Apple M2 vs Intel Core i7-12700H

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple M2 Intel Core i7-12700H

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M2 and the Intel Core i7-12700H and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M2 8 core processor released in Q2/2022 with the Intel Core i7-12700H which has 14 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2022.
Apple M series (23) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group Intel Core i 12000H (23)
2 Generation 12
M2 Architecture Alder Lake H
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M1 Predecessor --
Apple M3 Successor Intel Core i7-13700H

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-12700H clocks with 2.30 GHz (4.70 GHz), has 14 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel.

Apple M2 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
8 Cores 14
8 Threads 20
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
4x Avalanche
A-Core 2.30 GHz (4.70 GHz)
6x Golden Cove
0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard
B-Core 1.70 GHz (3.50 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 M2 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 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 M2 (10 Core) GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake)
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.40 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
2 GPU Generation 13
5 nm Technology 10 nm
2 Max. displays 4
160 Compute units 96
1280 Shader 768
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
-- DirectX Version 12.1

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 M2 (10 Core) GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake)
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
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 24 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M2, while the Intel Core i7-12700H supports a maximum of 64 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s enabled.

Apple M2 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR5-5200, LPDDR4X-4266, DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
24 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 83.2 GB/s
No ECC No
20.00 MB L2 Cache 11.50 MB
-- L3 Cache 24.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes 20
-- PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M2 has a TDP of 20 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-12700H is 45 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M2 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
20 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
-- TDP (PL2) 115 W
30 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M2 has 20.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-12700H is at 35.50 MB. The processor is manufactured in 10 nm.

Apple M2 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
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 BGA 1744
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2022 Release date Q1/2022
-- Release price 457 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (206 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-12700H to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.7 stars (12 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
120 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
103 (86%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
555 (61%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
916 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1592 (88%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
1806 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8558 (55%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
15453 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
1607 (86%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8853 (73%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
12103 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
2596 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
2280 (88%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
10062 (88%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
11424 (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 M2 Apple M2
Apple M2 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
3550 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake) @ 1.40 GHz
2146 (60%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
15472 (58%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
26713 (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 M2 Apple M2
8,558 CB R23 MC @ 20 W
428 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
15,453 CB R23 MC @ 96 W
161 (38%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
694 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
7170 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
131 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
277 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 2.30 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M2 and the Intel Core i7-12700H

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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