Apple M4(10-core) vs Intel Core i9 14900K Benchmarks

August 26, 2026

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The M4 is currently the most powerful chipset from Apple, and the 10-core variant is the most popular right now.

Intel is currently on its 14th gen and their most popular CPU right now is, the Core i9 14900K. Here, we have compared both chips in-depth with benchmarks and performance to determine which gives you better value for money.

Main Differences

Intel Core i9 14900K has 24 CPU Cores and 32 Threads compared to M4, which has 10 CPU Cores and 10 Threads.
M4 has a 4.41 GHz CPU Clock speed, while Intel Core i9 14900K has a 6.2 GHz CPU Clock speed.
Intel Core i9 14900K is 2 months older
M4 has an 1800 MHz GPU clock speed while Intel Core i9 14900K has a 1650 MHz GPU clock speed.
Intel Core i9 14900K is built on 10nm, while M4 is built on a 3nm fabrication process.
M4 supports LPDDR5X-7500 memory up to 32GB compared to Intel Core i9 14900K, which supports DDR5-5600 memory up to 192 GB.

Specs Comparison

Before we take a look at benchmarks, let’s compare some specifications for both CPUs.

	Apple M4(10-core)	Intel Core i9 14900K(12-Core)
Cores	10	24
Performance Cores	4	8
Efficiency Cores	6	16
Threads	10	32
Performance Threads	4	16
Efficiency Threads	6	16
Base Clock Speed (Performance Core)	4.41 GHz	3.2 GHz
Boost Clock Speed (Performance Core)	–	6.2GHz
Base Clock Speed (Efficiency Core)	2.59 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost Clock Speed (Efficiency Core)	–	4.5 GHz
Instruction Set	ARMv9	x86-64
Socket	Apple M-Socket	LGA-1700
L1 Cache	192K/core	80K/core
L2 Cache	16MB(shared)	2MB/core
L3 Cache	–	32MB(shared)
Multiplier	44x	32x
Fabrication Process	3nm	10nm
Transistors	28 billion	–
TDP	22 W	150 W
Max Temperature	100°C	100°C
Integrated Graphics	Apple M4 GPU	UHD Graphics 770
GPU Shading Units	1280	256
GPU Execution Units	160	32
GPU Base Clock Speed	500 MHz	300 MHz
GPU Boost Clock Speed	1800 MHz	1650 MHz
Memory	LPDDR5X-7500	DDR5-5600
Memory Size	32 GB	192 GB
Memory Channels	4	2
ECC Support	No	Yes
Release date	07, May 2024	15 March 2024

Benchmarks

Now that we have compared basic specs, let’s compare some popular benchmark standards between these two CPUs to find out which one comes out on top in performance.

PassMark Single Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 4617
Intel Core i9 14900K – 4736(+2%)

PassMark Multi-Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 24316
Intel Core i9 14900K – 59957(+146%)

Geekbench 6 Single Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 3710(+20%)
Intel Core i9 14900K – 3083

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 14682
Intel Core i9 14900K – 20625(+40%)

Cinebench 2024 Single Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 174(+24%)
Intel Core i9 14900K – 140

Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 976
Intel Core i9 14900K – 2179(+123%)

Productivity benchmark tests

If you are wondering how these chips compare to each other for productivity and content creation, like designing and video editing. Here, we are also sharing some productivity benchmarks with you.

Adobe After Effects (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 1054
Intel Core i9 14900K – 1394(+32%)

Adobe Photoshop (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 10392(+1%)
Intel Core i9 14900K – 10278

Adobe Premiere Pro (Higher is Better)

Apple M4 – 4988
Intel Core i9 14900K – 13621(+173%)

Price

The brand new Apple MacBook mini(2024) with M4(10-Core) costs $599, and the Intel Core i9 14900K costs $425. However, we can’t compare the prices here because the Mac Mini is an entire PC, while the Intel Core i9 14900K is only the CPU; you still need a motherboard, RAM, power supply, and other components. So, for the price, there is no real comparison here.

Note: Prices are at the time of creation of this comparison. It may not have been updated to the latest price when you are looking at this comparison.

Conclusion – Which one should you buy?

Now, it’s time to look at all the data and figure out which one is the best option for you. First up, we are not able to compare prices since one CPU is available separately while the other one is only available through a pre-built PC.

When it comes to the traditional benchmarks, the M4(10-Core) performs better than the Intel Core i9 14900K in single-core benchmarks.

However, when it comes to multicore benchmarks, the Intel Core i9 14900K absolutely obliterates the Apple M(10-Core). The difference in several cores on each CPU is clearly visible here.

Now speaking about productivity and content creation benchmarks, both chips perform almost identically for Photoshop.

However, for Adobe After Effects, Intel Core i9 14900K is much better, and when it comes to Premiere Pro, the M4(10-Core) is not even in the same league as the Intel Core i9 14900 K.

In conclusion, the Intel Core i9 14900K is the winner when it comes to performance, especially for multi-core and video editing software, such as Premiere Pro.

However, the performance of the Mac Mini with M4(10-core) is nothing short of impressive.

In fact, it will be more than enough for any desktop-related task. It only looks less impressive when you compare it with the Intel Core i9 14900K.

However, building a CPU with the Intel Core i9 14900K is far more expensive than the Apple Mac Mini. So, if you are looking for a value-for-money CPU, then M4(10-core) is a winner.

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