Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-10850K

Processor comparisons   22-10-2022
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-10850K and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, programming, machine learning, streaming, video editing. Here you can find all information from real streaming and video editing tests or various benchmarks. A careful review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as PassMark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, SuperPi, PCMark 10, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Furmark, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Gears 5, WPrime, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, DaVinci Resolve Studio, MATLAB, RealBench, Blender, AIDA64, 3DMark, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-10850K 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 i9-10850K

57%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 Pro is 6% better than Core i9-10850K. 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 i9-10850K

56%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	99.8
Valorant	119.1	113.4
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	63.5
Apex Legends	111.9	106.6
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	85.1
Overwatch	96.5	91.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	78.3
DOOM Eternal	59.5	56.7
Warzone	92.9	88.5
Assassin's Creed	100.0	95.3
Valheim	98.8	94.1

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 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. 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

M2 Pro

496%

Core i9-10850K

36%

To make a finishing 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 M2 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i9-10850K as it consumes less power: 14W vs. 125W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, video editing or video rendering, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU turns on all threads and cores that it has. You will learn 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 use only one core to run, and all the advantages 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 i9-10850K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	229
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	2616
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	536
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	6318
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	1367
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	16820

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-10850K
Single-Core	6111	3074
Multi-Core	39485	23350

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-10850K
Single-Core	2085	1383
Multi-Core	16467	11578

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 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 can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain 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 i9-10850K
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M2	FCLGA1200
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Comet Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	10
Turbo Frequency		5.1 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	12	10
Threads	12	20
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	9200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 W	125 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-2933
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB
L3 cache	36MB	20 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
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 Core i9-10850K is 3% better than M2 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M2 Pro has 2 more core than Core i9-10850K. 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: 27
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-10850K is better: 11
Although it should be realized that all the number in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M2 Pro and Intel Core i9-10850K 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 i9-10850K specs and review.