Intel Core i5-12600K vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-12600K CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Intel Core i5-12600K Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-12600K or Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) - 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 Intel Core i5-12600K has 10 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.90 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-12600K was released in Q4/2021.

The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has 10 cores with 10 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) was released in Q3/2021.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Apple M series (23)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
12 Generation 1
Alder Lake S Architecture M1
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i5-11600K Predecessor --
Intel Core i5-13600K Successor Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-12600K is a 10 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.90 GHz). The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has 10 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Intel Core i5-12600K Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10 Cores 10
16 Threads 10
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.70 GHz (4.90 GHz)
6x Golden Cove
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
8x Firestorm
2.80 GHz (3.60 GHz)
4x Gracemont
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
2x Icestorm

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.

Intel Core i5-12600K Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS

Internal Graphics

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.

Intel UHD Graphics 770 GPU Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.45 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
11 GPU Generation 1
10 nm Technology 5 nm
3 Max. displays 5
32 Compute units 512
256 Shader 4096
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
12 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.

Intel UHD Graphics 770 GPU Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
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 / Encode Codec VP8 Decode
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-12600K supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Intel Core i5-12600K Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-6400
128 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 409.6 GB/s
Yes ECC No
9.50 MB L2 Cache 28.00 MB
20.00 MB L3 Cache --
5.0 PCIe version 4.0
20 PCIe lanes --
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i5-12600K has a TDP of 125 W, that of the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) is 45 W.

Intel Core i5-12600K Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
150 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-12600K has a 29.50 MB cache, while the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) cache has a total of 28.00 MB.

Intel Core i5-12600K Characteristic Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10 nm Technology 5 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
LGA 1700 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS
Q4/2021 Release date Q3/2021
289 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-12600K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (24 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (32 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-12600K (99%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) (93%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-12600K (98%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) (86%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
105 (94%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
909 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
796 (88%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
1918 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (80%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
17660 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12402 (70%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
1854 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
1783 (96%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
11912 (94%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12693 (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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
2472 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (97%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
11991 (96%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
12439 (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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.45 GHz
742 (7%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple M1 Max (32 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
10600 (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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
249 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
192 (77%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
27830 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
22255 (80%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
17,660 CB R23 MC @ 115 W
154 (56%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
12,402 CB R23 MC @ 45 W
275 (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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
741 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
6702 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
766 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
5540 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
274 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
2596 (100%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 3.20 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).
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
10C 10T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-12600K Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

News and articles for the Intel Core i5-12600K and the Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)


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