Apple M2 Max vs i9-9900

Place in the ranking	753	394
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	8.84	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i9	Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	15.07	20.12
Architecture codename	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	no data
Release date	23 April 2019 (5 years ago)	17 January 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$439	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i9-9900 and M2 Max 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	8 (Octa-Core)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	16	12
Base clock speed	3.1 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	5 GHz	3.7 GHz
Bus type	DMI 3.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	3.3 MB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	36 MB
L3 cache	16 MB (shared)	48 MB
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	67000 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-9900 and M2 Max 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 (Uniprocessor)	no data
Socket	FCLGA1151	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	79 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-9900 and M2 Max. 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	+	-
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
SIPP	+	-

Security technologies

Core i9-9900 and M2 Max 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	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-9900 and M2 Max 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 i9-9900 and M2 Max. 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	42.671 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel UHD Graphics 630	Apple M2 Max 38-Core GPU
Max video memory	64 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.2 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-9900 and M2 Max integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-9900 and M2 Max integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096 x 2304@24Hz	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 i9-9900 and M2 Max 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 i9-9900 and M2 Max.

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.

i9-9900 10.36

Apple M2 Max 16.81
+62.3%

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.

i9-9900 16461

Apple M2 Max 26697
+62.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	10.36	16.81
Recency	23 April 2019	17 January 2023
Physical cores	8	12
Threads	16	12
Chip lithography	14 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	79 Watt

i9-9900 has 33.3% more threads, and 21.5% lower power consumption.

Apple M2 Max, on the other hand, has a 62.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, 50% more physical cores, and a 180% more advanced lithography process.

The M2 Max is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-9900 in performance tests.

Note that Core i9-9900 is a desktop processor while Apple M2 Max is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-9900 and Apple M2 Max, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.