Intel claims that its Core i9 12900HK processor is the most powerful mobile processor on the market. According to the company, the chip offers much better performance than Apple’s M1 Max chipset. However, the chip that powers the 2021 MacBook Pros uses a lot less power.
This Tuesday, January 4, 2022, Intel lifted the veil on 50 new CPUs of the new Alder Lake generation as part of CES 2022. True to form, the semiconductor giant offers processors at all prices, ranging from entry level to high end. During the presentation, Intel did not hesitate to tackle (again) Apple’s latest house chips, the M1 Pro or M1 Max, which power the 2021 MacBook Pro.
Obviously, Intel has still not digested its divorce from Apple. Anxious to gain its independence, Apple has yet started the transition from Intel processors to solutions based on the ARM architecture from 2020. Despite the striking results obtained by the Californian firm, Intel still hopes that Apple will eventually return to its chips.
Intel’s processor is super powerful, but super power hungry
During its conference at CES 2022, Intel assured that the Core i9 12900HK processor, announced last November, is faster than the M1 Max chip, the most powerful processor in Apple’s catalog. Intel even assured that it is the fastest mobile processor ever. As Intel points out, its processor has six performance cores and eight efficiency cores, while the 10-core M1 Max chip has eight performance cores and two efficiency cores.
To prove its point, the chipmaker has put forward a graph that compares the performance of its chipset with rival solutions, such as the Ryzen 95900HX. Several benchmarks confirm Intel’s statements. According to benchmarks published on Geekbench in November, the Intel Core i9-12900HK largely outperforms the M1 Max and stands out as the most powerful mobile processor on the market.
However, the Core i9 12900HK processor consumes a large amount of energy and generates a strong thermal envelope, which weighs on the autonomy of computers. Power consumption can even reach 115 watts, much higher than the consumption of Apple chips.
Also read: 3nm Macs to arrive in 2023, Intel can really say goodbye to Apple
As Apple explained at length during its last keynote, the M1 chips in MacBooks stand out above all from the competition thanks to their limited energy consumption. Thanks to processors designed by Apple Silicon, the 2021 MacBook Pros also offer high-end battery life. Apple indeed promises an autonomy of 17 or 21 hours with a single recharge.
