Apple M2
Intel Core i9-9900K
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Apple M2 vs Intel Core i9-9900K. Specifications, performance, tests

Overall score
star star star star star
Released
Q1/2022
Apple M2
Apple M2
Released
Q4/2018
Overall score
star star star star star
Intel Core i9-9900K
Intel Core i9-9900K

What's the best choice Apple M2 or Intel Core i9-9900K? Which processor is faster?

We have prepared a comparison to help you choose the best processor. Compare their specifications and benchmarks.

Apple M2 has a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. 8 Cores. Power consumption of 15 W. Released in Q1/2022.

Intel Core i9-9900K has a maximum frequency of 3.60 GHz. 8 Cores. Power consumption of 95 W. Released in Q4/2018.

Differences

Apple M2 Reasons to consider
Apple M2
Report a bug
  • Place in the overall ranking

    (based on several benchmarks)

    164 left arrow score
  • Performance per watt

    times less performance per watt

    15 W left arrow 95 W

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Apple M2 CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
    60 place
  • Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
    197 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    68 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    283 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    42 place
  • Blender 2.81 (bmw27)
    120 place
  • Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark
    361 place
  • Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
    46 place
  • Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
    125 place
  • Place in the overall ranking

    (based on several benchmarks)

    208 left arrow score
  • Higher clock speed

    Around 3% better clock speed

    3.60 GHz left arrow 3.50 GHz

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i9-9900K CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
    186 place
  • Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
    132 place
  • Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)
    131 place
  • Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)
    117 place
  • Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)
    63 place
  • Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)
    115 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    294 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    288 place
  • Monero Hashrate kH/s
    57 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    663 place
  • Blender 2.81 (bmw27)
    154 place
  • Geekbench 3, 64bit (Single-Core)
    3 place
  • Geekbench 3, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    89 place
  • Cinebench R11.5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    31 place
  • Cinebench R11.5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    72 place
  • Cinebench R11.5, 64bit (iGPU, OpenGL)
    22 place
  • Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark
    281 place

Specifications

Technical data
Apple M2 Apple M2
Intel Core i9-9900K Intel Core i9-9900K
CPU family and group

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

  • Segment
    Mobile left arrow Desktop / Server
  • Family
    Apple M series left arrow Intel Core i9
  • Generation
    2 left arrow 9
  • CPU group
    Apple M2 left arrow Intel Core i 9000
  • Successor
    -- left arrow Intel Core i9-10900K
CPU Technical specs

Basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base and turbo frequency, and cache size. These parameters indirectly tell about the speed of the processor, the higher they are the better.

  • Frequency
    3.50 GHz left arrow 3.60 GHz
  • CPU Cores
    8 left arrow 8
  • Turbo (1 Core)
    No turbo left arrow 5.00 GHz
  • CPU Threads
    8 left arrow 16
  • Turbo (8 Cores)
    No turbo left arrow 4.70 GHz
  • Hyperthreading
    No left arrow Yes
  • Overclocking
    No left arrow Yes
  • Core architecture
    hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow normal
  • A core
    4x Avalanche left arrow --
  • B core
    4x Blizzard left arrow --
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.

  • GPU name
    Apple M2 (8 Core) left arrow Intel UHD Graphics 630
  • GPU frequency
    3.50 GHz left arrow 0.35 GHz
  • GPU (Turbo)
    No turbo left arrow 1.20 GHz
  • Execution units
    128 left arrow 24
  • Shader
    0 left arrow 192
  • Max. GPU Memory
    16 GB left arrow 64 GB
  • Max. displays
    3 left arrow 3
  • Generation
    2 left arrow 9.5
  • DirectX Version
    left arrow 12
  • Technology
    5 nm left arrow 14 nm
  • Release date
    Q1/2022 left arrow Q4/2017
Hardware codec support

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

  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h264
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VP9
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VP8
    Decode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • AV1
    Decode left arrow No
  • AVC
    Decode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VC-1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • JPEG
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i9-9900K and Apple M2. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • Memory type
    LPDDR5-5500 left arrow DDR4-2666
  • Max. Memory
    16 GB left arrow 128 GB
  • ECC
    No left arrow No
  • Memory channels
    2 left arrow 2
  • PCIe version
    4.0 left arrow 3.0
  • PCIe lanes
    left arrow 16
Encryption
  • AES-NI
    Yes left arrow Yes
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Apple M2 and Intel Core i9-9900K to select a cooling system. Note, the TDP value refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

  • TDP (PL1)
    15 W left arrow 95 W
  • TDP up
    20 W left arrow --
  • TDP (PL2)
    -- left arrow 119 W / 28 s
  • TDP down
    10 W left arrow --
  • Tjunction max.
    -- left arrow 100 °C
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Apple M2 and Apple M2, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Instruction set (ISA)
    ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) left arrow x86-64 (64 bit)
  • Virtualization
    None left arrow VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
  • ISA extensions
    Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation left arrow SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
  • L2-Cache
    16.00 MB left arrow --
  • L3-Cache
    -- left arrow 16.00 MB
  • Architecture
    M2 left arrow Coffee Lake S Refresh
  • Technology
    5 nm left arrow 14 nm
  • Socket
    N/A left arrow LGA 1151-2
  • Release date
    Q1/2022 left arrow Q4/2018

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

Based on the results of several benchmarks, you can more accurately estimate the difference in performance between Apple M2 and Intel Core i9-9900K.

Compare the synthetic test values and choose the best processor!

Latest comparisons