Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) vs Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
[ VERDICT ]
Winner: Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) (97/100)
Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) leads overall with a score of 97/100 compared to Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (85/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 98.0 Excellent WINNER | 78.0 Good |
| Performance | 100.0 Excellent WINNER | 89.0 Very Good |
Detailed Technical Specifications
CPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Base Frequency (E) | 4.38 GHz | 1.8 GHz |
| Base Frequency (P) | 4.61 GHz | 2.7 GHz |
| E-Cores | 12 | 16 |
| E-Threads | 12 | 16 |
| L1 Cache | 192K (per core) | 192K (per core) |
| Multiplier | 46x | 27x |
| P-Cores | 6 | 8 |
| P-Threads | 6 | 8 |
| Total Cores | 18 | 24 |
| Total Threads | 18 | 24 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | No | Yes |
| Bus Frequency | — | 100 MHz |
| L2 Cache | — | 3MB (per core) |
| L3 Cache | — | 36MB (shared) |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (E) | — | 4.7 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | — | 5.5 GHz |
GeekBench v6
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Background blur | 100.3 images/sec | 84 images/sec |
| Clang compilation | 262.5 Klines/sec | 217.2 Klines/sec |
| File compression | 2530 MB/sec | 1660 MB/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 738.1 pages/sec | 495.3 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 744.9 Mpixels/sec | 584.4 Mpixels/sec |
| Photo processing | 250.8 images/sec | 160.2 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 46.5 Mpixels/sec | 46.4 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 450.7 pages/sec | 342.8 pages/sec |
General
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Apple M5 | Arrow Lake |
| Instruction Set | ARMv9 | x86-64 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) |
| Released | March 3, 2026 | January 17, 2026 |
| Type | Laptop | Laptop |
| Vendor | Apple | Intel |
| Model number | — | 290HX+ |
Memory Support
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| ECC Support | No | No |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 307 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
| Max. Memory Size | 64 GB | 256 GB |
| Memory Channels | 16 | 2 |
| Memory Types | - LPDDR5X-9600 | - DDR5-6400 |
Package
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrication Process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| Peak Temperature | 100°C | 105°C |
| Socket | Apple M-Socket | FCBGA-2114 |
| Transistors | 28 billions | — |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | — | 160 W |
| TDP (PL1) | — | 45-55 W (configurable) |
PassMark
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Data compression | 697.9 MBytes/sec | 656.5 MBytes/sec |
| Data encryption | 40.8 GBytes/sec | 50 GBytes/sec |
| Extended instructions | 33.3B Matrices/sec | 51B Matrices/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 486M Primes/sec | 514M Primes/sec |
| Floating point math | 186.8 GOps/sec | 201.5 GOps/sec |
| Integer math | 132.7 GOps/sec | 165.3 GOps/sec |
| Physics | 5687 Frames/sec | 3361 Frames/sec |
| Random string sorting | 85.6M Strings/sec | 80M Strings/sec |
iGPU
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Units | 320 | 64 |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1620 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) | Arc Graphics (4-Cores) |
| ROPs | 80 | 16 |
| Shading Units | 2560 | 512 |
| TGP | 28 W | 14 W |
| TMUs | 160 | 32 |
| GPU Base Clock | — | 300 MHz |
Cinebench
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2026 (Multi) | — | 8798 |
| Cinebench 2026 (Single) | — | 565 |
Misc
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Official Site | — | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus official page |
| PCI Express Lanes | — | 24 |
| PCI Express Version | — | 5.0 |
Performance Per Watt
| Specification | Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | — | 39.9 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | — | 392.4 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | — | 1077.7 PPW |
Looking for More Comparisons?
Browse all available head-to-head comparisons or select new devices in the comparison hub.