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Apple M5 Pro 15 Cores

vs

Intel Core i7-1260P

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Apple M5 Pro 15 Cores and Intel Core i7-1260P processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

Apple M5 Pro 15 Cores

More Total Cores: 15 (15 vs 12)
Higher Technology: Third-generation 3 nm (Third-generation 3 nm vs Intel 7)
Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (March 2026 vs February 2022)

Basic

Apple

Label Name

Intel

March 2026

Launch Date

February 2022

Laptop

Platform

Mobile

Apple custom ARM architecture

CPU Architecture

Apple M5 Pro

CPU Name

Apple M5 Pro 15-Core

Model Name

i7-1260P

Code Name

Alder Lake

TSMC N3P

Foundry

M5 Pro

Generation

CPU Specifications

Apple Fusion Architecture

Interconnect Technology

4.38 GHz

Performance-core Multi-Core Max Frequency

4.61 GHz

Super-core Max Frequency

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Performance-cores

Efficient-cores

Super-cores

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Yes

Max Turbo Frequency

4.70 GHz

Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency

3.40 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

4.70 GHz

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Yes

L3 Cache

18 MB

Cache

18 MB Intel® Smart Cache

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCBGA1744

Intel AES New Instructions

Yes

Third-generation 3 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.

Intel 7

TDP

28 W

Processor Base Power

28 W

Maximum Turbo Power

64 W

Minimum Assured Power

20 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

Max Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Instruction Set

An instruction set architecture (ISA) defines the instructions a processor can execute. Common architectures include x86-64, ARM and RISC-V. The ISA determines software compatibility, while optional instruction extensions add specialized capabilities.

64-bit

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Yes

Microprocessor PCIe Revision

Gen 4

Memory Specifications

LPDDR5X unified memory

Memory Type

Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s Up to LPDDR5 5200 MT/s Up to LPDDR4x 4267 MT/s

48 GB

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

64 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

307 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).

9600 MT/s

Maximum Memory Speed

ECC Memory Support

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

GPU Specifications

Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C; HDMI

External Display Standard

Apple M5 Pro 16-core GPU

GPU Name

Supported

Hardware-accelerated ray tracing

Up to three external displays: three displays up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz; or one display up to 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz plus a second display up to 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 200Hz

Max External Display Resolution

H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed

Video Decode

H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW; hardware-accelerated; frame rate not disclosed

Video Encode

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® Iris® Xe Graphics eligible

Graphics Core Count

Graphics Frequency

1.40 GHz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

12.1

Execution Units

Up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz

Max Resolution

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Metal

GPU APIs

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP 1.4b | DP 1.4a | HDMI 2.1

Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode

Media Engine

Video Decode Engines

Video Encode Engines

ProRes Encode/Decode Engines

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.6

OpenCL Support

OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.

3.0

Intel Quick Sync Video

Yes

AI Specifications

Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores

AI Engine

Intel Gaussian Neural Accelerator

3.0

Neural Engine Core Count

16-core Neural Engine

NPU Name

Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost) on CPU

Yes

Connectivity

Supported

Bluetooth Support

Bluetooth Version

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Wi-Fi Standard

Apple N1 wireless networking chip

Wireless System

Interfaces and Ports

Thunderbolt 5

Thunderbolt Support

USB 4 up to 120Gb/s

USB Version

Supported

USB4 Support

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Yes

Miscellaneous

Memory Integrity Enforcement

Runtime Anti-Exploitation

Intel Image Processing Unit

6.0

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Intel High Definition Audio

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Yes

Intel Hardware Shield Eligibility

Yes

Intel QuickAssist Software Acceleration

Yes

Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard