AMD Ryzen 9 7900X vs Apple M2

Last updated: 2024-03-13

CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen 9 7900X		Apple M2
CPU comparison In this CPU comparison, we compare the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the Apple M2 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster. We compare the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 core processor released in Q4/2022 with the Apple M2 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2022.

AMD Ryzen 9 (35)	Family	Apple M series (25)
AMD Ryzen 7000 (14)	CPU group	Apple M2 (8)
6	Generation	2
Raphael (Zen 4)	Architecture	M2
Desktop / Server	Segment	Mobile
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X	Predecessor	Apple M1
--	Successor	Apple M3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 4.70 GHz (5.60 GHz). The processor can compute 24 threads at the same time. The Apple M2 clocks with 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz), has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Characteristic	Apple M2
12	Cores	8
24	Threads	8
normal	Core architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes	Hyperthreading	No
Yes	Overclocking ?	No
4.70 GHz (5.60 GHz)	A-Core	0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) 4x Avalanche
--	B-Core	0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz) 4x Blizzard
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 7900X	Characteristic	Apple M2
--	AI hardware	Apple Neural Engine
--	AI specifications	16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS

Internal Graphics Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.
AMD Radeon Graphics (Raphael)	GPU	Apple M2 (10 Core)
0.40 GHz	GPU frequency	0.45 GHz
2.20 GHz	GPU (Turbo)	1.40 GHz
9	GPU Generation	2
5 nm	Technology	5 nm
3	Max. displays	2
2	Compute units	160
128	Shader	1280
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
8 GB	Max. GPU Memory	24 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 Graphics (Raphael)	GPU	Apple M2 (10 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
Decode	Codec AV1	No
Decode / Encode	Codec AVC	Decode
Decode	Codec VC-1	Decode
Decode / Encode	Codec JPEG	Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, while the Apple M2 supports a maximum of 24 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s enabled.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Characteristic	Apple M2
DDR5-5200	Memory	LPDDR5-6400
128 GB	Max. Memory	24 GB
2 (Dual Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
83.2 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	102.4 GB/s
Yes	ECC	No
12.00 MB	L2 Cache	20.00 MB
64.00 MB	L3 Cache	--
5.0	PCIe version	4.0
24	PCIe lanes	--
94.5 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	--
Thermal Management The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X has a TDP of 170 W. The TDP of the Apple M2 is 20 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Characteristic	Apple M2
170 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	20 W
230 W	TDP (PL2)	--
--	TDP up	30 W
--	TDP down	10 W
95 °C	Tjunction max.	100 °C
Technical details The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X has 76.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of Apple M2 is at 20.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Characteristic	Apple M2
5 nm	Technology	5 nm
Chiplet	Chip design	Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit)	Instruction set (ISA)	Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2,FMA3, AVX2, AVX512	ISA extensions	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
AM5 (LGA 1718)	Socket	--
AMD-V, SVM	Virtualization	Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes	AES-NI	Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux	Operating systems	macOS, iPadOS
Q4/2022	Release date	Q2/2022
549 $	Release price	--

show more data		show more data

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 4.70 GHz (5.60 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Apple M2 8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (100%)

Apple M2 (87%)

⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (100%)

Apple M2 (37%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	122 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	120 (98%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	1637 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	555 (34%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	2034 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	1592 (78%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	29306 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	8558 (29%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	2226 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	1874 (84%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	21765 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	8853 (41%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	2920 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	2596 (89%)

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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	18875 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	10062 (53%)

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 7900X AMD Radeon Graphics (Raphael) @ 2.20 GHz	563 (16%)
	Apple M2 Apple M2 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz	3550 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	52422 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	15472 (30%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 29,306 CB R23 MC @ 186 W	158 (37%)
	Apple M2 8,558 CB R23 MC @ 20 W	428 (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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	781 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	11572 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	462 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	277 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	790 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.


	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12C 24T @ 4.70 GHz	11907 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 0.66 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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.60 GHz	325 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 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 7900X 12C 24T @ 5.40 GHz	4848 (100%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 3.50 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 7900X 12C 24T @ 4.70 GHz	0 (0%)
	Apple M2 8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz	15.8 (100%)

Devices using this processor
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Apple M2
Unknown	Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022) Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)

News and articles for the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the Apple M2

Why the new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors for the AM5 socket are currently not a good deal

Posted by Stefan on 2022-10-11

At the end of September 2022, the time had come: AMD presented its latest desktop processors called AMD Ryzen 7000. Initially, 4 processors with 6 to 16 CPU cores were released.

The new socket AM5 (LGA 1718) is used for the first time, which is intended to replace the very durable socket AM4 introduced in 2017 as AMDs mainstream platform. This includes (depending on the chipset) PCIe 5.0 support as well as the exclusive use of DDR5 memory on all AM5 mainboards.

Officially, DDR5-5200 is the maximum, but with AMDs EXPO Technology which is similar to Intel's XMP 3.0, AMD now also has a solution for easy overclocking of the main memory. AMD itself names DDR5-6000 as the sweet spot for the new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors.

AMD Ryzen 7000 and Intel Core i 13 Gen at almost 6 GHz clock speed

Posted by Stefan on 2022-08-29

In September, both AMD and Intel are introducing their new mainstream desktop processors. It doesn't seem to have been as close as this year for a long time, leaked benchmarks of the new top models from AMD and Intel point to a head-to-head race.

This year even the 6 GHz clock limit is almost within reach. With a good cooler and some overclocking it should be possible to reach the 6 GHz limit. But even in series production, the manufacturers try to realize the highest possible clock frequency, at least on one core.

Most popular processors in the first half of 2022

Posted by Stefan on 2022-07-05

In the past we had repeatedly written about our most popular processors. Since this format was quiet popular, I would like to continue this today and introduce you the most popular processors in the first half of 2022.

With more than 2 million page views per month, CPU-Monkey is one of the biggest comparison sites for processors and is currently available in 16 languages.

Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?

Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-28

After Apple surprisingly presented the normal Apple M2 processor as the first successor to the Apple M1 already in June 2022, the Apple M2 Pro and the Apple M2 Max may follow in autumn. The difference in performance compared to the basic version could be even greater this time and range from 25 to 40 percent.

In this article we describe how Apple could realize this and why the price should also go up.

Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?

Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09

During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

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