Vratislav Holub In mid-October, Apple came out with a revolutionary new product, which was the redesigned MacBook Pro (2021). It came in two variants – with a 14″ and a 16″ screen – and its greatest dominance is undoubtedly its performance. The giant from Cupertino has deployed two completely new chips labeled M1 Pro and M1 Max, from which the user can choose. And we have to admit that it has really rich options available. In terms of performance, laptops have moved to places that no one could even imagine until recently.
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At the same time, the twelfth generation of Intel processors has now been introduced, this time with the designation Alder Lake, in which the Intel Core i9-12900K secured the first place. Before we look at the available data, which has been constantly talked about in recent days, it is of course necessary to recognize that this is a really high-quality and powerful processor that definitely has a lot to offer. But it has one big but. Despite the fact that, according to current benchmark tests, the processor from Intel is roughly 1,5 times more powerful than the M1 Max, there is another side to this as well. As for the results, in Geekbench 5 the M1 Max scored an average of 12500 points, while the Intel Core i9-12900K scored 18500 points.
Why can't the mentioned chips be compared?
However, the whole comparison has one rather big catch, due to which the chips cannot be completely compared. While the Intel Core i9-12900K is a so-called desktop processor for classic computers, in the case of the M1 Max we are talking about a mobile chip intended for laptops. In this regard, it would be better if the improved version of the current best chip from Apple, which is talked about as the possible future of the high-end Mac Pro, looks into the comparison. Therefore, although Intel's performance is currently unquestionable, it is necessary to be aware of this fact and not to confuse, as they say, apples with pears.
Remember the introduction of the first Apple Silicon M1 chip
At the same time, there is one more huge difference that puts both chips in completely different categories. While chips from the Apple Silicon series, i.e. M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max, are based on the ARM architecture, processors from Intel run on x86. It is the use of ARM that allows the Apple company to push the performance of its computers to unimaginable heights for the past year, while still being able to keep a "cool head" and offer low energy consumption. Moreover, Apple has never mentioned that it is going to develop the most powerful chips in the world. Instead, he talked about the so-called industry leading performance per watt, by which he means amazing performance even with the already mentioned low energy demand. Simply put, it could be said that Apple Silicon is trying to be the best in terms of performance/consumption. And this is exactly what he succeeds in doing.
Is Intel or Apple better?
Let's finally say which of the chips, M1 Max and Intel Core i9-12900K, is really better. If we look at it from the point of view of raw performance, the processor from Intel clearly has the upper hand. Taking into account other aspects, for example the low consumption in the case of the Apple M1 Max, we can talk about a fairly solid draw. A great example of this is the new 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pros, which not only offer performance, but at the same time can pack it for trips and work for long hours without connecting an adapter.
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A better comparison could then be provided by mobile versions of the 12th generation Intel Core Alder Lake processors, which Intel will reveal next year. They could then be a direct competitor for the aforementioned MacBook Pro (2021).
Comparing processors is meaningless because they are only one part of the whole system. If I understand it correctly, Intel within the x86 architecture is limited by the bus, RAM, GPU and other components on the motherboard, which in the case of the ARM architecture is already directly connected and tuned. And it also depends on specific applications. It is similar to the case of processors and RAM for Android phones, where even a more powerful processor with RAM does not mean a faster response.
It's funny, because while Apple makes a mobile processor that is better than the desktop one, it can brag about it and even should brag about it, because it is dense and with the M1 family they succeeded because no mobile processors normally found in consumer electronics don't have this range, Intel, when they compare their latest desktop processors with a mobile platform that's already a year old, it's firstly at the level of an argumentative foul and secondly, if they weren't more powerful, then Intel would be completely screwed :) They they just need to be more efficient. The moment mobile CPUs and GPUs become more powerful, the desktop market is simply over :)