Intel Core i9 12900KS vs Apple M3 Ultra
We compared two desktop CPUs: Intel Core i9 12900KS with 16 cores 3.4GHz and Apple M3 Ultra with 32 cores 4.5GHz . You will find out which processor performs better in benchmark tests, key specifications, power consumption and more.
Main Differences
Apple M3 Ultra 's Advantages
Released 2 years and 11 months late
Higher specification of memory (6400 vs 4800)
Larger memory bandwidth (819.2GB/s vs 76.8GB/s)
Higher base frequency (4.5GHz vs 3.4GHz)
More modern manufacturing process (3nm vs 10nm)
Lower TDP (140W vs 150W)
Score
Benchmark
Geekbench 6 Single Core
Intel Core i9 12900KS
2559
Apple M3 Ultra
+26%
3247
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
Intel Core i9 12900KS
15546
Apple M3 Ultra
+80%
28107
General Parameters
Apr 2022
Release Date
Mar 2025
Intel
Manufacturer
Apple
Desktop
Type
Desktop
x86-64
Instruction Set
ARMv8
Alder Lake-S
Core Architecture
Apple M3
i9-12900KS
Processor Number
-
LGA-1700
Socket
Apple M-Socket
UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics
Apple M3 Ultra GPU (80-core)
Package
-
Transistor Count
184 billions
10 nm
Manufacturing Process
3 nm
150 W
Power Consumption
140 W
100 °C
Peak Operating Temperature
100 °C
CPU Performance
8
Performance Cores
24
-
Performance Core Threads
24
3.4 GHz
Performance Core Base Frequency
4.5 GHz
5.5 GHz
Performance Core Turbo Frequency
-
8
Efficiency Cores
8
-
Efficiency Core Threads
8
16
Total Core Count
32
24
Total Thread Count
32
100 MHz
Bus Frequency
-
34x
Multiplier
45
64 K per core
L1 Cache
-
14 MB shared
L2 Cache
-
30 MB shared
L3 Cache
-
Yes
Unlocked Multiplier
No
Memory Parameters
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Memory Types
LPDDR5-6400
128 GB
Max Memory Size
512 GB
2
Max Memory Channels
8
76.8 GB/s
Max Memory Bandwidth
819.2 GB/s
Yes
ECC Memory Support
No
Graphics Card Parameters
true
Integrated Graphics
true
300 MHz
GPU Base Frequency
-
1550 MHz
GPU Max Dynamic Frequency
-
256
Shader Units
10240
16
Texture Units
640
8
Raster Operation Units
320
32
Execution Units
1280
15 W
Power Consumption
140
0.78 TFLOPS
Graphics Performance
-
