Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) vs Intel Core i7-4960X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-4960X
Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Intel Core i7-4960X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) and the Intel Core i7-4960X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) 12 core processor released in Q1/2023 with the Intel Core i7-4960X which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2013.
Apple M series (25) Family Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group Intel Core i 4000X (3)
2 Generation 4
M2 Architecture Ivy Bridge E
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M1 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU) Predecessor --
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Successor Intel Core i7-5960X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz). The processor can compute 12 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-4960X clocks with 3.60 GHz (4.00 GHz), has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel.

Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Characteristic Intel Core i7-4960X
12 Cores 6
12 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Avalanche
A-Core 3.60 GHz (4.00 GHz)
0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard
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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Characteristic Intel Core i7-4960X
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 Pro (19 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.45 GHz GPU frequency --
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
2 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
304 Compute units --
2432 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 M2 Pro (19 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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU), while the Intel Core i7-4960X supports a maximum of 64 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 59.7 GB/s enabled.

Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Characteristic Intel Core i7-4960X
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR3-1866
32 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 59.7 GB/s
No ECC No
36.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 15.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 40
-- PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) has a TDP of 40 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-4960X is 130 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Characteristic Intel Core i7-4960X
40 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 130 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) has 36.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-4960X is at 15.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 22 nm.

Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Characteristic Intel Core i7-4960X
5 nm Technology 22 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, AVX
-- Socket LGA 2011
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2023 Release date Q3/2013
-- Release price 960 $
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (67 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-4960X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X (36%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X (31%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
806 (43%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
15506 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
5189 (33%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
2689 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
757 (28%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14207 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
3062 (22%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
26294 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
10145 (39%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
122 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
782 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1695 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14855 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
Apple M2 Pro (19 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
6745 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
@ 0.00 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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
2868 (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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
151 (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 M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
1092 (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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
14,855 CB R23 MC @ 40 W
371 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
3.60 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 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-4960X
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU) Intel Core i7-4960X
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) Unknown

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