Apple M1 vs Intel Core i7-10850H

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-10850H
Apple M1 Intel Core i7-10850H

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M1 and the Intel Core i7-10850H and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M1 8 core processor released in Q4/2020 with the Intel Core i7-10850H which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2020.
Apple M series (23) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group Intel Core i 10000H (11)
1 Generation 10
M1 Architecture Comet Lake H
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Intel Core i7-9850H
Apple M2 Successor Intel Core i7-11850H

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-10850H clocks with 2.70 GHz (5.10 GHz), has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel.

Apple M1 Characteristic Intel Core i7-10850H
8 Cores 6
8 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
A-Core 2.70 GHz (5.10 GHz)
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm
B-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.

Apple M1 Characteristic Intel Core i7-10850H
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications --

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.

Apple M1 (8 Core) GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.15 GHz
1 GPU Generation 9.5
5 nm Technology 14 nm
2 Max. displays 3
128 Compute units 24
1024 Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 64 GB
-- DirectX Version 12

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.

Apple M1 (8 Core) GPU Intel UHD Graphics 630
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 / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M1, while the Intel Core i7-10850H supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 45.8 GB/s enabled.

Apple M1 Characteristic Intel Core i7-10850H
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory DDR4-2933
16 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 45.8 GB/s
No ECC No
16.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 12.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M1 has a TDP of 18 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-10850H is 45 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M1 Characteristic Intel Core i7-10850H
18 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
20 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down 35 W
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M1 has 16.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-10850H is at 12.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Apple M1 Characteristic Intel Core i7-10850H
5 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
-- Socket BGA 1440
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q4/2020 Release date Q2/2020
-- Release price 395 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
1196 (80%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
7455 (96%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
1277 (73%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
6251 (82%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
1571 (66%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
6440 (75%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.15 GHz
442 (17%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (98%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
119 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
12131 (84%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
490 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
2839 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 2.70 GHz
3225 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 5.10 GHz
210 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
1265 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Apple M1 Apple M1
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
2.70 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).
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)
Intel Core i7-10850H Intel Core i7-10850H
6C 12T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 Intel Core i7-10850H
Apple iMac 24 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Apple Mac mini (2020)
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)
Apple iPad Air (2022)
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M1 and the Intel Core i7-10850H

Most popular processors in the first half of 2022
Most popular processors in the first half of 2022
Posted by Stefan on 2022-07-05
In the past we had repeatedly written about our most popular processors. Since this format was quiet popular, I would like to continue this today and introduce you the most popular processors in the first half of 2022.

With more than 2 million page views per month, CPU-Monkey is one of the biggest comparison sites for processors and is currently available in 16 languages.
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-28
After Apple surprisingly presented the normal Apple M2 processor as the first successor to the Apple M1 already in June 2022, the Apple M2 Pro and the Apple M2 Max may follow in autumn. The difference in performance compared to the basic version could be even greater this time and range from 25 to 40 percent.

In this article we describe how Apple could realize this and why the price should also go up.
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09
During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

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