Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i5-12500T

Processor comparisons   22-10-2022
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i5-12500T and understand which is better for games or simple use for video editing, programming, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here you can find all information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as Gears 5, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, PCMark 10, UserBenchmark, AIDA64, VeraCrypt, Blender, 7zip, SuperPi, 3DMark, WPrime, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, MATLAB, Furmark, Dolphin Emulator, RealBench, PassMark, Handbrake.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-12500T 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 i5-12500T

56%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 Pro is 8% better than Core i5-12500T. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M2 Pro

59%

Core i5-12500T

55%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run 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 little 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: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Monster Hunter World, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, Control, Hitman 3, Ghostrunner, League of Legends (LOL), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Metro Exodus, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Horizon Zero Dawn, Battlefield V, NBA 2K20.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	96.9
Valorant	119.1	110.1
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	61.7
Apex Legends	111.9	103.5
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	82.6
Overwatch	96.5	89.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	76.0
DOOM Eternal	59.5	55.1
Warzone	92.9	85.9
Assassin's Creed	100.0	92.5
Valheim	98.8	91.4

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M2 Pro

496%

Core i5-12500T

155%

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 M2 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i5-12500T as it consumes less power: 14W vs. 35W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, programming, 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 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. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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 i5-12500T
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	289
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	2117
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	694
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	4807
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	1623
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	15847

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500T
Single-Core	6111	3803
Multi-Core	39485	22187

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500T
Single-Core	2085	1634
Multi-Core	16467	8748

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 in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i5-12500T
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M2	FCLGA1700
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	12
Turbo Frequency		4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	12	6
Threads	12	12
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 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
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	76.8 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 i5-12500T in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M2 Pro has 6 more core than Core i5-12500T. 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: 29
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-12500T is better: 7
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Apple M2 Pro and Intel Core i5-12500T before making a choice 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 i5-12500T - all data

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

• Intel Core i5-12500T specs and review.