5 120U vs Apple M3 Pro 12-Core

VS

Aggregate performance score

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
2023
12 cores / 12 threads, 27 Watt
16.11
+55.1%
Core 5 120U
2024
10 cores / 12 threads, 15 Watt
10.39

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core outperforms Core 5 120U by an impressive 55% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking416751
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesApple M3Raptor Lake-U
Power efficiency56.4765.55
Architecture codenameno dataRaptor Lake-U Refresh (2024)
Release date30 October 2023 (1 year ago)8 January 2024 (less than a year ago)

Detailed specifications

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores12 (Dodeca-Core)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads1212
Base clock speed2.748 GHz1.4 GHz
Boost clock speed4.06 GHz5 GHz
Bus rateno data55 MHz
L1 cacheno data80 KB (per core)
L2 cacheno data1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cacheno data12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography3 nmIntel 7 nm
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Number of transistors37000 Millionno data
64 bit support++

Compatibility

Information on Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configurationno data1
Socketno dataFCBGA1744
Power consumption (TDP)27 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI-+
AVX-+
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Speed Shiftno data+
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR5-5200, DDR4-3200, LPDDR4x-4267
Maximum memory sizeno data96 GB
Max memory channelsno data2

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardApple M3 Pro 18-Core GPUIntel® Graphics
Quick Sync Video-+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.25 GHz
Execution Unitsno data80

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12.1
OpenGLno data4.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U.

PCIe versionno data4.0
PCI Express lanesno data8

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 16.11
+55.1%
5 120U 10.39

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 25587
+55%
5 120U 16509

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 2163
+51%
5 120U 1432

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 15298
+78.4%
5 120U 8576

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 2327
+25.2%
5 120U 1858

WebXPRT 3

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 427
+46.7%
5 120U 291

CrossMark Overall

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 1977
+18.3%
5 120U 1671

Geekbench 6.3 Multi-Core

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 15480
+59%
5 120U 9733

Geekbench 6.3 Single-Core

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core 3138
+22.1%
5 120U 2570

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 16.11 10.39
Recency 30 October 2023 8 January 2024
Physical cores 12 10
Power consumption (TDP) 27 Watt 15 Watt

Apple M3 Pro 12-Core has a 55.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 20% more physical cores.

5 120U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 months, and 80% lower power consumption.

The Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 5 120U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core 5 120U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
M3 Pro 12-Core
Intel Core 5 120U
Core 5 120U

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Community ratings

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3.7 102 votes

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Questions & comments

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