Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) vs Intel Core i9 12900HK
[ 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 i9 12900HK (55/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 92.0 Excellent WINNER | 51.0 Below Average |
| Performance | 100.0 Excellent WINNER | 68.0 Average |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 4.38 GHz | 1.8 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.61 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| E-Cores | 12 | 8 |
| E-Threads | 12 | 8 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 80K (per core) |
| Multiplier | 46x | 25x |
| P-Cores | 6 | 6 |
| P-Threads | 6 | 12 |
| Total Cores | 18 | 14 |
| Total Threads | 18 | 20 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | Yes |
| Bus Frequency | — | 100 MHz |
| L2 Cache | — | 1280K (per core) |
| L3 Cache | — | 24MB (shared) |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | — | 3.8 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | — | 5 GHz |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | 9428 | — |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | 734 | — |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 106.1 images/sec | 49.7 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 271.1 Klines/sec | 85.9 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 2990 MB/sec | 1040 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 811.7 pages/sec | 312.4 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 764 Mpixels/sec | 363.1 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 303.8 images/sec | 111.5 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 47.8 Mpixels/sec | 19.4 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 457.1 pages/sec | 225.4 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M5 | Alder Lake |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | x86-64 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) | Iris Xe Graphics (96EU) |
| Released | March 3, 2026 | January 4, 2022 |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
| Vendor | Apple | Intel |
| AMD Equivalent | — | -AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX |
| Model number | — | i9-12900HK |
| Successor | — | -Intel Core i9 13900HK |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | No |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 614 GB/s | — |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 64 GB |
| Memory Channels | 32 | 2 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-9600 | - DDR5-4800- DDR4-3200- LPDDR5-5200- LPDDR4x-4267 |
Package
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Peak Temperature | 100°C | 100°C |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | BGA-1744 |
| TDP (PL1) | 72 W | 35-45 W (configurable) |
| Transistors | 28 billions | — |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | — | 115 W |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 689.6 MBytes/sec | 287.8 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 40.8 GBytes/sec | 17 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.4B Matrices/sec | 17.2B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 553M Primes/sec | 99M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 186.1 GOps/sec | 62.2 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 132.6 GOps/sec | 87.3 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 6847 Frames/sec | 1609 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 84.9M Strings/sec | 32.2M Strings/sec |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Blender / Watt | 8.1 PPW | 3.98 PPW |
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 28.8 PPW | 22.4 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 419.7 PPW | 270.6 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 798.1 PPW | 556.4 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | — |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | GeekBench | — |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 640 | 96 |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1620 MHz | 1450 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU) |
| ROPs | 160 | 24 |
| Shading Units | 5120 | 768 |
| TMUs | 320 | 48 |
| GPU Base Clock | — | 300 MHz |
| TGP | — | 15 W |
Misc
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Official Site | — | Intel Core i9 12900HK official page |
| PCI Express Lanes | — | 28 |
| PCI Express Version | — | 4.0 |
| Technologies | — | - Compute: ABM, ADX, BMI1, BMI2, CLMUL, F16C, SHA- Performance: EIST, TBT 2.0, TBT 3.0, TSX- Virtualization: VT-d, VT-x- Security: RDRAND, TXT, XD bit |
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