Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i5-12600KF

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M1 Ultra vs Intel Core i5-12600KF and see which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning. Here you can find all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests such as Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, MATLAB, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 3DMark, Furmark, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, SuperPi, WPrime, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Prime95, UserBenchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PCMark 10, Gears 5, RealBench, Blender, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-12600KF or Apple M1 Ultra.

Summary benchmark results

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

M1 Ultra

68%

Core i5-12600KF

61%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Ultra is 10% better than Core i5-12600KF. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Ultra

64%

Core i5-12600KF

58%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	102.9
Valorant	128.6	117.0
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	65.5
Apex Legends	120.8	110.0
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	87.7
Overwatch	104.1	94.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	80.7
DOOM Eternal	64.3	58.5
Warzone	100.3	91.2
Assassin's Creed	108.0	98.3
Valheim	106.7	97.1

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 comparing not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K or 4K. 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 Ultra

272%

Core i5-12600KF

57%

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 Ultra is more energy efficient than the Core i5-12600KF as it consumes less power: 20W vs. 125W. 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the benefit 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 Ultra	Intel Core i5-12600KF
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	485
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	3543
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	1161
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	8045
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	2715
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	26517

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i5-12600KF
Single-Core	9611	6362
Multi-Core	62194	37124

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i5-12600KF
Single-Core	1637	2144
Multi-Core	24642	14653

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 later the processor is released, 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. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Ultra	Intel Core i5-12600KF
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA1700
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	12
Turbo Frequency		4.9 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	20	10
Threads	20	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	125 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	48MB	9.5 MB
L3 cache	96MB	20 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1W06

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-12600KF is 11% better than M1 Ultra in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Ultra has 10 more core than Core i5-12600KF. 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 Ultra is better: 26
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-12600KF is better: 10
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 completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 Ultra and Intel Core i5-12600KF before making a choice which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

Apple M1 Ultra - all data

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

• Apple M1 Ultra specs and review.

Intel Core i5-12600KF - all data

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

• Intel Core i5-12600KF specs and review.