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Intel Core i9 12950HX vs Apple M2

Intel Core i9 12950HX
VS
Apple M2
Intel Core i9 12950HX
Apple M2

We compared two laptop CPUs: the 2.3 GHz Intel Core i9 12950HX with 16-cores against the 3.5 GHz Apple M2 with 8-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 (1)

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 power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
NanoReview Final Score
Generic CPU rating

Key Differences

What are the key differences between M2 and 12950HX
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12950HX
  • 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
  • Around 25.6 GB/s (33%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • 14% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 2594 vs 2271 points
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Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
Core i9 12950HX
vs
Apple M2

Cinebench R23

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Core i9 12950HX +27%
2001
Apple M2
1570
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12950HX +172%
23377
Apple M2
8593
Submit your Cinebench result

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Core i9 12950HX
2271
Apple M2 +14%
2594
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12950HX +36%
13777
Apple M2
10094
File compression 1140 MB/sec 1100 MB/sec
Clang compilation 116.4 Klines/sec 81.3 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 353.9 pages/sec 227.5 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 418.1 Mpixels/sec 280 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 239.2 pages/sec 261.3 pages/sec
Background blur 39.5 images/sec 41.4 images/sec
Photo processing 115.2 images/sec 95.9 images/sec
Ray tracing 25.4 Mpixels/sec 10.8 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2]

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Core i9 12950HX
3876
Apple M2 +3%
3976
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Core i9 12950HX +115%
32999
Apple M2
15346
Integer math 114 GOps/sec 36.3 GOps/sec
Floating point math 83.8 GOps/sec 38.7 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 141M Primes/sec 183M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 43.5M Strings/sec 24.5M Strings/sec
Data encryption 22.2 GBytes/sec 9.7 GBytes/sec
Data compression 382.8 MBytes/sec 190.6 MBytes/sec
Physics 2164 Frames/sec 1657 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 22.9B Matrices/sec 6.4B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4]

Specifications

Full technical specification of Intel Core i9 12950HX and Apple M2

General

Vendor Intel Apple
Released May 10, 2022 June 6, 2022
Type Laptop Laptop
instruction set x86-64 ARMv8
Codename Alder Lake Apple M2
Model number i9-12950HX -
Integrated GPU UHD Graphics (32EU) Apple M2 GPU

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 8 4
P-Threads 16 4
Base Frequency (P) 2.3 GHz 3.5 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) 5 GHz -
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 8 4
E-Threads 8 4
Base Frequency (E) 1.7 GHz 2.4 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (E) 3.6 GHz -
Total
Total Cores 16 8
Total Threads 24 8
Bus Frequency 100 MHz -
Multiplier 23x -
L1 Cache 80K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 1280K (per core) 16MB (shared)
L3 Cache 30MB (shared) -
Unlocked Multiplier Yes No

Package

Transistors - 20 billions
Fabrication process 10 nm 5 nm
TDP (PL1) 45-55 W (configurable) 15 W
Max. Boost TDP (PL2) 157 W -
Socket BGA-1964 Apple M-Socket
Peak temperature 100°C -

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Intel UHD Graphics (32EU) 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 45 W 15 W
Max. Resolution - 6016x3384 - 60 Hz
iGPU FLOPS
Core i9 12950HX
0.74 TFLOPS
Apple M2
3 TFLOPS

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 12950HX official page -
PCI Express Version 5.0 4.0
PCI Express Lanes 20 -

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
104 (63.4%)
60 (36.6%)
Total votes: 164

Сompetitors

1. Intel Core i7 1360P or Apple M2
2. Apple M2 Pro or Apple M2
3. Intel Core i7 13700K or Apple M2
4. Intel Core i7 12700H or Apple M2
5. Apple M1 Pro or Apple M2
6. Apple M1 or Apple M2
7. Intel Core i7 1355U or Apple M2
8. Intel Core i5 12500H or Apple M2
9. Intel Core i9 12900HX or i9 12950HX
10. Intel Core i9 12900H or i9 12950HX
Compare other CPUs (580+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M2 or Intel Core i9 12950HX?
Avatar
WoW intel 👏 07 June 2022 14:26
Intel has always managed to make the most powerful processor. If you want a powerful laptop, intel's HX series laptop is for you. I wish the apple market would come out with a good processor, as always, it only stands out with its low power consumption, and it has no other advantage. Buying these "tablet-derived" Apple Macbooks is both ridiculous and unnecessary waste.
+7 Reply
Avatar
No Name 09 June 2022 18:19
People don't want a laptop with over 3 KGs and poor battery life. also when you unplug your laptop drops more than 50% performance... not to mention the active-cooling system you have to use to cool that laptop with (RPM 6000 FAN Speed) oh man that noise! if you still want that type of laptop then why not buy a desktop instead? you will get much more performance with it.
+10 Reply
Avatar
No name 10 August 2022 10:59
No Name, Because desktops are not portable ... this might be a new idea to you 😉
+1 Reply
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