Intel Core i9-7900X vs Apple M3

Last updated: 2024-03-22

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-7900X		Apple M3
CPU comparison Intel Core i9-7900X or Apple M3 - 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 i9-7900X has 10 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.30 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-7900X was released in Q2/2017. The Apple M3 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. The CPU supports up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M3 was released in Q4/2023.

Intel Core i9 (78)	Family	Apple M series (25)
Intel Core i 7000X (9)	CPU group	Apple M3 (6)
7	Generation	3
Skylake X	Architecture	M3
Desktop / Server	Segment	Mobile
--	Predecessor	Apple M2
Intel Core i9-9900X	Successor	Apple M4

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Intel Core i9-7900X is a 10 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.30 GHz (4.30 GHz). The Apple M3 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz).
Intel Core i9-7900X	Characteristic	Apple M3
10	Cores	8
20	Threads	8
normal	Core architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes	Hyperthreading	No
Yes	Overclocking ?	No
3.30 GHz (4.30 GHz)	A-Core	0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz) 4x P-Core
--	B-Core	0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz) 4x E-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 i9-7900X	Characteristic	Apple M3
--	AI hardware	Apple Neural Engine
--	AI specifications	16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

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 M3 (10 Core)
	GPU frequency	0.39 GHz
--	GPU (Turbo)	1.40 GHz
--	GPU Generation	3
	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 M3 (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 The Intel Core i9-7900X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Apple M3 can connect up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.
Intel Core i9-7900X	Characteristic	Apple M3
DDR4-2666	Memory	LPDDR5-6400
128 GB	Max. Memory	24 GB
4 (Quad Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
85.4 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	102.4 GB/s
No	ECC	No
--	L2 Cache	20.00 MB
14.00 MB	L3 Cache	--
3.0	PCIe version	4.0
44	PCIe lanes	--
43.3 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	--
Thermal Management The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i9-7900X has a TDP of 140 W, that of the Apple M3 is 22 W.
Intel Core i9-7900X	Characteristic	Apple M3
140 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	22 W
--	TDP (PL2)	--
--	TDP up	--
--	TDP down	15 W
--	Tjunction max.	100 °C
Technical details The Intel Core i9-7900X has a 14.00 MB cache, while the Apple M3 cache has a total of 20.00 MB.
Intel Core i9-7900X	Characteristic	Apple M3
14 nm	Technology	3 nm
Monolithic	Chip design	Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit)	Instruction set (ISA)	Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512	ISA extensions	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
LGA 2066	Socket	--
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d	Virtualization	Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes	AES-NI	Yes
Windows 10, Linux	Operating systems	macOS, iPadOS
Q2/2017	Release date	Q4/2023
989 $	Release price	--

show more data		show more data

Intel Core i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 3.30 GHz (4.30 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Apple M3 8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-7900X (53%)

Apple M3 (100%)

⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks

Intel Core i9-7900X (94%)

Apple M3 (90%)

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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	1222 (62%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	1965 (100%)

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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	14998 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10437 (70%)

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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	1133 (53%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	2150 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	10199 (98%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	10450 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	1410 (45%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	3125 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	9120 (77%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	11863 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	21190 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	18951 (89%)

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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	137 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz	659 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	461 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	5286 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 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 i9-7900X @ 0.00 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M3 Apple M3 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz	3550 (100%)

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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	137.7 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 3.30 GHz	5530 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.30 GHz	188 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 4.00 GHz	2194 (100%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 4.06 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 i9-7900X 3.30 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M3 10,437 CB R23 MC @ 22 W	474 (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 i9-7900X 10C 20T @ 3.30 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M3 8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz	35 (100%)

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i9-7900X	Apple M3
Unknown	Apple iMac 24 (2023)

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