Intel Core Ultra 9 185H vs Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H 16 core processor released in Q4/2023 with the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) which has 12 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2023.
Intel Core Ultra 9 (1) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Core Ultra 100H (5) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
1 Generation 3
Meteor Lake H Architecture M3
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.30 GHz (5.10 GHz). The processor can compute 22 threads at the same time. The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) clocks with 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz), has 12 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel.

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
16 Cores 12
22 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.30 GHz (5.10 GHz)
6x Redwood Cove
A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
6x P-Core
1.80 GHz (3.80 GHz)
8x Crestmont
B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
6x E-Core
1.00 GHz (2.50 GHz)
2x Crestmont
C-Core --

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Intel AI engine AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
Intel AI Boost @ 1.4 GHz (OpenVINO, WindowsML, DirectML, ONNX RT) AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Intel Iris Xe 8 Core Graphics 128 EUs (Meteor Lake) GPU Apple M3 Pro (18 Core)
0.60 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
2.35 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
-- GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology 3 nm
4 Max. displays 3
128 Compute units 288
1024 Shader 2304
Yes Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory 36 GB
12.2 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel Iris Xe 8 Core Graphics 128 EUs (Meteor Lake) GPU Apple M3 Pro (18 Core)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 96 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, while the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) supports a maximum of 36 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
LPDDR5X-7500, DDR5-5600 Memory LPDDR5-6400
96 GB Max. Memory 36 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 153.6 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 MB L2 Cache 36.00 MB
24.00 MB L3 Cache --
5.0 PCIe version 4.0
20 PCIe lanes --
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has a TDP of 45 W. The TDP of the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is 35 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
45 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
115 W TDP (PL2) --
65 W TDP up --
35 W TDP down --
110 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has 42.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is at 36.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 3 nm.

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
7 nm Technology 3 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
BGA 2049 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q4/2023 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.9 stars (79 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (214 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (81%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (88%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 5.10 GHz
1873 (81%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
2314 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 4.50 GHz
13796 (91%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15235 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 5.10 GHz
2522 (80%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
3152 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 4.50 GHz
11274 (72%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15619 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Intel Iris Xe 8 Core Graphics 128 EUs (Meteor Lake) @ 2.35 GHz
4658 (73%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Apple M3 Pro (18 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
6390 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 4.50 GHz
27215 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
27304 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
142 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1059 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1928 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 4.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15061 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 4.50 GHz
767 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 2.30 GHz
8097 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
16C 22T @ 2.30 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
ASUS Zenbook Duo (2024) UX8406 Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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