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Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX vs Apple M5
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Summary
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (Arrow Lake) is a mobile processor designed for high-performance laptops.
The Apple M5 is a SoC developed for Mac devices, focused on efficiency and system integration.
Both processors are manufactured using the 3 nm process. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX utilizes a hybrid architecture with 36 MB L2 and 30 MB L3 cache. The Apple M5 features an optimized hybrid design with 28 MB L2 cache. The Apple M5 surpasses the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX in single-core performance by over 10 percent.
Multi-core performance is comparable for both. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX with Intel Xe 4 Core Graphics offers broad Windows gaming compatibility. The Apple M5 with 10-core graphics is optimized for macOS. Its 154 GB/s memory bandwidth outperforms the Intel chip's 102 GB/s.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX can exhibit higher TDP for maximum performance. The Apple M5 is known for energy efficiency, contributing to longer battery life. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX is available in various laptops. The Apple M5 is exclusively integrated into Apple's premium hardware, making price comparison difficult.
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX: for Windows users needing broad software compatibility and high multi-core performance. Apple M5: ideal for users who value superior single-core performance, efficiency, and seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem.
The Apple M5 is a SoC developed for Mac devices, focused on efficiency and system integration.
Both processors are manufactured using the 3 nm process. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX utilizes a hybrid architecture with 36 MB L2 and 30 MB L3 cache. The Apple M5 features an optimized hybrid design with 28 MB L2 cache. The Apple M5 surpasses the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX in single-core performance by over 10 percent.
Multi-core performance is comparable for both. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX with Intel Xe 4 Core Graphics offers broad Windows gaming compatibility. The Apple M5 with 10-core graphics is optimized for macOS. Its 154 GB/s memory bandwidth outperforms the Intel chip's 102 GB/s.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX can exhibit higher TDP for maximum performance. The Apple M5 is known for energy efficiency, contributing to longer battery life. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX is available in various laptops. The Apple M5 is exclusively integrated into Apple's premium hardware, making price comparison difficult.
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX: for Windows users needing broad software compatibility and high multi-core performance. Apple M5: ideal for users who value superior single-core performance, efficiency, and seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem.
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX
- High multi-core performance
- Broad Windows software and gaming compatibility
- Hybrid architecture with large cache
Apple M5
- Superior single-core performance
- High energy efficiency
- Seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem
- Optimized 10-core graphics
Benchmarks
Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks
Single-core performance
Multi-core performance
Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance
20C / 20T · 5.20 GHz
Apple M5
100 %
9C / 9T · 4.61 GHz
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX
100 %
20C / 20T · 2.40 GHz
Apple M5
95 %
9C / 9T · 0.91 GHz
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
Intel Xe 4 Core Graphics 64 EUs (Arrow Lake)
Apple M5
100 %
Apple M5 (10 Core)
More benchmarks
Specifications
At a glance
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Intel Core Ultra 7 (31) | Apple M series (38) |
| CPU group | Intel Core Ultra 200HX (8) | Apple M5 (6) |
| Architecture | Arrow Lake | M5 |
| Technology | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| Segment | Notebook | Notebook |
| Socket | BGA 2114 | |
| Predecessor | Apple M4 | |
| Successor |
CPU Cores and Base Frequency
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores / Threads | 20 / 20 | 9 / 9 |
| Hyperthreading / SMT | ✗ | ✗ |
| Core architecture | hybrid (big.LITTLE) | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| Core Cluster 1: | 8x Lion Cove 2.40 - 5.20 GHz |
3x P-Core 0.91 - 4.61 GHz |
| Core Cluster 2: | 12x Skymont 1.80 - 4.50 GHz |
6x E-Core 0.90 - 3.05 GHz |
| L2-Cache | 36.00 MB | 28.00 MB |
| L3-Cache | 30.00 MB | |
| Overclocking | ✓ | ✗ |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU name | Intel Xe 4 Core Graphics 64 EUs (Arrow Lake) | Apple M5 (10 Core) |
| GPU frequency | 0.30 - 1.85 GHz | 0.34 - 1.90 GHz |
| CUs / Shader | 4 / 512 | 160 / 1280 |
| Raytracing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Max. displays | 3 | 3 |
| Max. GPU Memory | 32 GB | 24 GB |
| Technology | 5 nm | 3 nm |
| Release date | Q3/2024 | Q4/2025 |
NPU AI performance
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| AI hardware | Intel® AI Boost | Apple Neural Engine |
| AI specifications | Intel AI Boost NPU 4 @ 13 TOPS | 16 Neural cores @ 60 TOPS |
| NPU + CPU + iGPU | 33 TOPS |
Memory & PCIe
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | DDR5-6400 (102.4 GB/s) | LPDDR5X-9600 (153.6 GB/s) |
| Max. Memory | 192 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| ECC | Yes | No |
| PCIe | 5.0 x 20 | 4.0 |
| PCIe Bandwidth | 78.8 GB/s |
Thermal Management
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 55 W | 17 W |
| TDP (PL2) | 160 W | |
| TDP up | ||
| TDP down | 45 W | 15 W |
| T. junction max. | 105 °C | 100 °C |
Technical details
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | Apple M5 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip design | Chiplet | Monolithic |
| AES-NI | ✓ | ✓ |
| Operating systems | Windows 11, Linux | macOS, iPadOS |
| Instruction set | x86-64 (64 bit) | Armv9.2-A (64 bit) |
| ISA extensions | SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 | Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME |
| Release date | Q1/2025 | Q4/2025 |
| Release price | ||
| Documents | Technical data sheet |
User Reviews
Your rating
Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX is 3.3 stars (134 ratings), while Apple M5 has received 4.6 stars (416 ratings).
Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.
Most popular CPUs in both categories
1
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
2
Apple M2 Ultra (76-GPU)
24C / 24T · 3.50 GHz
3
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
4
Apple M5 Pro (15-CPU 16-GPU)
15C / 15T · 4.61 GHz
5
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C / 20T · 3.20 GHz
6
Apple M2 Ultra (60-GPU)
24C / 24T · 3.50 GHz
7
Apple M1 Pro (8-CPU)
8C / 8T · 3.20 GHz
8
Apple M5
9C / 9T · 4.61 GHz
9
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX
20C / 20T · 5.20 GHz
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