Intel Core i9 12900K vs Apple M4 Ultra
We compared two desktop CPUs: Intel Core i9 12900K with 16 cores 32GHz and Apple M4 Ultra with 32 cores 4.52GHz . You will find out which processor performs better in benchmark tests, key specifications, power consumption and more.
Main Differences
Intel Core i9 12900K 's Advantages
Higher base frequency (32GHz vs 4.52GHz)
Apple M4 Ultra 's Advantages
Released 3 years and 7 months late
Better graphics card performance
Higher specification of memory (8533 vs 4800)
More modern manufacturing process (3nm vs 10nm)
Score
Benchmark
Cinebench R23 Single Core
Intel Core i9 12900K
2028
Apple M4 Ultra
+8%
2200
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Intel Core i9 12900K
27422
Apple M4 Ultra
+63%
44822
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Intel Core i9 12900K
2631
Apple M4 Ultra
+54%
4061
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Intel Core i9 12900K
17004
Apple M4 Ultra
+93%
32898
General Parameters
Oct 2021
Release Date
May 2025
Intel
Manufacturer
Apple
Desktop
Type
Desktop
x86-64
Instruction Set
ARMv9
Alder Lake
Core Architecture
Apple M4
i9-12900K
Processor Number
-
LGA-1700
Socket
Apple M-Socket
UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics
Apple M4 Ultra GPU (80-core)
Package
10 nm
Manufacturing Process
3 nm
125 W
Power Consumption
-
100°C
Peak Operating Temperature
100 °C
CPU Performance
8
Performance Cores
24
16
Performance Core Threads
24
3,2 GHz
Performance Core Base Frequency
4.52 GHz
5.1 GHz
Performance Core Turbo Frequency
-
8
Efficiency Cores
8
8
Efficiency Core Threads
8
2.4 GHz
Efficiency Core Base Frequency
2.89 GHz
3.9 GHz
Efficiency Core Turbo Frequency
-
16
Total Core Count
32
24
Total Thread Count
32
100 MHz
Bus Frequency
-
32x
Multiplier
45
64 K per core
L1 Cache
-
14 MB shared
L2 Cache
-
30 MB shared
L3 Cache
-
Yes
Unlocked Multiplier
No
Memory Parameters
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Memory Types
LPDDR5X-8533
128 GB
Max Memory Size
192 GB
2
Max Memory Channels
8
76.8 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
-
Yes
ECC Memory Support
No
Graphics Card Parameters
true
Integrated Graphics
true
300 MHz
GPU Base Frequency
500 MHz
1550 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
1800 MHz
256
Shader Units
10240
16
Texture Units
640
8
Raster Operation Units
320
32
Execution Units
1280
15 W
Power Consumption
120
0.78 TFLOPS
Graphics Performance
36.9 TFLOPS
