Apple M3 Pro (12-core) vs Intel Core i7-6500U
70.5Single-core—
52.2Multi-core20.4
93.3Efficiencyspec-based66.4
—iGPU20
43.4Platformspec-based28.9
7 spec wins — Apple M3 Pro (12-core)0 spec wins — Intel Core i7-6500U
InnoReviews verdict
No overall winner yet: Intel Core i7-6500U lacks the published benchmark results an Inno Score requires, so there is no Inno Score to compare — we don't rank chips on their spec sheet alone. The spec table below still shows every difference we track.
Which would you pick?
Key differences
Reasons to pick the Apple M3 Pro (12-core)
- Stronger multi-core score: 52 vs 20
- 635% higher PassMark: 24,069 vs 3,276
- 500% higher cores: 12 vs 2
- 200% higher threads: 12 vs 4
- 79% lower process: 3 nm vs 14 nm
Reasons to pick the Intel Core i7-6500U
No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.
General
| Spec | Apple M3 Pro (12-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2023 | 2015 |
| Process | 3 nm+79% | 14 nm |
| Base TDP | — | 15 W |
| Max TDP | — | 25 W |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | Apple M3 Pro (12-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 12+500% | 2 |
| Performance cores | 6 | — |
| Efficiency cores | 6 | — |
| Threads | 12+200% | 4 |
| Base clock | — | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock | 4.1 GHz+31% | 3.1 GHz |
| L3 cache | — | 4 MB |
Integrated GPU
| Spec | Apple M3 Pro (12-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| iGPU | Apple 18-core GPU | Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| iGPU clock | — | 1,050 MHz |
Memory
| Spec | Apple M3 Pro (12-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Memory support | LPDDR5-6400 | DDR4-2133 / LPDDR3-1866 / DDR3L-1600 |
| Max memory | 36 GB+13% | 32 GB |
Benchmarks
| Spec | Apple M3 Pro (12-core) | Intel Core i7-6500U |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | 3,100Top 14% | — |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 15,300Top 24% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (single) | 1,930Top 27% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (multi) | 14,800Top 35% | — |
| PassMark | 24,069+635%Top 38% | 3,276Bottom 4% |
| 3DMark Time Spy Graphics (iGPU) | — | 263Bottom 4% |
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