Intel Core i9-12900 vs Apple A8X

Last updated: 2023-04-27

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900		Apple A8X
CPU comparison Intel Core i9-12900 or Apple A8X - 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 i9-12900 has 16 cores with 24 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 i9-12900 was released in Q1/2022. The Apple A8X has 3 cores with 3 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 2 GB of memory in 1 memory channels. The Apple A8X was released in Q3/2014.

Intel Core i9 (78)	Family	Apple A series (22)
Intel Core i 12000 (34)	CPU group	Apple A8/A8X (2)
12	Generation	8
Alder Lake S	Architecture	A8
Desktop / Server	Segment	Mobile
Intel Core i9-11900	Predecessor	Apple A6X
Intel Core i9-13900	Successor	Apple A9X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Intel Core i9-12900 has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 24 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-12900 is 2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz) while the Apple A8X has 3 CPU cores and 3 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple A8X is at 1.50 GHz.
Intel Core i9-12900	Characteristic	Apple A8X
16	Cores	3
24	Threads	3
hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Core architecture	normal
Yes	Hyperthreading	No
No	Overclocking ?	No
2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz) 8x Golden Cove	A-Core	1.50 GHz 3x Typhoon
1.80 GHz (3.80 GHz) 8x 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 i9-12900	Characteristic	Apple A8X
--	AI hardware	--
--	AI specifications	--

Internal Graphics The Intel Core i9-12900 or Apple A8X 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 770	GPU	Apple A8X
0.30 GHz	GPU frequency	0.45 GHz
1.55 GHz	GPU (Turbo)	--
11	GPU Generation	5
10 nm	Technology	20 nm
3	Max. displays	1
32	Compute units	32
256	Shader	256
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
64 GB	Max. GPU Memory	2 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 A8X
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit)	No
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	No
Decode / Encode	Codec h264	Decode
Decode / Encode	Codec VP9	No
Decode / Encode	Codec VP8	No
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 i9-12900 can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 76.8 GB/s. The Apple A8X supports up to 2 GB of memory in 1 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 12.8 GB/s.
Intel Core i9-12900	Characteristic	Apple A8X
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	Memory	LPDDR3-1600
128 GB	Max. Memory	2 GB
2 (Dual Channel)	Memory channels	1 (Single Channel)
76.8 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	12.8 GB/s
Yes	ECC	No
14.00 MB	L2 Cache	2.00 MB
30.00 MB	L3 Cache	4.00 MB
5.0	PCIe version	--
20	PCIe lanes	--
78.8 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	--
Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i9-12900 is 65 W, while the Apple A8X has a TDP of 8 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
Intel Core i9-12900	Characteristic	Apple A8X
65 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	8 W
202 W	TDP (PL2)	--
--	TDP up	--
--	TDP down	--
100 °C	Tjunction max.	--
Technical details The Intel Core i9-12900 is manufactured in 10 nm and has 44.00 MB cache. The Apple A8X is manufactured in 20 nm and has a 6.00 MB cache.
Intel Core i9-12900	Characteristic	Apple A8X
10 nm	Technology	20 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
Q1/2022	Release date	Q3/2014
489 $	Release price	--

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Intel Core i9-12900 16C 24T @ 2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz buy now on Amazon and save!

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-12900 (100%)

Apple A8X (18%)

⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-12900 (100%)

Apple A8X (6%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz	1968 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	386 (20%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	15712 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	1075 (7%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz	2637 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	427 (16%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	15367 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	959 (6%)

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 i9-12900 Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.55 GHz	794 (100%)
	Apple A8X Apple A8X @ 0.45 GHz	230 (29%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	36739 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	2356 (6%)

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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz	1988 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	26455 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz	764 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	10097 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz	287 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 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 i9-12900 16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz	3911 (100%)
	Apple A8X 3C 3T @ 1.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i9-12900	Apple A8X
Unknown	Apple iPad Air 2

News and articles for the Intel Core i9-12900 and the Apple A8X

Intel Core i9-13900 benchmark of engineering sample

Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-15

Intels 13th generation of the Intel Core i series (Raptor Lake) is about to be released and a lot of information is already known from the official side. This information includes e.g. the number of CPU cores, the expected increase in performance and the manufacturing technology of the new CPUs.

We compare the technical data of the Intel Core i9-13900 with its predecessor and look at benchmarks that have already been published.

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