Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) vs Intel Core i5 12600K
[ VERDICT ]
Winner: Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) (97/100)
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) leads overall with a score of 97/100 compared to Intel Core i5 12600K (58/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 92.0 Excellent WINNER | 47.0 Poor |
| Performance | 100.0 Excellent WINNER | 72.0 Good |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 4.38 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.61 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| E-Cores | 12 | 4 |
| E-Threads | 12 | 4 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 80K (per core) |
| Multiplier | 46x | 37x |
| P-Cores | 6 | 6 |
| P-Threads | 6 | 12 |
| Total Cores | 18 | 10 |
| Total Threads | 18 | 16 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | Yes |
| Bus Frequency | — | 100 MHz |
| L2 Cache | — | 9728K (shared) |
| L3 Cache | — | 20MB (shared) |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | — | 3.6 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | — | 4.9 GHz |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | 9428 | — |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | 734 | — |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 106.1 images/sec | 58.9 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 271.1 Klines/sec | 98.7 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 2990 MB/sec | 822.6 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 811.7 pages/sec | 261.1 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 764 Mpixels/sec | 347.9 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 303.8 images/sec | 103.5 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 47.8 Mpixels/sec | 22.8 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 457.1 pages/sec | 258.5 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M5 | Alder Lake |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | x86-64 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) | UHD Graphics 770 |
| Released | March 3, 2026 | October 27, 2021 |
| Type | Laptop | Desktop |
| Vendor | Apple | Intel |
| AMD Equivalent | — | -AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
| Model number | — | i5-12600K |
| Successor | — | -Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | Yes |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 614 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 32 | 2 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-9600 | - DDR5-4800- DDR4-3200 |
Package
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Peak Temperature | 100°C | 100°C |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | LGA-1700 |
| TDP (PL1) | 72 W | 125 W |
| Transistors | 28 billions | — |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | — | 150 W |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 689.6 MBytes/sec | 342.8 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 40.8 GBytes/sec | 18.4 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.4B Matrices/sec | 22B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 553M Primes/sec | 90M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 186.1 GOps/sec | 67.1 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 132.6 GOps/sec | 87.8 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 6847 Frames/sec | 1515 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 84.9M Strings/sec | 35.7M Strings/sec |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Blender / Watt | 8.1 PPW | 1.88 PPW |
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 28.8 PPW | 7.6 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 419.7 PPW | 97.6 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 798.1 PPW | 220.1 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2025-03-16(Arirells) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-04-26(dalex) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-11-15(Ryujin) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-12-05(Kierannosaurus) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-12-20(Kierannosaurus) | — | GeekBench |
| 📘 2025-12-28(Jin) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 640 | 32 |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1620 MHz | 1450 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) | Intel UHD Graphics 770 |
| ROPs | 160 | 8 |
| Shading Units | 5120 | 256 |
| TMUs | 320 | 16 |
| GPU Base Clock | — | 300 MHz |
| TGP | — | 15 W |
Misc
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i5 12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Official Site | — | Intel Core i5 12600K official page |
| PCI Express Lanes | — | 20 |
| PCI Express Version | — | 5.0 |
| Technologies | — | - Compute: ABM, ADX, BMI1, BMI2, CLMUL, F16C, SHA- Performance: EIST, TBT 2.0, TSX- Virtualization: VT-d, VT-x- Security: RDRAND, TXT, XD bit |
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