Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
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Intel Core i9-12900K vs Apple M1 Max (32-GPU). Specifications

User rating
star star star star star
Released
Q4/2021
Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i9-12900K
Released
Q3/2021
User rating
star star star star star
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)

What's the best choice Intel Core i9-12900K or Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)? Which processor is faster?

Compare the available specifications of these models.

Intel Core i9-12900K has a base frequency of 3.70 GHz. 16 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 125 W. Released in Q4/2021.

Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) has a base frequency of 3.20 GHz. 10 / 10 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 30 W. Released in Q3/2021.

Differences

  • Higher clock speed

    Around 16% better clock speed

    3.70 GHz left arrow 3.20 GHz
  • More number of cores

    6 more cores

    16 left arrow 10

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i9-12900K CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

No data
  • Place in the overall ranking

    (based on several benchmarks)

    61 left arrow place
  • Lower stated TDP / base power

    Power limits alone do not measure performance per watt.

    30 W left arrow 125 W

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
    69 place
  • Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
    109 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    68 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    70 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    7 place

Specifications

Technical data
Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-12900K
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Apple M1 Max (32-GPU)
CPU family and group

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

  • CPU group
    Intel Core i 12000 left arrow Apple M1
  • Family
    Intel Core i9 left arrow Apple M series
  • Generation
    12 left arrow 1
  • Predecessor
    Intel Core i9-11900K left arrow -
  • Segment
    Desktop / Server left arrow Mobile
  • Successor
    Intel Core i9-13900K left arrow -
CPU Technical specs

Core counts, threads, cache and clock modes describe the CPU configuration. Performance depends on the workload and comparable measured results.

  • A-Core
    8x Golden Cove left arrow 8x Firestorm
  • B-Core
    8x Gracemont left arrow 2x Icestorm
  • Base Frequency
    3.7 GHz left arrow 3.2 GHz
  • Core architecture
    hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow hybrid (big.LITTLE)
  • CPU Cores
    16 left arrow 10
  • CPU Threads
    24 left arrow 10
  • Hyperthreading / SMT
    Yes left arrow No
  • Overclocking
    Yes left arrow No
  • Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
    5.3 GHz left arrow No turbo
  • Turbo Frequency (16 Cores)
    5 GHz left arrow -
  • Turbo Frequency (10 Cores)
    - left arrow No turbo
IGPU

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

  • DirectX Version
    12 left arrow -
  • Execution units
    32 left arrow 512
  • Generation
    12 left arrow 1
  • GPU Frequency
    400 MHz left arrow 1300 MHz
  • GPU name
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S) left arrow Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
  • GPU Turbo
    1450 MHz left arrow No turbo
  • Max. displays
    4 left arrow 3
  • Max. GPU Memory
    16 GB left arrow 32 GB
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow Q3/2021
  • Shader
    256 left arrow 4096
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow 5 nm
Hardware codec support

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

  • AV1
    Decode left arrow No
  • H.264 / AVC
    Decode / Encode left arrow Conflicting source values: Decode | Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • JPEG
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VC-1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • VP8
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • VP9
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) and Intel Core i9-12900K. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • ECC
    No left arrow No
  • Max. Memory
    256 GB left arrow 64 GB
  • Memory channels
    2 left arrow 4
  • Memory type
    DDR4-3200DDR5-4800 left arrow LPDDR5-6400
  • PCIe lanes
    20 left arrow -
  • PCIe version
    5.0 left arrow -
  • PCIe
    - left arrow 4.0
Encryption
  • AES-NI
    Yes left arrow Yes
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i9-12900K and Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Power specifications describe different manufacturer limits. TDP, base power and maximum turbo power are separate values; they do not establish measured system consumption.

  • Maximum Operating Temperature
    100 °C left arrow -
  • TDP (PL1, legacy label)
    125 W left arrow 30 W
  • TDP (PL2)
    228 W / 56 s left arrow -
  • TDP up
    - left arrow 60 W
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i9-12900K and Apple M1 Max (32-GPU), virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Architecture
    Alder Lake S left arrow M1
  • Instruction set (ISA)
    x86-64 (64 bit) left arrow ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
  • ISA extensions
    SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ left arrow Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
  • L2-Cache
    3.75 MB left arrow 28.00 MB
  • L3-Cache
    30.00 MB left arrow -
  • Part Number
    BX8071512900K left arrow APL 1104
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow Q3/2021
  • Socket
    LGA 1700 left arrow -
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow 5 nm
  • Virtualization
    VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d left arrow None

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

No comparable benchmark results are available yet. Specifications alone do not determine which model is faster.

These are saved results from the earlier catalog. Measurement dates and test configurations were not recorded. Models with no comparable results are omitted.

Latest comparisons