Apple M2
vs
Intel Core Ultra 5 125H

vs

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M2 and Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

  • Higher Technology: 5 nm (5 nm vs 7 nm)
  • More Total Cores: 14 (8 vs 14)
  • Higher Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency: 4.5 GHz (3.48 GHz vs 4.5 GHz)
  • Larger L3 Cache: 18 MB (8 MB system level cache vs 18 MB)
  • Newer Launch Date: December 2023 (June 2022 vs December 2023)

Basic

Apple
Label Name
Intel
June 2022
Launch Date
December 2023
Laptop
Platform
Laptop
Apple Avalanche + Apple Blizzard
CPU Architecture
-
Apple M2
CPU Name
-
Apple M2
Model Name
?
The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.
Core Ultra 5 125H
-
Code Name
Meteor Lake
TSMC
Foundry
-
Apple M2 series
Generation
-

CPU Specifications

8
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
14
8
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
18
4
Performance-cores
4
4
Efficient-cores
10
-
Performance-core Base Frequency
3.6 GHz
-
Efficient-core Base Frequency
2.3 GHz
2.42 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
-
NEON
Instruction Set Extensions
-
3.48 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
?
Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.
4.5 GHz
ARMv8.6-A, NEON
Extended Instruction Set
-
P-cores: 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data per core; E-cores: 128 KB instruction + 64 KB data per core
L1 Cache
112 KB per core
P-core cluster: 16 MB; E-core cluster: 4 MB
L2 Cache
14 MB
8 MB system level cache
L3 Cache
18 MB
-
CPU Socket
?
The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.
Intel BGA 2049
5 nm
Technology
?
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
7 nm
-
TDP
28 W
ARMv8.6-A
Instruction Set
?
The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.
-
20 billion
Transistor Count
-

Memory Specifications

128-bit
Memory Bus Width
-
Unified LPDDR5-6400
Memory Type
?
Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.
DDR5-5600,LPDDR5x-7467
LPDDR5-6400
LPDDR5 Speed
-
24 GB
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
96GB
-
Memory Channels
?
The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.
2
100 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
?
Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).
-
6400 MT/s
Maximum Memory Speed
-

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 with DisplayPort
External Display Standard
-
Apple M2 GPU
GPU Name
-
Up to 6K 60Hz external display
Max External Display Resolution
-
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; up to 8K H.264 and HEVC decode; multiple 4K and 8K ProRes streams
Video Decode
-
H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; up to 8K H.264 and HEVC decode
Video Encode
-
Apple media engine with ProRes acceleration
Video Processing Unit
-
-
Integrated Graphics Model
?
An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.
Intel® Arc™ graphics
1398 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
-
10
Graphics Core Count
-
One external display up to 6K 60Hz
Number of Displays Supported
-
Metal, OpenCL
GPU APIs
-
Up to 3.6 TFLOPS FP32
Graphics Performance
-
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
Media Engine
-
1
Video Decode Engines
-
1
Video Encode Engines
-
1
ProRes Encode/Decode Engines
-
Yes
OpenCL Support
?
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.
-

AI Specifications

16-core Apple Neural Engine
AI Engine
-
16
Neural Engine Core Count
-
Apple Neural Engine
NPU Name
-
15.8 TOPS
NPU Performance
-

Connectivity

Yes
Bluetooth Support
-
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth Version
-
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi Standard
-

Interfaces and Ports

Yes, Thunderbolt 3 up to 40 Gb/s
Thunderbolt Support
-
USB4
USB Version
-
Yes, USB4 up to 40 Gb/s
USB4 Support
-

Miscellaneous

Yes, Apple silicon secure boot chain of trust
Hardware-Verified Secure Boot
-
Apple image signal processor
Image Signal Processor
-
Kernel Integrity Protection, Pointer Authentication Codes, Fast Permission Restrictions
Runtime Anti-Exploitation
-

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23 Single Core
Apple M2
1595
Core Ultra 5 125H
1739 +9%
Cinebench R23 Multi Core
Apple M2
8654
Core Ultra 5 125H
15227 +76%
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Apple M2
2597 +15%
Core Ultra 5 125H
2256
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Apple M2
9707
Core Ultra 5 125H
10239 +5%
Geekbench 5 Single Core
Apple M2
1914 +18%
Core Ultra 5 125H
1626
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
Apple M2
8812
Core Ultra 5 125H
9436 +7%
Passmark CPU Single Core
Apple M2
3885 +9%
Core Ultra 5 125H
3563
Passmark CPU Multi Core
Apple M2
15654
Core Ultra 5 125H
21496 +37%
Cinebench 2024 Single Core
Apple M2
120 +17%
Core Ultra 5 125H
103
Cinebench 2024 Multi Core
Apple M2
555
Core Ultra 5 125H
866 +56%