Intel Core i7-12700K vs Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-12700K CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
Intel Core i7-12700K Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i7-12700K and the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i7-12700K 12 core processor released in Q4/2021 with the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) which has 12 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2023.
Intel Core i7 (298) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Apple M2 (8)
12 Generation 2
Alder Lake S Architecture M2
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i7-11700K Predecessor Apple M1 Max (24-GPU)
Intel Core i7-13700K Successor Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.60 GHz (5.00 GHz). The processor can compute 20 threads at the same time. The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) clocks with 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz), has 12 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i7-12700K Characteristic Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12 Cores 12
20 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.60 GHz (5.00 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Avalanche
2.70 GHz (3.80 GHz)
4x Gracemont
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard

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 i7-12700K Characteristic Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS

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.

Intel UHD Graphics 770 GPU Apple M2 Max (30 Core)
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.45 GHz
1.50 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
11 GPU Generation 2
10 nm Technology 5 nm
3 Max. displays 5
32 Compute units 480
256 Shader 3840
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 96 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 M2 Max (30 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

Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i7-12700K, while the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) supports a maximum of 96 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 409.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i7-12700K Characteristic Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-6400
128 GB Max. Memory 96 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 409.6 GB/s
Yes ECC No
12.00 MB L2 Cache 36.00 MB
25.00 MB L3 Cache --
5.0 PCIe version 4.0
20 PCIe lanes 32
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 63.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i7-12700K has a TDP of 125 W. The TDP of the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) is 45 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i7-12700K Characteristic Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 45 W
190 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-12700K has 37.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) is at 36.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Intel Core i7-12700K Characteristic Apple M2 Max (30-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, iPadOS
Q4/2021 Release date Q1/2023
409 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-12700K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.6 stars (16 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (14 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-12700K (97%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) (97%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-12700K (99%)
Apple M2 Max (30-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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
114 (94%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
121 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1175 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1025 (87%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1939 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1695 (87%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
22812 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14855 (65%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1872 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
14992 (97%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
15506 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
2528 (94%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
2689 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
14129 (99%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14207 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.50 GHz
768 (7%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
Apple M2 Max (30 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
10650 (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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
34688 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
26310 (76%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
757 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
8750 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
319 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
790 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 3.60 GHz
7761 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
286 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
3327 (100%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
3.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
14,855 CB R23 MC @ 40 W
371 (100%)

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 i7-12700K Intel Core i7-12700K
12C 20T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-12700K Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

News and articles for the Intel Core i7-12700K and the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)


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