Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i7-11700K

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   If you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i7-11700K and see which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning. Here you can find useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or various benchmarks. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like 7zip, SuperPi, UserBenchmark, Handbrake, PCMark 10, AIDA64, GeekBench 6, 5.2, VeraCrypt, Prime95, WPrime, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Blender, 3DMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, Gears 5, RealBench, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-11700K or Apple M1 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

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

M1 Pro

59%

Core i7-11700K

58%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Pro is 1% better than Core i7-11700K. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i7-11700K

56%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	100.2
Valorant	114.8	113.8
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	63.7
Apex Legends	107.9	107.0
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	85.4
Overwatch	93.0	92.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	78.5
DOOM Eternal	57.4	56.9
Warzone	89.5	88.8
Assassin's Creed	96.4	95.6
Valheim	95.3	94.5

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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. 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. You will get more accurate information about how powerful 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 Pro

358%

Core i7-11700K

47%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M1 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i7-11700K since it has less power consumption: 16W vs. 125W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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 programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the benefit 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 Pro	Intel Core i7-11700K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	262
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	2507
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	612
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	5618
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1596
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	14869

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i7-11700K
Single-Core	5046	3562
Multi-Core	32596	27126

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i7-11700K
Single-Core	1723	1793
Multi-Core	12737	11929

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. 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 benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in the newest games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i7-11700K
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	January 20, 2021
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1200
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Rocket Lake-S
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	11
Turbo Frequency		5 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	10	8
Threads	10	16
Bus rate		12 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	8200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	125 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-3200
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	64 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB	4 MB
L3 cache	24MB	16 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1103

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-11700K is 11% better than M1 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Pro has 2 more core than Core i7-11700K. 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 Pro is better: 24
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-11700K is better: 14
The summary data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i7-11700K before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M1 Pro - all data

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

• Apple M1 Pro specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-11700K specs and review.