Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) vs Intel Core i9-12900KF

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i9-12900KF
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Intel Core i9-12900KF

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) and the Intel Core i9-12900KF and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) 8 core processor released in Q3/2021 with the Intel Core i9-12900KF which has 16 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2021.
Apple M series (25) Family Intel Core i9 (78)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group Intel Core i 12000 (34)
1 Generation 12
M1 Architecture Alder Lake S
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor Intel Core i9-11900KF
-- Successor Intel Core i9-13900KF

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) 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 i9-12900KF clocks with 3.20 GHz (5.20 GHz), has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 24 threads in parallel.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Intel Core i9-12900KF
8 Cores 16
8 Threads 24
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
6x Firestorm
A-Core 3.20 GHz (5.20 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm
B-Core 2.40 GHz (3.90 GHz)
8x Gracemont

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 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Intel Core i9-12900KF
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 Pro (14 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.39 GHz GPU frequency --
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
1 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
224 Compute units --
1792 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- 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.

Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU), while the Intel Core i9-12900KF supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s enabled.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Intel Core i9-12900KF
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
32 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s
No ECC No
24.00 MB L2 Cache 14.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 30.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 5.0
-- PCIe lanes 20
-- PCIe Bandwidth 78.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has a TDP of 35 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i9-12900KF is 125 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Intel Core i9-12900KF
35 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 125 W
-- TDP (PL2) 241 W
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) has 24.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Intel Core i9-12900KF is at 44.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 10 nm.

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Characteristic Intel Core i9-12900KF
5 nm Technology 10 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, AVX2+
-- Socket LGA 1700
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q3/2021 Release date Q4/2021
-- Release price 564 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) (87%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) (49%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
113 (91%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
124 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
628 (40%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
1564 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (77%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
1997 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9569 (35%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
27472 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1768 (89%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
1990 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
9996 (57%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
17595 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (90%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
2664 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
10412 (65%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
15986 (100%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
181 (50%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
364 (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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
9,569 CB R23 MC @ 35 W
273 (100%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
27,472 CB R23 MC @ 240 W
114 (42%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
779 (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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
10511 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
Apple M1 Pro (14 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
4580 (100%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
41207 (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.
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
819 (100%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 3.20 GHz
11365 (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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
294 (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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
4111 (100%)

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 Pro (8-CPU) Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)
Intel Core i9-12900KF Intel Core i9-12900KF
16C 24T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) Intel Core i9-12900KF
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU) and the Intel Core i9-12900KF

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.
Intel Core i9-13900 benchmark of engineering sample
Intel Core i9-13900 benchmark of engineering sample
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-15
Intels 13th generation of the Intel Core i series (Raptor Lake) is about to be released and a lot of information is already known from the official side. This information includes e.g. the number of CPU cores, the expected increase in performance and the manufacturing technology of the new CPUs.

We compare the technical data of the Intel Core i9-13900 with its predecessor and look at benchmarks that have already been published.
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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