Intel's Alder Lake chips faster than M1 Max, but use more power

American tech giant Intel recently unveiled its first 12th-generation 'Alder Lake' chips with the launch of six new processors aimed at desktop computers, including the high-end Core i9-12900K, a 16-core chip with eight performance cores and eight efficiency cores.

According to Mac Rumours, while the first 12th-generation processors are desktop-class, they still make for an interesting comparison with Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, as rumours suggest that Apple plans to release a new 27-inch iMac with the same M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in the first half of next year.

Reportedly, the first Geekbench 5 benchmark results for the Core i9-12900K reveal that the processor is up to nearly 1.5x faster than the M1 Pro and M1 Max in multi-core performance. Specifically, the Core i9 processor has an average multi-core score of approximately 18,500 so far, compared to approximately 12,500 for the M1 Pro and M1 Max.

The Core i9 processor is considerably faster than the M1 Pro and M1 Max, and it also uses much more power than Apple's chips, with Intel listing the chip as using up to 125W of power at base frequencies and up to 241W of power with Turbo Boost, as per Mac Rumours.

Intel's 12th-generation Core i7-12700K is reportedly faster than the M1 Pro and M1 Max in Geekbench 5 results, but it likewise uses more power.

Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max chips certainly outperform a 12-core Intel-based Mac Pro that starts at USD 6,999 with minimal to no fan noise as a result of impressive power efficiency.

As per Mac Rumours, Intel expects to release 12th-generation Core processors for laptops in early 2022.