i9-9900K vs Apple M3 Pro 12-Core
Aggregate performance score
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core outperforms Core i9-9900K by a considerable 40% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 416 | 686 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 7.92 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Apple M3 | Core i9 (Desktop) |
| Power efficiency | 56.47 | 11.45 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 30 October 2023 (1 year ago) | 8 October 2018 (6 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $488 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K 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) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 2.748 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.06 GHz | 5 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| L1 cache | no data | 512 KB |
| L2 cache | no data | 2 MB |
| L3 cache | no data | 16 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | no data | 178 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 37000 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K 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 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | no data | LGA-1151 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| SIPP | - | + |
Security technologies
M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| 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 i9-9900K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 44.668 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card Compare | Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| Max video memory | no data | 64 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.2 GHz |
| InTru 3D | no data | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 3 |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096 x 2304@24Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096 x 2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096 x 2304@60Hz |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| 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.
Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core
Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 16.11 | 11.49 |
| Recency | 30 October 2023 | 8 October 2018 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 8 |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 27 Watt | 95 Watt |
Apple M3 Pro 12-Core has a 40.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, 50% more physical cores, a 366.7% more advanced lithography process, and 251.9% lower power consumption.
i9-9900K, on the other hand, has 33.3% more threads.
The M3 Pro 12-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-9900K in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M3 Pro 12-Core is a notebook processor while Core i9-9900K is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M3 Pro 12-Core and Core i9-9900K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
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