple M1
Model number i9-12900K APL1106/APL1W06
Integrated GPU UHD Graphics 770 Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 8 16
P-Threads 16 16
Base Frequency (P) 3,2 GHz 3.2 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) 5.1 GHz -
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 8 4
E-Threads 8 4
Base Frequency (E) 2.4 GHz 2.1 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (E) 3.9 GHz -
Total
Total Cores 16 20
Total Threads 24 20
Bus Frequency 100 MHz -
Multiplier 32x -
L1 Cache 64K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 14MB (shared) 48MB (shared)
L3 Cache 30MB (shared) -
Unlocked Multiplier Yes No

Package

Transistors - 114 billions
Fabrication process 10 nm 5 nm
Socket LGA-1700 Apple M-Socket
TDP 125 W 60 W
Peak temperature 100°C -

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Intel UHD Graphics 770 Apple M1 Ultra GPU (64-core)
GPU Base Clock 300 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1550 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 256 8192
TMUs 16 512
ROPs 8 256
Execution Units 32 -
TGP 15 W 120 W
Max. Resolution - 6016x3384 - 60 Hz
iGPU FLOPS
Core i9 12900K
0.78 TFLOPS
M1 Ultra
20.8 TFLOPS

Memory Support

Memory types DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 LPDDR5-6400
Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Max. Memory Channels 2 16
Max. Memory Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s 800 GB/s
ECC Support Yes No

Misc

Official site Intel Core i9 12900K official page -
PCI Express Version 5.0 -
PCI Express Lanes 20 -

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
838 (49.9%)
843 (50.1%)
Total votes: 1681

Сompetitors

1. Core i9 12900K and Ryzen 9 6900HX
2. Core i9 12900K and Core i9 12900KF
3. Core i9 12900K and Core i5 13600K
4. Core i9 12900K and Ryzen 7 7800X3D
5. Core i9 12900K and Core i7 13700K
6. Core i9 12900K and Core i7 12700K
7. Core i9 12900K and M1 Max
8. M1 Ultra and Ryzen 9 7950X
9. M1 Ultra and Core i9 13980HX
10. M1 Ultra and M2 Pro
Compare other CPUs (540+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 Ultra or Intel Core i9 12900K?
Avatar
Ebnul khan 16 November 2022 20:51
Core i9 is the fastest chip in the world and better than the m1 ultra I doubt that m1 ultra is powerful
+2 Reply
Avatar
Payman 14 May 2023 19:36
Windows laptops (especially Intel) lose more than 50% of graphic performance and more than 35% of CPU performance when you turn off the power, in addition to the loss of Screen quality. While there is no difference in the performance of Apple laptops with or without electricity. in terms of energy consumption, the Apple processor consumes about 3.5 times less.
0 Reply
Avatar
keyo 04 October 2022 12:59
M1 ultra is the best mac chip and i9 12th gen is the best pc chip!
+10 Reply
Avatar
Name 02 June 2022 09:02
I prefer the Apple M1 Ultra.
+10 Reply
Avatar
No Name Available 27 April 2022 19:33
Intel Core i9 is restricted to Windows. Apple M1 Ultra is to macOS. That created a diversion & complexity for the end-user. It's all up to the Application Software, and how they behave. Also, more hard work for developers. Time: That's all we fight for. I say i9 wins in the desktop category. And M1 wins in the laptop category. Talking about the money situation. It's complicated. Buy, as much as you can afford. And choose wisely by comparing all points.
+27 Reply
Avatar
random name 08 June 2022 17:46
M1 Ultra doesn't exist for mobile. Intel is not locked to an OS, which is why you can install UNIX-based systems as well, it is only OSX that is locked. Windows could also run on the M1, but Microsoft has to wait until its contract with Qualcomm ends.
+22 Reply
Avatar
david 04 January 2023 14:04
random name, technically m1 is not locked. you can install windows 10 or 11 on a mac system.
+2 Reply
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