Intel Core i9 12900K vs Apple M4 (10-Core)
68
out of 100
VS
75
out of 100
We compared two CPUs: the 3,2 GHz Intel Core i9 12900K (desktop) with 16-cores against the 4.46 GHz Apple M4 (10-Core) (laptop) with 10-cores. 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
- Supports up to 128 GB DDR5-4800 RAM
- Unlocked multiplier
- Has 6 more physical cores
Advantages of Apple M4 (10-Core)
- More powerful Apple M4 GPU (10-core) integrated graphics: 3.8 vs 0.8 TFLOPS
- More modern manufacturing process β 3 versus 10 nanometers
- Newer - released 2 years and 6 months later
- Around 43.2 GB/s (56%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
- 43% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3777 vs 2633 points
Test in Benchmarks
Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasksCinebench
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | - | 3211 |
Cinebench Scores (63rd and 158th place)
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| File compression | 1260 MB/sec | 1500 MB/sec |
| Clang compilation | 146.1 Klines/sec | 120.2 Klines/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 414.2 pages/sec | 329.3 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 480.2 Mpixels/sec | 362.1 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 273.2 pages/sec | 352.1 pages/sec |
| Background blur | 69.4 images/sec | 69.8 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 147.8 images/sec | 114.4 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 34.4 Mpixels/sec | 18.1 Mpixels/sec |
PassMark
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
| Integer math | 139.2 GOps/sec | 54.2 GOps/sec |
| Floating point math | 105.4 GOps/sec | 49.6 GOps/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 145M Primes/sec | 263M Primes/sec |
| Random string sorting | 57.1M Strings/sec | 34.3M Strings/sec |
| Data encryption | 29.5 GBytes/sec | 15.1 GBytes/sec |
| Data compression | 536.7 MBytes/sec | 280.5 MBytes/sec |
| Physics | 2203 Frames/sec | 2527 Frames/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.6B Matrices/sec | 13.6B Matrices/sec |
Blender
Blender CPU
Performance Per Watt
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 12.2 PPW | 40.9 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 136 PPW | 617.4 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 328.9 PPW | 983.5 PPW |
| Blender / Watt | 2.93 PPW | 9.58 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 |
|---|---|---|
| π 2025-11-12 (ElNils) | Cinebench 2024 | 114 / 1497 |
| π 2025-09-20 (Jarx) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2811 / 18033 |
| π 2025-05-24 (unsorted) | Cinebench 2024 | 109 / 1339 |
| π 2025-04-03 (AdKraemer) | Cinebench 2024 | 113 / 1414 |
| π 2025-03-20 (Lethal) | Cinebench 2024 | 116 / 1571 |
Apple M4 (10-Core)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-06-13 (doannguuyenmfs) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3703 / 15450 |
| π 2026-04-18 (Avacada) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3906 / 15577 |
| π 2026-03-05 (Dovlet) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3916 / 15202 |
| π 2025-12-31 (gmamorim) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3730 / 15258 |
| π 2025-12-28 (LC) | Cinebench 2024 | 174 / 993 |
Specifications
Full technical specification of Intel Core i9 12900K and Apple M4 (10-Core)General
| Vendor | Intel | Apple |
| Released | October 27, 2021 | May 7, 2024 |
| Type | Desktop | Laptop |
| Instruction Set | x86-64 | ARMv9 |
| Codename | Alder Lake | Apple M4 |
| Model number | i9-12900K | APL1206 |
| Integrated GPU | UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M4 GPU (10-core) |
| Rival Equivalent | - AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | - Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-84-100) |
| Successor | - Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | - Apple M5 (10-Core) |
Intel CPU rating (#53rd place)
CPU
| P-Cores | 8 | 4 |
| P-Threads | 16 | 4 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3,2 GHz | 4.46 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | 5.1 GHz | - |
| E-Cores | 8 | 6 |
| E-Threads | 8 | 6 |
| Base Frequency (E) | 2.4 GHz | 2.89 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | 3.9 GHz | - |
| Total Cores | 16 | 10 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 10 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Multiplier | 32x | 44x |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 14MB (shared) | 16MB (shared) |
| L3 Cache | 30MB (shared) | - |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | No |
Package
| Transistors | - | 28 billions |
| Fabrication Process | 10 nm | 3 nm |
| TDP (PL1) | 125 W | 24 W |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | 241 W | - |
| Socket | LGA-1700 | Apple M-Socket |
| Peak Temperature | 100Β°C | 100Β°C |
| Die Size | - | 169.4 mmΒ² |
Desktop CPU ranking (#54th place)
Laptop processors ranking (#28th place)
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 770 | Apple M4 GPU (10-core) |
| GPU Base Clock | 300 MHz | 500 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1550 MHz | 1470 MHz |
| Shading Units | 256 | 1280 |
| TMUs | 16 | 80 |
| ROPs | 8 | 40 |
| Execution Units | 32 | 160 |
| TGP | 15 W | 18 W |
iGPU FLOPS
Memory Support
| Memory Types | - DDR5-4800 - DDR4-3200 |
- LPDDR5X-7500 |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 32 GB |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 8 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 76.8 GB/s | 120 GB/s |
| ECC Support | Yes | No |
Misc
| Official Site | Intel Core i9 12900K official page | - |
| PCI Express Version | 5.0 | - |
| PCI Express Lanes | 20 | - |
Further details
Notes on M4 (10-Core):
- SoC is designed using ARMv9.4-A architecture.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 21
Competitors
6.
Apple M4 (10-Core) vs Apple M1 (11)