Intel Core i9 12900K vs Apple M2
We compared two CPUs: the 3,2 GHz Intel Core i9 12900K (desktop) with 16-cores against the 3.5 GHz Apple M2 (laptop) with 8-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.
Review
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
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12900K
- Supports up to 128 GB DDR5-4800 RAM
- Has 8 more physical cores
- Unlocked multiplier
- Newer PCI Express version – 5.0
Advantages of Apple M2
- More modern manufacturing process – 5 versus 10 nanometers
- Newer - released 7-months later
- Around 25.6 GB/s (33%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Specifications
General
| Vendor | Intel | Apple |
| Released | October 27, 2021 | June 6, 2022 |
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| instruction set | x86-64 | ARMv8 |
| Codename | Alder Lake | Apple M2 |
| Model number | i9-12900K | - |
| Integrated GPU | UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M2 GPU |
CPU
| P-Cores | 8 | 4 |
| P-Threads | 16 | 4 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3,2 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | 5.1 GHz | - |
| E-Cores | 8 | 4 |
| E-Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | 3.9 GHz | - |
| Total Cores | 16 | 8 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 8 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | - |
| Multiplier | 32x | - |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 14MB (shared) | 16MB (shared) |
| L3 Cache | 30MB (shared) | - |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | No |
Package
| Transistors | - | 20 billions |
| Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
| Socket | LGA-1700 | Apple M-Socket |
| TDP | 125 W | 15 W |
| Peak temperature | 100°C | - |
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M2 GPU |
| GPU Base Clock | 300 MHz | 500 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1550 MHz | 1398 MHz |
| Shading Units | 256 | 1024 |
| TMUs | 16 | 64 |
| ROPs | 8 | 32 |
| Execution Units | 32 | 128 |
| TGP | 15 W | 15 W |
| Max. Resolution | - | 6016x3384 - 60 Hz |
iGPU FLOPS
Memory Support
| Memory types | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 | LPDDR5-6400 |
| Memory Size | 128 GB | 24 GB |
| Max. Memory Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 76.8 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
| ECC Support | Yes | No |
Misc
| Official site | Intel Core i9 12900K official page | - |
| PCI Express Version | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 20 | - |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 147
