Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i7-12700

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Perhaps you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i7-12700 tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for machine learning, rendering, programming, streaming, video editing. Here you can find all information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A careful analysis 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 synthetic type tests like Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Blender, Furmark, UserBenchmark, Blender, 3DMark, RealBench, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Prime95, PassMark, Gears 5, 7zip, MATLAB, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PCMark 10.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-12700 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 i7-12700

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i7-12700

56%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	100.0
Valorant	114.8	113.7
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	63.7
Apex Legends	107.9	106.9
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	85.3
Overwatch	93.0	92.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	78.4
DOOM Eternal	57.4	56.8
Warzone	89.5	88.7
Assassin's Creed	96.4	95.5
Valheim	95.3	94.4

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, 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Pro

358%

Core i7-12700

85%

To make a final resolution 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 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i7-12700 since it has less power consumption: 16W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you want 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 performance, the processor uses 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 check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since 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 i7-12700
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	431
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	3140
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	1029
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	7127
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	2408
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	23496

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i7-12700
Single-Core	5046	5637
Multi-Core	32596	32896

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i7-12700
Single-Core	1723	1667
Multi-Core	12737	11810

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful 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 in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. It turns out that 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 i7-12700
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	January 07, 2022
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1700
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	12
Turbo Frequency		4.9 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	10	12
Threads	10	20
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	65 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB	12 MB
L3 cache	24MB	25 MB
Overclocking	No	No
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 i7-12700 is 11% better than M1 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-12700 has 2 more core than M1 Pro. 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: 19
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-12700 is better: 18
Although it should be realized that all the number that you have looked at here 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 Pro and Intel Core i7-12700 before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

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 i7-12700 - all data

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

• Intel Core i7-12700 specs and review.