Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i3-12100F

Processor comparisons   12-02-2023
   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice after reading the full tests Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i3-12100F and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, machine learning, rendering, streaming, video editing. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like 3DMark, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, SuperPi, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Prime95, PCMark 10, PassMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Furmark, RealBench, 7zip, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, Handbrake, Blender.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

DOOM: Eternal
Last Man Standing
Valorant
Overwatch
Valheim
Watch Dogs Legion
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Rainbow Six Siege
Apex Legends
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Halo Infinite
Fortnite
Cyberpunk 2077
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fallout 76
Grand Theft Auto V
Death Stranding
Borderlands 3

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i3-12100F or Apple M1 Ultra.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

M1 Ultra

68%

Core i3-12100F

56%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Ultra is 17% better than Core i3-12100F. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Ultra

64%

Core i3-12100F

53%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Half-Life: Alyx, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Battlefield V, NBA 2K20, Monster Hunter World, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, League of Legends (LOL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Metro Exodus, Forza Horizon 4, Ghostrunner.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	94.5
Valorant	128.6	107.3
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	60.1
Apex Legends	120.8	100.9
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	80.5
Overwatch	104.1	86.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	74.1
DOOM Eternal	64.3	53.7
Warzone	100.3	83.7
Assassin's Creed	108.0	90.2
Valheim	106.7	89.1

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Ultra

272%

Core i3-12100F

99%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M1 Ultra is more energy efficient than the Core i3-12100F since it has less power consumption: 20W vs. 58W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i3-12100F
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	267
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	1958
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	642
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	4447
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	1503
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	14658

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i3-12100F
Single-Core	9611	3516
Multi-Core	62194	20521

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i3-12100F
Single-Core	1637	1729
Multi-Core	24642	6333

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i3-12100F
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1700
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Alder Lake-U
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	12
Turbo Frequency		4.3 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	1 MHz
Cores	20	4
Threads	20	8
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	9800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	58 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	48MB	5 MB
L3 cache	96MB	12 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1W06

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Ultra is 68% better than Core i3-12100F in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Ultra has 16 more core than Core i3-12100F. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple M1 Ultra is better: 31
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-12100F is better: 5
Although it should be understood that all the number in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Apple M1 Ultra and Intel Core i3-12100F before making a choice which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M1 Ultra - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Apple M1 Ultra specs and review.

Intel Core i3-12100F - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i3-12100F specs and review.