Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-9980XE

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   If you have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core i9-9980XE and see which is better for games or simple use for rendering, machine learning, streaming, video editing, programming. Here you can find useful information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as UserBenchmark, 7zip, Gears 5, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Prime95, Blender, RealBench, AIDA64, VeraCrypt, SuperPi, MATLAB, Blender, Furmark, WPrime, PassMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i9-9980XE 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 i9-9980XE

59%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Core i9-9980XE

60%

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 run games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a little game result, 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: Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Ghostrunner, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, DOTA 2A, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Control, Microsoft Flight Simulator, League of Legends (LOL).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	106.2
Valorant	114.8	120.7
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	67.6
Apex Legends	107.9	113.5
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	90.5
Overwatch	93.0	97.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	83.3
DOOM Eternal	57.4	60.3
Warzone	89.5	94.1
Assassin's Creed	96.4	101.4
Valheim	95.3	100.2

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 computers that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Pro

358%

Core i9-9980XE

23%

To make a final 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 M1 Pro is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9980XE since it has less power consumption: 16W vs. 165W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes 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 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 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 i9-9980XE
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	201
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	3240
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	459
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	7516
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1124
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	22944

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9980XE
Single-Core	5046	2551
Multi-Core	32596	32096

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

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9980XE
Single-Core	1723	1178
Multi-Core	12737	17856

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. 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, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Pro	Intel Core i9-9980XE
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	October 01, 2018
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M1	FCLGA2066
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Skylake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	9
Turbo Frequency		4.5 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3 MHz
Cores	10	18
Threads	10	36
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	24.75 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 6% better than Core i9-9980XE in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9980XE has 8 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 i9-9980XE is better: 23
Although it should be understood that all the data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M1 Pro and Intel Core i9-9980XE before making a choice which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

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 i9-9980XE specs and review.