Intel Core i9-12900KS vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900KS CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Intel Core i9-12900KS Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i9-12900KS and the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i9-12900KS 16 core processor released in Q2/2022 with the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) which has 20 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2022.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family Apple M series (23)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
12 Generation 1
Alder Lake S Architecture M1
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
Intel Core i9-13900KS Successor Apple M2 Ultra (60-GPU)

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-12900KS is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.40 GHz (5.50 GHz). The processor can compute 24 threads at the same time. The Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) clocks with 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz), has 20 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i9-12900KS Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
16 Cores 20
24 Threads 20
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.40 GHz (5.50 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
16x Firestorm
2.50 GHz (4.00 GHz)
8x Gracemont
B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

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 i9-12900KS Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 32 Neural cores @ 22 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 M1 Ultra (48 Core)
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.55 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
11 GPU Generation 1
10 nm Technology 5 nm
3 Max. displays 5
32 Compute units 768
256 Shader 6144
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 64 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 M1 Ultra (48 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 i9-12900KS, while the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 819.2 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i9-12900KS Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-6400
128 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 819.2 GB/s
Yes ECC No
14.00 MB L2 Cache 52.00 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 i9-12900KS has a TDP of 150 W. The TDP of the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) is 60 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i9-12900KS Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
150 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 60 W
241 W TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 120 W
-- TDP down --
90 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-12900KS has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) is at 52.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Intel Core i9-12900KS Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (48-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
Q2/2022 Release date Q1/2022
749 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-12900KS to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (12 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900KS (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) (82%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900KS (90%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) (95%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
2082 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (74%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
27796 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24189 (87%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
2080 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1793 (86%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
19010 (79%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24055 (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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
2831 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (85%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
16455 (69%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
23970 (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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.55 GHz
794 (5%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Apple M1 Ultra (48 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
15900 (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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
399 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
379 (95%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
44541 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
41059 (92%)

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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
114 (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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1624 (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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
795 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
10744 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
87 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.50 GHz
294 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 5.20 GHz
4140 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
27,796 CB R23 MC @ 241 W
115 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
0.60 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 i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900KS
16C 24T @ 3.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C 20T @ 0.60 GHz
22 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i9-12900KS Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
Unknown Apple Mac Studio (2022)

News and articles for the Intel Core i9-12900KS and the Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)

Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-28
After Apple surprisingly presented the normal Apple M2 processor as the first successor to the Apple M1 already in June 2022, the Apple M2 Pro and the Apple M2 Max may follow in autumn. The difference in performance compared to the basic version could be even greater this time and range from 25 to 40 percent.

In this article we describe how Apple could realize this and why the price should also go up.
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.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Cinebench R23 Benchmark projection
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Cinebench R23 Benchmark projection
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-10
We give you a preview of AMD's new Zen 4 desktop processors and calculate the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X top model for the new AM5 socket. The performance data and other technical details come directly from the press kit that AMD released as part of its Financial Analyst Day on June 9, 2022.

Up to 15 percent more single-core performance and 35 percent more multi-core performance of the 16-core model are realistic !
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09
During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Intel Core i9-12900KIntel Core i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-12900K vs Intel Core i9-12900KS
2. Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)Apple M2 Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) vs Apple M2
3. Intel Core i9-12900KSIntel Core i7-13700K Intel Core i9-12900KS vs Intel Core i7-13700K
4. Intel Core i9-12900KSAMD Ryzen 9 5950X Intel Core i9-12900KS vs AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
5. Apple A16 BionicIntel Core i9-12900KS Apple A16 Bionic vs Intel Core i9-12900KS
6. Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) vs Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
7. AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WXApple M1 Ultra (48-GPU) AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX vs Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
8. Intel Core i9-13900KIntel Core i9-12900KS Intel Core i9-13900K vs Intel Core i9-12900KS
9. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3DIntel Core i9-12900KS AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i9-12900KS
10. Intel Core i5-13600KIntel Core i9-12900KS Intel Core i5-13600K vs Intel Core i9-12900KS


back to index