Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-9960X

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   For example you have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-9960X and decide which is better for games or simple use for machine learning, video editing, programming, streaming, rendering. Here you can find useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A careful analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as DaVinci Resolve Studio, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, 7zip, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, Blender, RealBench, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, AIDA64, WPrime, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, Blender, PassMark, PCMark 10, MATLAB.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9960X or Apple M1 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

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

M1 Pro

59%

Core i9-9960X

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i9-9960X

60%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	106.4
Valorant	114.8	120.9
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	67.7
Apex Legends	107.9	113.6
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	90.7
Overwatch	93.0	97.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	83.4
DOOM Eternal	57.4	60.5
Warzone	89.5	94.3
Assassin's Creed	96.4	101.6
Valheim	95.3	100.3

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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

M1 Pro

358%

Core i9-9960X

24%

To make a final choice 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 M1 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9960X as it consumes less power: 16W vs. 165W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must 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

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, machine learning, programming, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, 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 M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9960X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	200
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	2872
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	457
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	6671
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1086
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	22943

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9960X
Single-Core	5046	2684
Multi-Core	32596	30816

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9960X
Single-Core	1723	1230
Multi-Core	12737	18032

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The later the processor is released, 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. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9960X
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	January 01, 2019
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA2066
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Skylake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	9
Turbo Frequency		4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	10	16
Threads	10	32
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	8600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	165 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	32 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s	85 GB/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	24MB
L3 cache	24MB	22 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1103

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Pro is 3% better than Core i9-9960X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9960X has 6 more core than M1 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 M1 Pro is better: 15
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-9960X is better: 23
Although it should be understood that all the number that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i9-9960X before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Apple M1 Pro - all data

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

• Apple M1 Pro specs and review.

• Intel Core i9-9960X specs and review.