Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900H

Processor comparisons 22-10-2022

   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900H and see which is better for games or normal use for machine learning, rendering, streaming, video editing, programming. Here you can find useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, Handbrake, Gears 5, WPrime, AIDA64, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Prime95, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 3DMark, VeraCrypt, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, RealBench, MATLAB, PassMark, UserBenchmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-12900H 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 i9-12900H

66%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-12900H is 7% better than M2 Pro. 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 i9-12900H

57%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	100.8
Valorant	119.1	114.5
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	64.1
Apex Legends	111.9	107.7
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	85.9
Overwatch	96.5	92.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	79.0
DOOM Eternal	59.5	57.3
Warzone	92.9	89.3
Assassin's Creed	100.0	96.2
Valheim	98.8	95.1

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 comparisons 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. 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 i9-12900H

143%

To make a finishing choice 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 i9-12900H as it consumes less power: 14W vs. 45W. 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

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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 M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900H
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	484
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	5097
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	808
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	11333
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	2866
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	32614

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900H
Single-Core	6111	7469
Multi-Core	39485	55757

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900H
Single-Core	2085	1935
Multi-Core	16467	12544

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The later the processor is released, 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. If the processor can be overclocked, 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 economy are obvious!

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900H
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		5 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.8 MHz
Cores	12	14
Threads	12	20
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	12400 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 W	45 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	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	108 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	24MB	8 MB
L3 cache	36MB	24 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 Core i9-12900H is 8% better than M2 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-12900H has 2 more core than M2 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 M2 Pro is better: 20
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-12900H is better: 16
However, it should be realized that all the number that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M2 Pro and Intel Core i9-12900H before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

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 i9-12900H - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-12900H specs and review.