Intel Core i7-10700K vs Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-10700K CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Intel Core i7-10700K Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-10700K or Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-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 i7-10700K has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.10 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-10700K was released in Q2/2020.

The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) has 12 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. The CPU supports up to 36 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) was released in Q4/2023.
Intel Core i7 (298) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Core i 10000 (43) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
10 Generation 3
Comet Lake S Architecture M3
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i7-9700K Predecessor Apple M2 Pro (12-CPU 19-GPU)
Intel Core i7-11700K Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-10700K has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 16 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-10700K is 3.80 GHz (5.10 GHz) while the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) has 12 CPU cores and 12 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is at 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz).

Intel Core i7-10700K Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
8 Cores 12
16 Threads 12
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.80 GHz (5.10 GHz) A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
6x P-Core
-- B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
6x E-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.

Intel Core i7-10700K Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-10700K or Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) 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.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU Apple M3 Pro (18 Core)
0.35 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.20 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
9.5 GPU Generation --
14 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 3
24 Compute units 288
192 Shader 2304
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 36 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 630 GPU Apple M3 Pro (18 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
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-10700K can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 46.9 GB/s. The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) supports up to 36 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 153.6 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-10700K Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
DDR4-2933 Memory LPDDR5-6400
128 GB Max. Memory 36 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
46.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 153.6 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 36.00 MB
16.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-10700K is 125 W, while the Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) has a TDP of 35 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-10700K Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
229 W @ 56 s TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
95 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-10700K is manufactured in 14 nm and has 16.00 MB cache. The Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) is manufactured in 3 nm and has a 36.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-10700K Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
14 nm Technology 3 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
LGA 1200 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q2/2020 Release date Q4/2023
374 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-10700K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.8 stars (5 ratings). Rate now:
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-10700K (58%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-10700K (66%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) (100%)

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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
74 (52%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
142 (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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
618 (58%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1059 (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.
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
1309 (68%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
1928 (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.
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
12678 (84%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15061 (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.
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
1347 (58%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
2314 (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.
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
9268 (61%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15235 (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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
1636 (52%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 GHz
3152 (100%)

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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
8629 (55%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
15619 (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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.20 GHz
461 (7%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Apple M3 Pro (18 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
6390 (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.
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
19094 (70%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
27304 (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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
524 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
5292 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
192 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
555 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.80 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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 3.80 GHz
5614 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 5.10 GHz
228 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 4.06 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 i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
2344 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 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).
Intel Core i7-10700K Intel Core i7-10700K
8C 16T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-10700K Apple M3 Pro (12-CPU 18-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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