Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i9-13900KF

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i9-13900KF tests and see which is better for games or simple use for video editing, programming, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Gears 5, PCMark 10, SuperPi, AIDA64, Blender, Furmark, UserBenchmark, Dolphin Emulator, 3DMark, RealBench, VeraCrypt, Handbrake, Prime95, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, PassMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, WPrime.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-13900KF 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 i9-13900KF

68%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Ultra

64%

Core i9-13900KF

65%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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 low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Hitman 3, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), DOTA 2A, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, Half-Life: Alyx, League of Legends (LOL), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	115.3
Valorant	128.6	131.0
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	73.3
Apex Legends	120.8	123.1
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	98.2
Overwatch	104.1	106.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	90.4
DOOM Eternal	64.3	65.5
Warzone	100.3	102.2
Assassin's Creed	108.0	110.0
Valheim	106.7	108.7

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 computers participating in the comparing 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. So 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 i9-13900KF

60%

To make a final 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 i9-13900KF as it consumes less power: 20W vs. 125W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, streaming, machine learning, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-13900KF
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	525
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	5528
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	875
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	12292
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	3109
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	35375

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-13900KF
Single-Core	9611	2841
Multi-Core	62194	60297

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-13900KF
Single-Core	1637	2287
Multi-Core	24642	26728

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. 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 new games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i9-13900KF
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	September 15, 2022
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1700
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Raptor Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	13
Turbo Frequency		5.8 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	4.3 MHz
Cores	20	24
Threads	20	32
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	14200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	125 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	6500
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s	89.6 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	48MB	8 MB
L3 cache	96MB	36 MB
Overclocking	No	y
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 i9-13900KF is 25% better than M1 Ultra in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-13900KF has 4 more core than M1 Ultra. 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: 10
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-13900KF is better: 26
Although it should be realized that all the data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M1 Ultra and Intel Core i9-13900KF before making a choice which of the CPUs 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 i9-13900KF - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-13900KF specs and review.