Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-9990XE

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 i9-9990XE tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, programming, streaming, video editing, machine learning. Here is useful information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as PassMark, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, MATLAB, WPrime, Furmark, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Dolphin Emulator, AIDA64, Handbrake, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), RealBench, SuperPi, 3DMark, Prime95, PCMark 10.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9990XE 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 i9-9990XE

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i9-9990XE

59%

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 play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a little 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: Shadow of the Tomb Raider, DOTA 2A, Control, Forza Horizon 4, Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), NBA 2K20, Hitman 3, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Ghostrunner, Monster Hunter World, League of Legends (LOL), Half-Life: Alyx.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	104.6
Valorant	114.8	118.9
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	66.6
Apex Legends	107.9	111.7
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	89.1
Overwatch	93.0	96.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	82.0
DOOM Eternal	57.4	59.4
Warzone	89.5	92.7
Assassin's Creed	96.4	99.8
Valheim	95.3	98.6

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 video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. 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 Pro

358%

Core i9-9990XE

16%

To make a final decision 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 i9-9990XE since it has less power consumption: 16W vs. 260W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, streaming, programming, video rendering or video editing, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. 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 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 i9-9990XE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	199
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	3215
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	455
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	7457
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1115
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	22765

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Single-Core	5046	3072
Multi-Core	32596	31845

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Single-Core	1723	1308
Multi-Core	12737	16263

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful 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 in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9990XE
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	April 01, 2020
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	LGA2066
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Skylake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	9
Turbo Frequency		5.2 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	4.2 MHz
Cores	10	14
Threads	10	28
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	260 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	85 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB
L3 cache	24MB	32 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 i9-9990XE is 23% better than M1 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9990XE has 4 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: 13
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9990XE is better: 25
Although it should be understood that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i9-9990XE 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 i9-9990XE specs and review.