Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900T

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Let's say you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900T and see which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, streaming, programming, machine learning. Here you can find useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like Blender, Blender, 7zip, RealBench, SuperPi, Gears 5, Furmark, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PCMark 10, MATLAB, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, UserBenchmark, VeraCrypt, 3DMark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, AIDA64, Handbrake.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-12900T 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 i9-12900T

65%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-12900T is 9% better than M1 Pro. 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 i9-12900T

59%

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 play 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 final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, Forza Horizon 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hitman 3, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), League of Legends (LOL), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Ghostrunner, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Metro Exodus, Monster Hunter World.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	104.0
Valorant	114.8	118.2
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	66.2
Apex Legends	107.9	111.1
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	88.7
Overwatch	93.0	95.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	81.6
DOOM Eternal	57.4	59.1
Warzone	89.5	92.2
Assassin's Creed	96.4	99.3
Valheim	95.3	98.1

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. 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. 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 Pro

358%

Core i9-12900T

175%

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 i9-12900T since it has less power consumption: 16W vs. 35W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful 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 machine learning, programming, video editing or video rendering, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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 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 i9-12900T
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	436
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	4593
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	728
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	10212
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	2582
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	29385

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900T
Single-Core	5046	6730
Multi-Core	32596	50237

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900T
Single-Core	1723	1847
Multi-Core	12737	15707

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 you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900T
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	July 21, 2021
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	16
Threads	10	24
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	12600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	35 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	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	24MB	12 MB
L3 cache	24MB	30 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 i9-12900T is 11% better than M1 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-12900T has 6 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: 6
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-12900T is better: 30
However, it should be understood that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i9-12900T before making a selection 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 i9-12900T - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-12900T specs and review.