Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) vs Intel Core i9 12900K
[ 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 12900K (68/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 92.0 Excellent WINNER | 47.0 Poor |
| Performance | 100.0 Excellent WINNER | 74.0 Good |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 4.38 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.61 GHz | 3,2 GHz |
| E-Cores | 12 | 8 |
| E-Threads | 12 | 8 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| Multiplier | 46x | 32x |
| P-Cores | 6 | 8 |
| P-Threads | 6 | 16 |
| Total Cores | 18 | 16 |
| Total Threads | 18 | 24 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | Yes |
| Bus Frequency | — | 100 MHz |
| L2 Cache | — | 14MB (shared) |
| L3 Cache | — | 30MB (shared) |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | — | 3.9 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | — | 5.1 GHz |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | 9428 | — |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | 734 | — |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 106.1 images/sec | 69.4 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 271.1 Klines/sec | 146.1 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 2990 MB/sec | 1260 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 811.7 pages/sec | 414.2 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 764 Mpixels/sec | 480.2 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 303.8 images/sec | 147.8 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 47.8 Mpixels/sec | 34.4 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 457.1 pages/sec | 273.2 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| 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 9 5950X |
| Model number | — | i9-12900K |
| Successor | — | -Intel Core Ultra 9 285K |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| 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 i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | — | 241 W |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 689.6 MBytes/sec | 536.7 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 40.8 GBytes/sec | 29.5 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.4B Matrices/sec | 33.6B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 553M Primes/sec | 145M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 186.1 GOps/sec | 105.4 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 132.6 GOps/sec | 139.2 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 6847 Frames/sec | 2203 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 84.9M Strings/sec | 57.1M Strings/sec |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Blender / Watt | 8.1 PPW | 2.93 PPW |
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 28.8 PPW | 12.2 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 419.7 PPW | 136 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 798.1 PPW | 328.9 PPW |
Recent User Tests
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Benchmark | Benchmark |
| 📘 2026-07-03->Apple lover | GeekBench | — |
| 📘 2024-04-18(Yusuf Wakil) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2024-10-23(Freakshow) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-01-07(_..Фapтoвый.._) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-03-20(Lethal) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-04-03(AdKraemer) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-05-24(unsorted) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
| 📘 2025-09-20(Jarx) | — | GeekBench |
| 📘 2025-11-12(ElNils) | — | Cinebench 2024 |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) | Intel Core i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 640 | 32 |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1620 MHz | 1550 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 i9 12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Official Site | — | Intel Core i9 12900K 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, TBT 3.0, TSX- Virtualization: VT-d, VT-x- Security: RDRAND, TXT, XD bit |
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