Apple M3 (8-core) vs Intel Core i9-12900HK
63.3Single-core48.3
30.9Multi-core40.9
93.3Efficiency40.5
—iGPU42
35Platform59
4 spec wins — Apple M3 (8-core)8 spec wins — Intel Core i9-12900HK
InnoReviews verdict
Apple M3 (8-core) wins this laptop processor face-off, 51 to 45.5, pulling ahead mainly in efficiency (+53) and Single-core (+15). Intel Core i9-12900HK still makes sense if its price or standout specs fit your needs better.
Which would you pick?
Key differences
Reasons to pick the Apple M3 (8-core)
- Stronger Single-core score: 63 vs 48
- Stronger efficiency score: 93 vs 41
- 70% lower process: 3 nm vs 10 nm
- 26% higher Geekbench 6 (single): 3,090 vs 2,450
Reasons to pick the Intel Core i9-12900HK
- Stronger Multi-core score: 41 vs 31
- Stronger platform score: 59 vs 35
- 167% higher Max memory: 64 GB vs 24 GB
- 150% higher threads: 20 vs 8
- 100% higher Efficiency cores: 8 vs 4
General
| Spec | Apple M3 (8-core) | Intel Core i9-12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2023 | 2022 |
| Process | 3 nm+70% | 10 nm |
| Base TDP | — | 45 W |
| Max TDP | — | 115 W |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | Apple M3 (8-core) | Intel Core i9-12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 8 | 14+75% |
| Performance cores | 4 | 6+50% |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 8+100% |
| Threads | 8 | 20+150% |
| Base clock | — | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock | 4.1 GHz | 5 GHz+23% |
| L3 cache | — | 24 MB |
Integrated GPU
| Spec | Apple M3 (8-core) | Intel Core i9-12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| iGPU | Apple 10-core GPU | Intel Iris Xe (96 EU) |
| iGPU clock | — | 1,450 MHz |
Memory
| Spec | Apple M3 (8-core) | Intel Core i9-12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Memory support | LPDDR5-6400 | DDR5-4800 / LPDDR5-5200 / DDR4-3200 |
| Max memory | 24 GB | 64 GB+167% |
Benchmarks
| Spec | Apple M3 (8-core) | Intel Core i9-12900HK |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | 3,090+26% | 2,450 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 11,700 | 12,700+9% |
| Cinebench R23 (single) | 1,900+5% | 1,810 |
| Cinebench R23 (multi) | 10,400 | 17,600+69% |
| PassMark | — | 28,200 |
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