Intel Core i9-12900F vs Apple M4

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900F CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M4
Intel Core i9-12900F Apple M4

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i9-12900F and the Apple M4 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i9-12900F 16 core processor released in Q1/2022 with the Apple M4 which has 9 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2024.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Apple M4 (2)
12 Generation 4
Alder Lake S Architecture M4
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i9-11900F Predecessor Apple M3
Intel Core i9-13900F Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-12900F is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz). The processor can compute 24 threads at the same time. The Apple M4 clocks with 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz), has 9 CPU cores and can calculate 9 threads in parallel.
Intel Core i9-12900F Characteristic Apple M4
16 Cores 9
24 Threads 9
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz)
8x Golden Cove		 A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
1.80 GHz (3.80 GHz)
8x Gracemont		 B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x E-Core

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.
Intel Core i9-12900F Characteristic Apple M4
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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.
no iGPU GPU Apple M4 (10 Core)
GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
-- GPU Generation --
Technology 3 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 160
-- Shader 1280
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 24 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 M4 (10 Core)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 Decode
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No 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 i9-12900F, while the Apple M4 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 120.0 GB/s enabled.
Intel Core i9-12900F Characteristic Apple M4
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5X-7500
128 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 120.0 GB/s
No ECC No
14.00 MB L2 Cache 18.00 MB
30.00 MB L3 Cache --
5.0 PCIe version 4.0
20 PCIe lanes --
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i9-12900F has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP of the Apple M4 is 22 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.
Intel Core i9-12900F Characteristic Apple M4
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 22 W
202 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down 15 W
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-12900F has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Apple M4 is at 18.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 3 nm.
Intel Core i9-12900F Characteristic Apple M4
10 nm Technology 3 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME
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
Q1/2022 Release date Q2/2024
464 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-12900F to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (95 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900F (76%)
Apple M4 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900F (100%)
Apple M4 (85%)

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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
1968 (79%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
2637 (73%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
15367 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (85%)

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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
1988 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
26455 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
15712 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
764 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
10097 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
36739 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
287 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
3911 (100%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 i9-12900F Intel Core i9-12900F
16C 24T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i9-12900F Apple M4
Unknown Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024)

News and articles for the Intel Core i9-12900F and the Apple M4

Intel Core i9-13900 benchmark of engineering sample
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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