Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-11900

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Perhaps you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-11900 and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, machine learning, rendering, video editing, streaming. Here is all information from different benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review 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 software tests such as Gears 5, Blender, Blender, MATLAB, SuperPi, Prime95, Handbrake, GeekBench 6, 5.2, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PCMark 10, RealBench, 3DMark, Furmark, Dolphin Emulator, VeraCrypt, 7zip, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, AIDA64, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, WPrime.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-11900 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 i9-11900

58%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Pro is 1% better than Core i9-11900. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i9-11900

55%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. 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. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary 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	101.0	97.8
Valorant	114.8	111.1
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	62.2
Apex Legends	107.9	104.4
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	83.3
Overwatch	93.0	90.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	76.7
DOOM Eternal	57.4	55.5
Warzone	89.5	86.7
Assassin's Creed	96.4	93.3
Valheim	95.3	92.2

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 video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K 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 i9-11900

87%

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 i9-11900 as it consumes less power: 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 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, streaming, 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 threads and cores 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. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the advantages 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 Pro	Intel Core i9-11900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	278
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	2524
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	623
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	5611
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1620
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	16146

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-11900
Single-Core	5046	3725
Multi-Core	32596	27603

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-11900
Single-Core	1723	1713
Multi-Core	12737	9575

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 later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-11900
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	March 18, 2021
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1200
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Rocket Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	11
Turbo Frequency		5.1 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.5 MHz
Cores	10	8
Threads	10	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	9800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	65 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-3200
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	50 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB	4 MB
L3 cache	24MB	16 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 M1 Pro is 21% better than Core i9-11900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Pro has 2 more core than Core i9-11900. 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: 26
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-11900 is better: 11
Although it should be understood that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i9-11900 before making a choice which processor 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 i9-11900 specs and review.