Apple M2 vs Intel Core i7-12700E

Processor comparisons   20-10-2022
   If you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a decision by looking at the Apple M2 vs Intel Core i7-12700E tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests like Dolphin Emulator, SuperPi, PassMark, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blender, 7zip, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Furmark, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, PCMark 10, Gears 5, RealBench, VeraCrypt, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, AIDA64, MATLAB, WPrime, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Handbrake.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-12700E or Apple M2.

Summary benchmark results

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

59%

Core i7-12700E

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

55%

Core i7-12700E

56%

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 play 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 final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Metro Exodus, Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4, League of Legends (LOL), Ghostrunner, DOTA 2A, Control, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3, Battlefield V, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Monster Hunter World, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.4	99.9
Valorant	110.7	113.6
Cyberpunk 2077	62.0	63.6
Apex Legends	104.1	106.7
Call of Duty Warzone	83.0	85.2
Overwatch	89.7	92.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.4	78.4
DOOM Eternal	55.4	56.8
Warzone	86.4	88.6
Assassin's Creed	93.0	95.4
Valheim	91.9	94.2

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 tested computers not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K or 4K. 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

535%

Core i7-12700E

84%

To make a final 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 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-12700E since it has less power consumption: 12W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, streaming, machine learning, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can 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	Intel Core i7-12700E
Cinbench 15 Single-core	298	427
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1586	3109
Cinbench 20 Single-core	558	1019
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2699	7056
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2057	2384
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	10520	23261

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

	Apple M2	Intel Core i7-12700E
Single-Core	4095	5581
Multi-Core	29665	32567

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

	Apple M2	Intel Core i7-12700E
Single-Core	1929	1650
Multi-Core	9243	11692

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 in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. 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 in the newest games. Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M2	Intel Core i7-12700E
Announcement date	October 18, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Laptop	Embedded
Socket	M2	FCLGA1700
Core name	4 x Avalanche and 4 x Blizzard	Alder Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	12
Turbo Frequency		4.8 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	8	12
Threads	8	20
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	20000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	12 W	65 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	2400
Memory bandwidth		76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	2MB
L2 cache	12MB	12 MB
L3 cache	16MB	25 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 i7-12700E is 3% better than M2 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-12700E has 4 more core than M2. 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 is better: 8
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-12700E is better: 29
However, it should be realized that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M2 and Intel Core i7-12700E before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M2 - all data

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

• Apple M2 specs and review.

Intel Core i7-12700E - all data

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

• Intel Core i7-12700E specs and review.