i7-870 vs Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
Aggregate performance score
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core outperforms Core i7-870 by a whopping 712% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 421 | 1943 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.24 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Apple M3 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 56.33 | 1.97 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Lynnfield (2009−2010) |
| Release date | 30 October 2023 (1 year ago) | 8 September 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $305 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 12 (Dodeca-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2.748 GHz | 2.93 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.06 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 2.5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | no data | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | no data | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 8 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | no data | 296 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 73 °C |
| Number of transistors | 37000 Million | 774 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | - |
Compatibility
Information on M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | no data | 1 |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA1156,LGA1156 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.2 |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 1.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | - |
| PAE | no data | 36 Bit |
Security technologies
M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 16 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 21 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 16.07 | 1.98 |
| Recency | 30 October 2023 | 8 September 2009 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 4 |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core has a 711.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, 200% more physical cores and 50% more threads, a 1400% more advanced lithography process, and 251.9% lower power consumption.
The M3 Pro 12-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-870 in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is a notebook processor while Core i7-870 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i7-870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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