Home / CPU Comparison / Intel Core i9-12900HK or Apple M5 (8-core GPU): What's better?

Intel Core i9-12900HK

vs

Apple M5 (8-core GPU)

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Intel Core i9-12900HK and Apple M5 (8-core GPU) processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

Intel Core i9-12900HK

More Total Cores: 14 (14 vs 10)
Higher Max Turbo Frequency: 5.00 GHz (5.00 GHz vs 4.61 GHz)

Apple M5 (8-core GPU)

Higher Technology: Third-generation 3 nm (Intel 7 vs Third-generation 3 nm)
Newer Launch Date: March 2026 (January 2022 vs March 2026)

Basic

Intel

Label Name

Apple

January 2022

Launch Date

March 2026

Mobile

Platform

Laptop

CPU Architecture

Apple custom ARM architecture

CPU Name

Apple M5

i9-12900HK

Model Name

Apple M5 8-Core GPU

Alder Lake

Code Name

Foundry

TSMC N3P

Generation

CPU Specifications

Super-core Max Frequency

4.61 GHz

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

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Yes

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

5.00 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

4.61 GHz

3.80 GHz

Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency

3.05 GHz

5.00 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Yes

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

5.00 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency

24 MB

L3 Cache

24 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Cache

FCBGA1744

CPU Socket

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

Yes

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel 7

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.

Third-generation 3 nm

45 W

TDP

45 W

Processor Base Power

115 W

Maximum Turbo Power

35 W

Minimum Assured Power

100°C

Max. Operating Temperature

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

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.

64-bit

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.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Gen 4

Microprocessor PCIe Revision

Memory Specifications

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

Memory Type

LPDDR5X unified memory

64 GB

Max Memory Size

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

32 GB

Memory Channels

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

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).

153 GB/s

Maximum Memory Speed

9600 MT/s

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.

Yes

Intel Flex Memory Access

GPU Specifications

External Display Standard

Thunderbolt / DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C

GPU Name

Apple M5 8-core GPU

Hardware-accelerated ray tracing

Supported

Max External Display Resolution

Up to two external displays: two 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz; or one 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz

Video Decode

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

Video Encode

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

Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics eligible

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.

Graphics Core Count

1.45 GHz

Graphics Frequency

12.1

DirectX Support

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

Execution Units

Max Resolution

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

7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

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.

4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz

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 @ 60Hz

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.

Number of Displays Supported

GPU APIs

Metal

eDP 1.4b | DP 1.4a | HDMI 2.1

Graphics Output

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

Media Engine

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

Video Decode Engines

Video Encode Engines

ProRes Encode/Decode Engines

4.6

OpenGL Support

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

3.0

OpenCL Support

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

Yes

Intel Quick Sync Video

AI Specifications

AI Engine

Apple Neural Engine with Neural Accelerators in GPU cores

3.0

Intel Gaussian Neural Accelerator

Neural Engine Core Count

NPU Name

16-core Neural Engine

Yes

Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost) on CPU

Connectivity

Bluetooth Support

Supported

Bluetooth Version

Wi-Fi Standard

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Interfaces and Ports

Thunderbolt Support

Thunderbolt 4

USB Version

USB 4 up to 40Gb/s

USB4 Support

Supported

Yes

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Miscellaneous

6.0

Intel Image Processing Unit

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

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Yes

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