i7-12700KF vs Apple M5 Pro 15-Core
Aggregate performance score
M5 Pro 15-Core outperforms Core i7-12700KF by a considerable 44% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 245 | 412 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 21.21 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i7 |
| Power efficiency | no data | 6.56 |
| Designer | Apple | Intel |
| Manufacturer | no data | Intel |
| Architecture codename | no data | Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021) |
| Release date | 3 March 2026 (less than a year ago) | 4 November 2021 (4 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $384 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF: 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 | 15 (Pentadeca-Core) | 12 (Dodeca-Core) |
| Performance-cores | no data | 8 |
| Efficient-cores | no data | 4 |
| Threads | 15 | 20 |
| Base clock speed | 3.048 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.61 GHz | 5 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 4.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 8 × 16 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 36 |
| L1 cache | no data | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 32 MB | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 24 MB | 25 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 215.25 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 M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF 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) | no data | 125 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF. 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 | - | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| EDB | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF 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 M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF. 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 | 76.805 GB/s |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by M5 Pro 15-Core and Core i7-12700KF.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 20 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 28.58 | 19.82 |
| Recency | 3 March 2026 | 4 November 2021 |
| Physical cores | 15 | 12 |
| Threads | 15 | 20 |
Apple M5 Pro 15-Core has a 44% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, and 25% more physical cores.
i7-12700KF, on the other hand, has 33% more threads.
The Apple M5 Pro 15-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core i7-12700KF in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M5 Pro 15-Core is a notebook processor while Core i7-12700KF is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
