Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX vs Apple M4 Pro (12 cores)

Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a mobile high-end CPU for gaming notebooks based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It offers 24 cores consisting of 8 fast performance cores with up to 5.4 GHz and 16 smaller efficiency cores with up to 4.6 GHz clock speed. The CPU has access to 40 MB L2 cache and 36 MB L3 cache and is specified with a TDP of 55 watts.

The SoC integrates a small dedicated NPU called AI Boost with 13 TOPS (Int8) and optionally supports vPro Essentials. The integrated memory controller supports up to 192 GB DDR5-6400 (dual channel, ECC optional). The integrated GPU (iGPU) is a small Intel Graphics graphics card with four Xe cores running at 300 - 1900 MHz.

Performance - High End

The performance of the Ultra 9 275HX is only slightly behind the top model, the Core Ultra 9 285HX, due to the 100 MHz lower boost clock of the P-cores Core Ultra 9 285HX and therefore also remains below the similar Desktop Core Ultra 9 285K (higher clocked with up to 5.7 GHz and more TDP with 125 watts). Due to the improved IPC of the cores (especially the efficiency cores), the CPU should perform just behind or at the level of the Raptor Lake Core i9-14900HX (8 + 16 cores, max 5.8 / 4.1 GHz). This makes the CPU ideal for very demanding tasks such as high-end gaming and content creation.

Production - TSMC and Foveros

The Arrow Lake-HX chips are based on the desktop Arrow Lake-S chips and are composed of several chiplets. The CPU part is manufactured at TSMC in the modern N3B (3nm) process, the GPU also comes from TSMC in the N5P process. The SoC and I/O tile are manufactured in the TSMC N6 process. The base tile is manufactured by Intel in the 22nm process and carries the individual chiplets thanks to Fovero's 3D packaging.

Apple M4 Pro (12 cores)

The Apple M4 Pro 12-Core CPU is a high-end SoC for laptops and mini PCs that was introduced in September 2024. It has 8 of the 10 powerful CPU cores running at up to 4.5 GHz and 4 efficient cores running at up to 2.6 GHz. The integrated 16-core GPU and at least 24 GB of fast LPDDR5x memory at 273 GB/s (depending on configuration) are included, as well as USB 4 and Thunderbolt 5 support.

The integrated neural engine with 16 cores (up to 38 TOPS) can be found in the entire M4 chip family. In addition, all M4 processors are assumed to be based on the ARM v9.4-A architecture to some degree.

The CPU performance when using all cores is similar to a AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Cinebench R23 slightly faster on average). The modern Core Ultra 9 288V can be clearly outperformed. In terms of single-core performance, the M4 Pro scores very well and is on a par with the fastest Intel chips, such as the Core i9-14900HX. Interestingly enough, the M4 and the faster M4 Pro variant with 14 cores were 4-5% faster than the slimmed-down entry-level M4 Pro in Cinebench (Geekbench at the same level).

The power consumption during Cinebench 2024 Multi is around 40 Watt at the beginning (according to powermetrics) and then goes down to around 32 Watt (sustained). Combined with the GPU (Cinebench + Valley) the SoC can hit 47,5 Watt peak at the beginning, but then reduces its power draw to 31 Watt combined (22 W CPU + 9 W GPU).

The 3 nm TSMC process of the 2nd generation, with which the M4 Pro is manufactured, offers good energy efficiency.