Apple M4 vs Intel Core i7-12700H

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple M4 Intel Core i7-12700H

CPU comparison

Apple M4 or Intel Core i7-12700H - 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 M4 has 9 cores with 9 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.41 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M4 was released in Q2/2024.

The Intel Core i7-12700H has 14 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.70 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-12700H was released in Q1/2022.
Apple M series (25) Family Intel Core i7 (298)
Apple M4 (2) CPU group Intel Core i 12000H (23)
4 Generation 12
M4 Architecture Alder Lake H
Mobile Segment Mobile
Apple M3 Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Core i7-13700H

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M4 is a 9 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz). The Intel Core i7-12700H has 14 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.30 GHz (4.70 GHz).

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
9 Cores 14
9 Threads 20
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
A-Core 2.30 GHz (4.70 GHz)
6x Golden Cove
0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core 1.70 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Gracemont

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M4 (10 Core) GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake)
0.39 GHz GPU frequency 0.40 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
-- GPU Generation 13
3 nm Technology 10 nm
2 Max. displays 4
160 Compute units 96
1280 Shader 768
Yes 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 M4 (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
Decode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M4 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-12700H can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory LPDDR5-5200, LPDDR4X-4266, DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
8 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 83.2 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 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 TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M4 has a TDP of 22 W, that of the Intel Core i7-12700H is 45 W.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
-- TDP (PL2) 115 W
-- TDP up --
15 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M4 has a 18.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i7-12700H cache has a total of 35.50 MB.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i7-12700H
3 nm Technology 10 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME 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
Q2/2024 Release date Q1/2022
-- Release price 457 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (95 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-12700H to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.1 stars (48 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H (64%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H (87%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
1607 (65%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
2280 (63%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
11424 (87%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
103 (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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
15453 (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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
12103 (100%)

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
7170 (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 M4 Apple M4
Apple M4 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake) @ 1.40 GHz
2146 (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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 3.80 GHz
131 (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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
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 M4 Apple M4
0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
15,453 CB R23 MC @ 96 W
161 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)
Intel Core i7-12700H Intel Core i7-12700H
14C 20T @ 2.30 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 Intel Core i7-12700H
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) Unknown

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