Apple A15 Bionic vs Intel Core i9-12900HK

Comparative analysis of Apple A15 Bionic and Intel Core i9-12900HK processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Compatibility, Graphics interfaces, Graphics image quality, Graphics API support, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score.

Apple A15 Bionic

Intel Core i9-12900HK

Differences

Reasons to consider the Apple A15 Bionic

A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 5 nm vs 7 nm
7.5x lower typical power consumption: 6 Watt vs 45 Watt

Manufacturing process technology	5 nm vs 7 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	6 Watt vs 45 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i9-12900HK

CPU is newer: launch date 3 month(s) later
8 more cores, run more applications at once: 14 vs 6
14 more threads: 20 vs 6
Around 55% higher clock speed: 5.00 GHz vs 3.23 GHz
995.6x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 46% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
10.7x more maximum memory size: 64 GB vs 6 GB
Around 1% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 3647 vs 3598
2.8x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 27369 vs 9902

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	4 Jan 2022 vs 14 Sep 2021
Number of cores	14 vs 6
Number of threads	20 vs 6
Maximum frequency	5.00 GHz vs 3.23 GHz
L1 cache	1120 KB vs 192 KB instruction + 128 KB data (per core)
L2 cache	17.5 MB vs 12 MB (shared)
Maximum memory size	64 GB vs 6 GB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	3647 vs 3598
PassMark - CPU mark	27369 vs 9902

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Apple A15 Bionic
CPU 2: Intel Core i9-12900HK

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3598

3647

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

9902

27369

Name	Apple A15 Bionic	Intel Core i9-12900HK
PassMark - Single thread mark	3598	3647
PassMark - CPU mark	9902	27369
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		7296

Compare specifications (specs)

	Apple A15 Bionic	Intel Core i9-12900HK
Essentials
Architecture codename	Avalanche/Blizzard	Alder Lake
Launch date	14 Sep 2021	4 Jan 2022
OS Support	iOS 15.0, iPadOS 15.0, iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1
Place in performance rating	451	448
Processor Number	APL1W07	i9-12900HK
Vertical segment	Mobile	Mobile
Launch price (MSRP)		$697
Series		12th Generation Intel Core i9 Processors
Performance
Base frequency	2.02 GHz
L1 cache	192 KB instruction + 128 KB data (per core)	1120 KB
L2 cache	12 MB (shared)	17.5 MB
Manufacturing process technology	5 nm	7 nm
Maximum frequency	3.23 GHz	5.00 GHz
Number of cores	6	14
Number of threads	6	20
Transistor count	15 billion
64 bit support
L3 cache		24 MB
Maximum core temperature		100°C
Memory
Max memory channels	1	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.1 GB/s
Maximum memory size	6 GB	64 GB
Supported memory types	LPDDR4X-4266	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s Up to LPDDR5 5200 MT/s Up to LPDDR4x 4267 MT/s
Graphics
Execution Units	20	96
Graphics base frequency	1338 MHz
iGPU core count	5
Device ID		0x46A6
Graphics max dynamic frequency		1.45 GHz
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Processor graphics		Intel Iris Xe Graphics eligible
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	6 Watt	45 Watt
Package Size		50 x 25
Sockets supported		FCBGA1744
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		4
Graphics image quality
Max resolution over DisplayPort		7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP		4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
Graphics API support
DirectX		12.1
OpenGL		4.6
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		28
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® OS Guard
Intel® Secure Key technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Secure Boot
Advanced Technologies
Instruction set extensions		Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE4.2, Intel AVX2
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD)
Speed Shift technology
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)