i9-12900F vs Apple M4 Max (16 cores)
Aggregate performance score
Apple M4 Max (16 cores) outperforms Core i9-12900F by a significant 23% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 168 | 230 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Apple M4 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 29.41 | 33.22 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 30 October 2024 (less than a year ago) | 4 January 2022 (2 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F 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 cores | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 24 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.51 GHz | 5.1 GHz |
| L1 cache | no data | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | no data | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 30 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 215 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F 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 configuration | no data | 1 |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 90 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 76.8 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M4 40-core GPU | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 20 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 27.97 | 22.82 |
| Recency | 30 October 2024 | 4 January 2022 |
| Threads | 16 | 24 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 90 Watt | 65 Watt |
Apple M4 Max (16 cores) has a 22.6% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 2 years.
i9-12900F, on the other hand, has 50% more threads, and 38.5% lower power consumption.
The Apple M4 Max (16 cores) is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-12900F in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M4 Max (16 cores) is a notebook processor while Core i9-12900F is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M4 Max (16 cores) and Core i9-12900F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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