Apple M2 vs i5-10500

Place in the ranking	906	813
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Apple Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	12.27	44.48
Architecture codename	Comet Lake (2020)	no data
Release date	30 April 2020 (4 years ago)	10 June 2022 (2 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Core i5-10500 and M2 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	6 (Hexa-Core)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	12	8
Base clock speed	3.1 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.5 GHz	3.48 GHz
Bus rate	8 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	2 MB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	20 MB
L3 cache	12 MB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	14 nm	5 nm
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	20000 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-10500 and M2 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	1	no data
Socket	FCLGA1200	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	20 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-10500 and M2. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
SIPP	+	-
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-10500 and M2 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-10500 and M2 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 Core i5-10500 and M2. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2666	no data
Maximum memory size	128 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel UHD Graphics 630	Apple M2 10-Core GPU ( - 1398 MHz)
Max video memory	64 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.15 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-10500 and M2 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-10500 and M2 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096 x 2160@30Hz	no data
Max resolution over eDP	4096 x 2304@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096 x 2304@60Hz	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-10500 and M2 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	no data
OpenGL	4.5	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-10500 and M2.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

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.

i5-10500 8.43

Apple M2 9.40
+11.5%

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.

i5-10500 13387

Apple M2 14933
+11.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.43	9.40
Recency	30 April 2020	10 June 2022
Physical cores	6	8
Threads	12	8
Chip lithography	14 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	20 Watt

i5-10500 has 50% more threads.

Apple M2, on the other hand, has a 11.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 33.3% more physical cores, a 180% more advanced lithography process, and 225% lower power consumption.

The M2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-10500 in performance tests.

Note that Core i5-10500 is a desktop processor while Apple M2 is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-10500 and Apple M2, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.