Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) vs Intel Core i9-12900K

CPU comparison with benchmarks

Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)		Intel Core i9-12900K
CPU comparison Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) or Intel Core i9-12900K - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results. The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) has 20 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 8 memory channels. The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) was released in Q1/2022. The Intel Core i9-12900K has 16 cores with 24 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-12900K was released in Q4/2021.
Apple M series (23)	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 i9-11900K
Apple M2 Ultra (76-GPU)	Successor	Intel Core i9-13900K
CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) has 20 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) is 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) while the Intel Core i9-12900K has 16 CPU cores and 24 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-12900K is at 3.20 GHz (5.20 GHz).
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)	Characteristic	Intel Core i9-12900K
20	Cores	16
20	Threads	24
hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Core architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No	Hyperthreading	Yes
No	Overclocking ?	Yes
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) 16x Firestorm	A-Core	3.20 GHz (5.20 GHz) 8x Golden Cove
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz) 4x 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 Ultra (64-GPU)	Characteristic	Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple Neural Engine	AI hardware	--
32 Neural cores @ 22 TOPS	AI specifications	--
Internal Graphics The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) or Intel Core i9-12900K has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
Apple M1 Ultra (64 Core)	GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 770
0.39 GHz	GPU frequency	0.30 GHz
1.30 GHz	GPU (Turbo)	1.55 GHz
1	GPU Generation	11
5 nm	Technology	10 nm
5	Max. displays	3
1024	Compute units	32
8192	Shader	256
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
64 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 Ultra (64 Core)	GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 770
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	Decode
Decode	Codec AVC	Decode / Encode
Decode	Codec VC-1	Decode
Decode / Encode	Codec JPEG	Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) can use up to 128 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 819.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i9-12900K supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/s.
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)	Characteristic	Intel Core i9-12900K
LPDDR5-6400	Memory	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
128 GB	Max. Memory	128 GB
8 (Octa Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
819.2 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	76.8 GB/s
No	ECC	Yes
52.00 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 thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) is 60 W, while the Intel Core i9-12900K has a TDP of 125 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)	Characteristic	Intel Core i9-12900K
60 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	125 W
--	TDP (PL2)	241 W
120 W	TDP up	--
--	TDP down	--
--	Tjunction max.	100 °C
Technical details The Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has 52.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i9-12900K is manufactured in 10 nm and has a 44.00 MB cache.
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)	Characteristic	Intel Core i9-12900K
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
Q1/2022	Release date	Q4/2021
--	Release price	589 $
show more data		show more data
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) 20C 20T @ 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Intel Core i9-12900K 16C 24T @ 3.20 GHz (5.20 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

Devices using this processor
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)	Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple Mac Studio (2022)	Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) and the Intel Core i9-12900K

Comparison of the two processors

Here the ARM-based Apple M1 Ultra (64 GPU) and the Intel Core i9-12900K are compared. Both CPUs are manufactured in a big.LITTLE architecture, which means that the existing cores are divided into performance and efficiency cores. The Apple M1 Ultra (64 GPU) has 16 performance cores codenamed "Firestorm" and 4 efficiency cores codenamed "Icestorm". The performance cores clock at 3.20 gigahertz and the more efficient ones at 2.06 gigahertz. The cores of the Intel Core i9-12900K consist of 8 performance and 8 efficiency cores. A big advantage over the Apple processor is that the performance cores of the Intel processor support Hyperthreading, which means that the processor has a total of 24 computing threads at its disposal.

It is not possible to say exactly which of the processors is the faster, it probably depends on the environment and the area of ​​application. This is also reflected in our benchmarks, where there is no uniform picture.

As the name suggests, the Apple M1 Ultra (64 GPU) uses an internal graphics unit with 64 cores. This graphics unit clocks at 1.30 gigahertz and has 1024 execution units with a total of 8192 shaders. With this, the graphics unit achieves a very high FP32 computing power (single precision) of 21200 GigaFLOPS or 21.2 TerraFLOPS. The Intel UHD Graphics 770 built into the Intel Core i9-12900K only achieves 794 GigaFLOPS.

When it comes to RAM, the Apple M1 Ultra (64 GPU) again clearly sets itself apart from the Intel Core i9-12900K. The main memory of the Apple M1 Ultra (64 GPU) is integrated in the processor, it can be equipped with up to 128 gigabytes and achieves a bandwidth of 819.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i9-12900K achieves a bandwidth of just 76.8 GB/s.

In addition, the Apple processor is specified with a TDP of 60 watts, which indicates a much lower energy requirement, since the TDP of the Intel processor is 125 watts.

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