Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i5-12500H

Processor comparisons   22-10-2022
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i5-12500H and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming. Here you can find useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications such as Gears 5, PCMark 10, Blender, Furmark, AIDA64, Handbrake, SuperPi, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), RealBench, MATLAB, Prime95, 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, 7zip, WPrime, UserBenchmark, PassMark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-12500H or Apple M2 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

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

M2 Pro

61%

Core i5-12500H

57%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 Pro is 6% better than Core i5-12500H. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M2 Pro

59%

Core i5-12500H

55%

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 the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghostrunner, Metro Exodus, Control, Battlefield V, League of Legends (LOL), Hitman 3, DOTA 2A, NBA 2K20, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Monster Hunter World, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	98.6
Valorant	119.1	112.0
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	62.7
Apex Legends	111.9	105.3
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	84.0
Overwatch	96.5	90.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	77.3
DOOM Eternal	59.5	56.0
Warzone	92.9	87.4
Assassin's Creed	100.0	94.1
Valheim	98.8	93.0

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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

M2 Pro

496%

Core i5-12500H

143%

To make a finishing decision 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 M2 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i5-12500H since it has less power consumption: 14W vs. 40W. Power consumption is particularly 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, machine learning, programming, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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 are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500H
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	312
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	2282
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	748
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	5183
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	1749
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	17085

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500H
Single-Core	6111	4099
Multi-Core	39485	23919

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500H
Single-Core	2085	1721
Multi-Core	16467	10346

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 in your computer. 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 new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500H
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M2	FCBGA1744
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	12
Turbo Frequency		4.5 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	12	12
Threads	12	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 W	40 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s Up to LPDDR5 5200 MT/s Up to LPDDR4x 4267 MT/s
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB
L3 cache	36MB	18 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M2 Pro is 5% better than Core i5-12500H in terms of CPU frequency. 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 M2 Pro is better: 26
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-12500H is better: 10
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 fully trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of of people who bought Apple M2 Pro and Intel Core i5-12500H before deciding which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M2 Pro - all data

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

• Apple M2 Pro specs and review.

Intel Core i5-12500H - all data

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

• Intel Core i5-12500H specs and review.