Apple
Apple M5
10C CPU · 10C GPU · 50 TOPS NPU
94
/ 100
From $1,299
VS
Apple M5 wins by 4
Intel
Core Ultra 9 285K
Arrow Lake · 24C · 5.7 GHz · LGA1851
90
/ 100
From $589
Specdex verdict
Apple M5 takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, Apple M5 lands at 94 and Core Ultra 9 285K at 90. That puts Apple M5 ahead by 4 points — a narrow margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick Apple M5 if…
- ✓Industry-leading perf-per-watt
- ✓Neural Engine 5th-gen (50 TOPS)
- ✓Hardware ray tracing v2
Pick Core Ultra 9 285K if…
- ✓Much lower power than 14900K
- ✓Strong productivity
- ✓New LGA1851 platform
Score breakdown
Apple M5
94 single 100
multi 90
gaming 78
efficiency 100
Core Ultra 9 285K
90 single 92
multi 94
gaming 85
efficiency 90
Specs side-by-side
Spec
Apple M5
Core Ultra 9 285K
Cores
10 (4P+6E)
24 (8P+16E)
Memory bandwidth
150 GB/s
—
Neural engine
16-core, 50 TOPS
—
Process
TSMC N3P
TSMC N3B
Release year
2025
—
Threads
—
24
Base clock
—
3.7 GHz
Boost clock
—
5.7 GHz
L3 cache
—
36 MB
TDP
—
125 W (PL1) / 250 W (PL2)
Socket
—
LGA1851
iGPU
—
Intel Graphics (Xe-LPG)
Apple M5
Pros
- +Industry-leading perf-per-watt
- +Neural Engine 5th-gen (50 TOPS)
- +Hardware ray tracing v2
Cons
- −Apple-ecosystem only
- −Base tier starts at 16 GB
- −Windows via Parallels only
Core Ultra 9 285K
Pros
- +Much lower power than 14900K
- +Strong productivity
- +New LGA1851 platform
Cons
- −Gaming regresses vs 14900K in some titles
- −No hyper-threading
- −DDR5 only
FAQ: Apple M5 vs Core Ultra 9 285K
Which is better, Apple M5 or Core Ultra 9 285K? +
Apple M5 scores 94 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 4. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is Apple M5 worth the price? +
At $1,299, Apple M5 delivers a Specdex score of 94 — strongest in single.
Is Core Ultra 9 285K worth the price? +
At $589, Core Ultra 9 285K delivers a Specdex score of 90 — strongest in multi.
Does Apple M5 or Core Ultra 9 285K last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.