63 facts in comparison
Apple M2 vs Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple M2
Intel Core i9-12900K
Why is Apple M2 better than Intel Core i9-12900K?
- 1600 MHz higher RAM speed (max)?
6400 MHzvs4800 MHz - 5 nm smaller semiconductor size?
5 nmvs10 nm - 110W lower TDP?
15Wvs125W - 2 MB bigger L2 cache?
16 MBvs14 MB - 23.2 GB/s more memory bandwidth?
100 GB/svs76.8 GB/s - 6 more memory channels?
8vs2 - Uses HMP?
- 96 more GPU execution units?
128vs32
Why is Intel Core i9-12900K better than Apple M2?
- 2.15x faster CPU speed?
8 x 3.2 GHz & 8 x 2.4 GHzvs4 x 3.2 GHz & 4 x 2 GHz - 16 threads more CPU threads?
24 threadsvs8 threads - 2GHz higher turbo clock speed?
5.2GHzvs3.2GHz - 2.7x higher PassMark result?
41412vs15363 - Has an unlocked multiplier?
- 104GB larger maximum memory amount?
128GBvs24GB - Uses multithreading?
- Supports ECC memory?
Price comparison
Apple M2
50pcs M2 SSD Adapter Macbook A1708 NVMe PCIe M.2 NGFF SSD for Apple 2016 2017 MacBook Pro A1708 SSD Adapt...50pcs M2 SSD Adapter Macbook A1708 NVMe PCIe M.2 NGFF SSD for Apple 2016 2017 MacBook Pro A1708 SSD Adapter Convert Card N-1708A
For Macbook Air SSD Adapter For Apple SSD Adapter Card M2 M.2 For Macbook Pro Accessories Retina 2013 201...For Macbook Air SSD Adapter For Apple SSD Adapter Card M2 M.2 For Macbook Pro Accessories Retina 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Cards
M2 SSD Adapter M.2 PCIE NVME SSD Converter Card for Apple Macbook Air Pro 2013 2014 2015 2017 Year A1465 ...M2 SSD Adapter M.2 PCIE NVME SSD Converter Card for Apple Macbook Air Pro 2013 2014 2015 2017 Year A1465 A1466 A1398 A1502 A1419
Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz...Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz Unlocked LGA1700 600 Series Chipset 125W
Intel Core i9-12900K - Core i9 12th Gen Alder Lake 16-Core (8P+8E) 3.2 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphi...Intel Core i9-12900K - Core i9 12th Gen Alder Lake 16-Core (8P+8E) 3.2 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphics 770 Desktop Processor - BX8071512900K
Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800...Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800MHz DDR5 16G Memory
For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboar...For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboard support 12900K 12700K
Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 Mainboard LGA1700 Socket uses the Intel Z690 Chipset Support i9-12900K 12900F...Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 Mainboard LGA1700 Socket uses the Intel Z690 Chipset Support i9-12900K 12900F i7-12700 CPU DDR4 ATX
User reviews
Overall rating
Features
Value for money
8.0/10
2 votes
8.1/10
7 votes
Gaming
7.0/10
2 votes
9.3/10
7 votes
Performance
10.0/10
2 votes
9.1/10
7 votes
Reliability
10.0/10
2 votes
8.7/10
7 votes
Energy efficiency
9.5/10
2 votes
7.9/10
7 votes
General info
The market that the CPU is designed for.
The CPU socket/s supported.
The motherboard chipset/s supported.
With integrated graphics you don’t need to buy a separate graphics card.
Small semiconductors provide better performance and reduced power consumption. Chipsets with a higher number of transistors, semiconductor components of electronic devices, offer more computational power. A small form factor allows more transistors to fit on a chip, therefore increasing its performance.
The thermal design power (TDP) is the maximum amount of power the cooling system needs to dissipate. A lower TDP typically means that it consumes less power.
If the CPU exceeds the maximum operating temperature then problems such as random resets can occur.
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a high-speed interface standard for connecting components, such as graphics cards and SSDs, to a motherboard. Newer versions can support more bandwidth and deliver better performance.
A higher transistor count generally indicates a newer, more powerful processor.
Performance
The CPU speed indicates how many processing cycles per second can be executed by a CPU, considering all of its cores (processing units). It is calculated by adding the clock rates of each core or, in the case of multi-core processors employing different microarchitectures, of each group of cores.
More threads result in faster performance and better multitasking.
When the CPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
Some processors come with an unlocked multiplier which makes them easy to overclock, allowing you to gain increased performance in games and other apps.
A larger L2 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
A larger L3 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
A larger L1 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
More data can be stored in the L2 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
L3 core
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
More data can be stored in the L3 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
Benchmarks
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using multiple threads.
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using a single thread.
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU's multi-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU's single-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's multi-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's single-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's multi-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's single-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Blender (bmw27) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
The Blender (bmw27) benchmark measures the performance of a processor by rendering a 3D scene. More powerful processors can render the scene in less time.
Integrated graphics
The clock speed of the graphics processing unit (GPU).
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
A graphics processing unit (GPU) with a greater number of execution units can deliver better graphics.
DirectX is used in video games, with newer versions supporting better graphics and features. The latest version is DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes support for ray tracing, mesh shaders, and variable rate shading (VRS).
Using multiple displays you can create a larger workspace, making it easier to work across multiple apps.
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
The maximum speed of RAM that is supported by the CPU.
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
DDR (Double Data Rate) memory is the most common type of RAM. Newer versions of DDR memory support higher maximum speeds and are more energy-efficient.
More memory channels increases the speed of data transfer between the memory and the CPU.
The maximum amount of memory (RAM) supported.
bus transfer rate
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
eMMC version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
A higher version of eMMC allows faster memory interfaces, having a positive effect on the performance of a device. For example, when transferring files from your computer to the internal storage over USB.
bus speed
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Features
instruction sets
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
SSE 4.2, SSE 4.1, AVX, AES, FMA3, F16C, MMX
Instruction sets are sets of codes that the CPU runs for certain functions.
Multithreading technology (such as Intel's Hyperthreading or AMD's Simultaneous Multithreading) provides increased performance by splitting each of the processor's physical cores into virtual cores, also known as threads. This way, each core can run two instruction streams at once.
bits executed at a time
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
NEON provides acceleration for media processing, such as listening to MP3s.
A technology integrated into the processor to secure the device for use with features such as mobile payments and streaming video using digital rights management (DRM).
The CPU can decode more instructions per clock (IPC), meaning that the CPU performs better
NX bit helps protect the computer from malicious attacks.
VFP version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Apple M2)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (Intel Core i9-12900K)
Vector Floating-Point (VFP) is used by the processor to deliver increased performance in areas such as digital imaging.
Miscellaneous
DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
Price comparison
Apple M2
50pcs M2 SSD Adapter Macbook A1708 NVMe PCIe M.2 NGFF SSD for Apple 2016 2017 MacBook Pro A1708 SSD Adapt...50pcs M2 SSD Adapter Macbook A1708 NVMe PCIe M.2 NGFF SSD for Apple 2016 2017 MacBook Pro A1708 SSD Adapter Convert Card N-1708A
For Macbook Air SSD Adapter For Apple SSD Adapter Card M2 M.2 For Macbook Pro Accessories Retina 2013 201...For Macbook Air SSD Adapter For Apple SSD Adapter Card M2 M.2 For Macbook Pro Accessories Retina 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Cards
M2 SSD Adapter M.2 PCIE NVME SSD Converter Card for Apple Macbook Air Pro 2013 2014 2015 2017 Year A1465 ...M2 SSD Adapter M.2 PCIE NVME SSD Converter Card for Apple Macbook Air Pro 2013 2014 2015 2017 Year A1465 A1466 A1398 A1502 A1419
Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz...Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz Unlocked LGA1700 600 Series Chipset 125W
Intel Core i9-12900K - Core i9 12th Gen Alder Lake 16-Core (8P+8E) 3.2 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphi...Intel Core i9-12900K - Core i9 12th Gen Alder Lake 16-Core (8P+8E) 3.2 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphics 770 Desktop Processor - BX8071512900K
Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800...Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800MHz DDR5 16G Memory
For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboar...For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboard support 12900K 12700K
Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 Mainboard LGA1700 Socket uses the Intel Z690 Chipset Support i9-12900K 12900F...Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 Mainboard LGA1700 Socket uses the Intel Z690 Chipset Support i9-12900K 12900F i7-12700 CPU DDR4 ATX
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Comments
Harrison
6 months ago
10 / 10
Immense power in a portable package (MacBook Air)
Harrison
6 months ago
10 / 10
I’ve have gotten to use the M2 MacBook Air for. Few months and I can appreciate the snappy performance. Apps open very quickly in a fluid manner. I haven’t tried gaming so I won’t say much, but for very intensive games, the weak passive cooling won’t be doing this chip any favours. Productivity is a breeze, seamless, nothing else I can really add to that. Finally, the battery life: Amazing. It destroys any other laptop i’ve ever owned. After a FULL day’s worth of work, I still have 40% in the evening. This chip is truly amazing tech.
Felix
11 months ago
10 / 10
One of the most powerful Chips
Felix
11 months ago
10 / 10
Pros
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