Intel Core i7-12700KF vs Apple A9X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-12700KF CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple A9X
Intel Core i7-12700KF Apple A9X

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-12700KF or Apple A9X - 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 i7-12700KF has 12 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.00 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-12700KF was released in Q4/2021.

The Apple A9X has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.26 GHz. The CPU supports up to 4 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A9X was released in Q3/2015.
Intel Core i7 (298) Family Apple A series (22)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Apple A9/A9X (2)
12 Generation 9
Alder Lake S Architecture A9
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i7-11700KF Predecessor Apple A8X
Intel Core i7-13700KF Successor Apple A10X Fusion

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.60 GHz (5.00 GHz). The Apple A9X has 2 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.26 GHz.

Intel Core i7-12700KF Characteristic Apple A9X
12 Cores 2
20 Threads 2
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.60 GHz (5.00 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 2.26 GHz
2x Twister
2.70 GHz (3.80 GHz)
4x Gracemont
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.

Intel Core i7-12700KF Characteristic Apple A9X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

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.

no iGPU GPU Apple A9X
GPU frequency 0.65 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 6
Technology 16 nm
Max. displays 1
-- Compute units 48
-- Shader 384
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 4 GB
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU Apple A9X
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-12700KF supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple A9X can connect up to 4 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Intel Core i7-12700KF Characteristic Apple A9X
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR4-3200
128 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC No
12.00 MB L2 Cache 3.00 MB
25.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
5.0 PCIe version --
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 i7-12700KF has a TDP of 125 W, that of the Apple A9X is 8 W.

Intel Core i7-12700KF Characteristic Apple A9X
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 8 W
190 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-12700KF has a 37.00 MB cache, while the Apple A9X cache has a total of 7.00 MB.

Intel Core i7-12700KF Characteristic Apple A9X
10 nm Technology 16 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions --
LGA 1700 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems iOS
Q4/2021 Release date Q3/2015
384 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-12700KF to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (11 ratings). Rate now:
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-12700KF (100%)
Apple A9X (33%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-12700KF (100%)
Apple A9X (8%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1872 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
652 (35%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
14992 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
1198 (8%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
2528 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
763 (30%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
14129 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
1251 (9%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
34688 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
2501 (7%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
114 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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.
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1175 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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.
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
1939 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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.
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
22812 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
757 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
8750 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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.
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
Apple A9X @ 0.65 GHz
499 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
272103 (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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
319 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
787 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 3.60 GHz
7822 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 5.00 GHz
286 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 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 i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
12C 20T @ 4.70 GHz
3327 (100%)
Apple A9X Apple A9X
2C 2T @ 2.26 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-12700KF Apple A9X
Unknown Apple iPad Pro (1. Gen)

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