Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i9-12900KF

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i9-12900KF and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, programming, machine learning, streaming, video editing. Here is useful information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like Blender, Dolphin Emulator, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, Gears 5, VeraCrypt, 3DMark, AIDA64, Handbrake, Furmark, MATLAB, UserBenchmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, SuperPi, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, PCMark 10, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, 7zip.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-12900KF 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 i9-12900KF

66%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Ultra is 2% better than Core i9-12900KF. 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 i9-12900KF

61%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Battlefield V, Ghostrunner, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Microsoft Flight Simulator, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Control, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	108.9
Valorant	128.6	123.8
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	69.3
Apex Legends	120.8	116.4
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	92.8
Overwatch	104.1	100.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	85.4
DOOM Eternal	64.3	61.9
Warzone	100.3	96.5
Assassin's Creed	108.0	104.0
Valheim	106.7	102.7

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 tested computers not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Ultra

272%

Core i9-12900KF

52%

To make a finishing decision 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 i9-12900KF since it has less power consumption: 20W vs. 125W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can 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 i9-12900KF
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	474
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	4996
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	792
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	11107
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	2809
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	31962

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-12900KF
Single-Core	9611	7320
Multi-Core	62194	54642

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-12900KF
Single-Core	1637	1967
Multi-Core	24642	20514

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-12900KF
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	July 21, 2021
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1700
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	12
Turbo Frequency		5.2 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.9 MHz
Cores	20	16
Threads	20	24
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	12600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	125 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	6400
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	48MB	14 MB
L3 cache	96MB	30 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 Core i9-12900KF is 17% better than M1 Ultra in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Ultra has 4 more core than Core i9-12900KF. 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: 26
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-12900KF is better: 9
Although it should be understood that the summary data in the table above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 Ultra and Intel Core i9-12900KF before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

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 i9-12900KF - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-12900KF specs and review.