Intel Core i9 12900K vs Apple M3 Max
68
out of 100
VS
83
out of 100
We compared two 16-core CPUs: the 3,2 GHz Intel Core i9 12900K (desktop) against the 4.05 GHz Apple M3 Max (laptop). On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.
Review
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the DeviceFacts Score for desktop CPU.
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12900K
- Unlocked multiplier
- Newer PCI Express version โ 5.0
Advantages of Apple M3 Max
- More powerful Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) integrated graphics: 14.1 vs 0.8 TFLOPS
- Around 332.8 GB/s (433%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
- More modern manufacturing process โ 3 versus 10 nanometers
- Newer - released 2 years later
- 23% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3227 vs 2633 points
Test in Benchmarks
Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasksCinebench
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | - | 5133 |
Cinebench Scores (63rd and 51st place)
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| File compression | 1260 MB/sec | 2190 MB/sec |
| Clang compilation | 146.1 Klines/sec | 198.5 Klines/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 414.2 pages/sec | 557.3 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 480.2 Mpixels/sec | 648.9 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 273.2 pages/sec | 309.1 pages/sec |
| Background blur | 69.4 images/sec | 68.9 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 147.8 images/sec | 183.5 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 34.4 Mpixels/sec | 30.6 Mpixels/sec |
PassMark
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
| Integer math | 139.2 GOps/sec | 91.2 GOps/sec |
| Floating point math | 105.4 GOps/sec | 131.5 GOps/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 145M Primes/sec | 573M Primes/sec |
| Random string sorting | 57.1M Strings/sec | 61.7M Strings/sec |
| Data encryption | 29.5 GBytes/sec | 24.7 GBytes/sec |
| Data compression | 536.7 MBytes/sec | 530.4 MBytes/sec |
| Physics | 2203 Frames/sec | 4332 Frames/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.6B Matrices/sec | 24.2B Matrices/sec |
Blender
Blender CPU
Performance Per Watt
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 12.2 PPW | 30.3 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 136 PPW | 378 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 328.9 PPW | 735.9 PPW |
| Blender / Watt | 2.93 PPW | 7.21 PPW |
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.
Recent User Tests
Intel Core i9 12900K
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2025-11-12 (ElNils) | Cinebench 2024 | 114 / 1497 |
| ๐ 2025-09-20 (Jarx) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2811 / 18033 |
| ๐ 2025-05-24 (unsorted) | Cinebench 2024 | 109 / 1339 |
| ๐ 2025-04-03 (AdKraemer) | Cinebench 2024 | 113 / 1414 |
| ๐ 2025-03-20 (Lethal) | Cinebench 2024 | 116 / 1571 |
Apple M3 Max
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2024-09-27 (JayZeppelin) | Cinebench 2024 | 142 / 1698 |
| ๐ 2024-04-27 (Guest #1) | Cinebench 2024 | 141 / 1459 |
Specifications
Full technical specification of Intel Core i9 12900K and Apple M3 MaxGeneral
| Vendor | Intel | Apple |
| Released | October 27, 2021 | October 30, 2023 |
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| Instruction Set | x86-64 | ARMv8 |
| Codename | Alder Lake | Apple M3 |
| Model number | i9-12900K | - |
| Integrated GPU | UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) |
| Rival Equivalent | - AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | - |
| Successor | - Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | - Apple M5 Max (40-ัore GPU) |
Intel CPU rating (#53rd place)
CPU
| P-Cores | 8 | 12 |
| P-Threads | 16 | 12 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3,2 GHz | 4.05 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | 5.1 GHz | - |
| E-Cores | 8 | 4 |
| E-Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.4 GHz | 2.75 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | 3.9 GHz | - |
| Total Cores | 16 | 16 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 16 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | - |
| Multiplier | 32x | 40x |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 14MB (shared) | 32MB (shared) |
| L3 Cache | 30MB (shared) | - |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | No |
Package
| Transistors | - | 92 billions |
| Fabrication Process | 10 nm | 3 nm |
| TDP (PL1) | 125 W | 56 W |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | 241 W | - |
| Socket | LGA-1700 | Apple M-Socket |
| Peak Temperature | 100ยฐC | 100ยฐC |
Desktop CPU ranking (#54th place)
Laptop processors ranking (#15th place)
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M3 Max GPU (40-core) |
| GPU Base Clock | 300 MHz | 500 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1550 MHz | 1380 MHz |
| Shading Units | 256 | 5120 |
| TMUs | 16 | 320 |
| ROPs | 8 | 160 |
| Execution Units | 32 | 640 |
| TGP | 15 W | 60 W |
iGPU FLOPS
Memory Support
| Memory Types | - DDR5-4800 - DDR4-3200 |
- LPDDR5-6400 |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 32 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 76.8 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s |
| ECC Support | Yes | No |
Misc
| Official Site | Intel Core i9 12900K official page | - |
| PCI Express Version | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 20 | - |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 27