AMD Ryzen 9 4900U vs Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen 9 4900U CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)

CPU comparison

AMD Ryzen 9 4900U or Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.40 GHz. Up to 64 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U was released in Q1/2020.

The Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) has 14 cores with 14 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. The CPU supports up to 96 GB of memory in 3 memory channels. The Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) was released in Q4/2023.
AMD Ryzen 9 (35) Family Apple M series (25)
AMD Ryzen 4000U (11) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
3 Generation 3
Renoir (Zen 2) Architecture M3
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 16 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 9 4900U is 2.00 GHz (4.40 GHz) while the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) has 14 CPU cores and 14 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) is at 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz).
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
8 Cores 14
16 Threads 14
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.00 GHz (4.40 GHz) A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
10x P-Core
-- B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
4x E-Core

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U or Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Renoir) GPU Apple M3 Max (30 Core)
0.40 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.75 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
9 GPU Generation --
7 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 5
8 Compute units 480
512 Shader 3840
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 96 GB
12 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Renoir) GPU Apple M3 Max (30 Core)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U can use up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s. The Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) supports up to 96 GB of memory in 3 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 307.2 GB/s.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
LPDDR4-4266, DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-6400
64 GB Max. Memory 96 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 3
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 307.2 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache 36.00 MB
8.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
12 PCIe lanes --
11.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the AMD Ryzen 9 4900U is 15 W, while the Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) has a TDP of 50 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 50 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
25 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
105 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900U is manufactured in 7 nm and has 8.00 MB cache. The Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) is manufactured in 3 nm and has a 36.00 MB cache.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Characteristic Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
7 nm Technology 3 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
FP6 Socket --
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q1/2020 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U (61%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U (31%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
1279 (65%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
1968 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
1203 (56%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
2150 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
6422 (31%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
20961 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Renoir) @ 1.75 GHz
1792 (17%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Apple M3 Max (30 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
10650 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
141 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
1373 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
20983 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
3125 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
19404 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
501 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
3292 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 4.40 GHz
204 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
1384 (100%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U AMD Ryzen 9 4900U
8C 16T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU) Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
14C 14T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)

Devices using this processor
AMD Ryzen 9 4900U Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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