Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900TE

Processor comparisons 22-10-2022

   For example you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Apple M2 Pro vs Intel Core i9-12900TE and understand which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, streaming, machine learning, programming. Here you can find useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like Gears 5, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), RealBench, MATLAB, SuperPi, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, AIDA64, DaVinci Resolve Studio, VeraCrypt, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark, Handbrake, PassMark, 7zip, Prime95, Blender, Furmark, 3DMark, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-12900TE 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 i9-12900TE

65%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-12900TE is 6% 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 i9-12900TE

59%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Battlefield V, Monster Hunter World, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Microsoft Flight Simulator, DOTA 2A, Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Control, Hitman 3, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	103.9
Valorant	119.1	118.0
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	66.1
Apex Legends	111.9	110.9
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	88.5
Overwatch	96.5	95.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	81.4
DOOM Eternal	59.5	59.0
Warzone	92.9	92.1
Assassin's Creed	100.0	99.1
Valheim	98.8	98.0

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, 4K 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M2 Pro

496%

Core i9-12900TE

174%

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 i9-12900TE since it has less power consumption: 14W vs. 35W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count 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 programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. 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 use only one core to work, 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 i9-12900TE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	432
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	4547
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	721
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	10110
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	2556
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	29091

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900TE
Single-Core	6111	6663
Multi-Core	39485	49735

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

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900TE
Single-Core	2085	1829
Multi-Core	16467	15550

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 newer the processor, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M2 Pro	Intel Core i9-12900TE
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	July 21, 2021
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Embedded
Socket	M2	FCLGA1700
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	12
Turbo Frequency		4.8 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	12	16
Threads	12	24
Bus rate		16 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	12600 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	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB	2 MB
L2 cache	24MB	14 MB
L3 cache	36MB	30 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 i9-12900TE is 3% better than M2 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-12900TE has 4 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 i9-12900TE is better: 16
However, it should be understood that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M2 Pro and Intel Core i9-12900TE 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 i9-12900TE - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-12900TE specs and review.