AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X vs Apple M1

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Apple M1

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and the Apple M1 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64 core processor released in Q1/2020 with the Apple M1 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2020.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper (13) Family Apple M series (30)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 (3) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
3 Generation 1
Castle Peak (Zen 2) Architecture M1
Desktop Segment Notebook
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX Predecessor --
-- Successor Apple M2

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is a 64 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.90 GHz (4.30 GHz). The processor can compute 128 threads at the same time. The Apple M1 clocks with 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz), has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1
64 Cores 8
128 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
2.90 GHz (4.30 GHz) A-Core 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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.

no iGPU GPU Apple M1 (8 Core)
GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
Technology 5 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 128
-- Shader 1024
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 8 GB
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU Apple M1 (8 Core)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2048 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, while the Apple M1 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 68.2 GB/s enabled.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1
DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
2048 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
Yes ECC No
32.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
256.00 MB L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
64 PCIe lanes --
126.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X has a TDP of 280 W. The TDP of the Apple M1 is 18 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1
280 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 18 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 20 W
-- TDP down 10 W
95 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X has 288.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Apple M1 is at 16.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1
7 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, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
TRX4 (sTRX4) Socket --
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS
Q1/2020 Release date Q4/2020
3990 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.4 stars (7 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.6 stars (438 ratings). Rate now:

Average performance in benchmarks

Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X (73%)
Apple M1 (100%)
Multi core performance in 7 CPU benchmarks
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X (87%)
Apple M1 (33%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
74 (66%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
3302 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (15%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
1284 (85%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
64355 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (12%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a partial load benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. In the single-core test, only the fastest CPU core is measured. The test run simulates the performance in practice.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
1639 (69%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

The practical Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark tests the system's performance under partial load. The processor's maximum power consumption is far from being used up.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
15832 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (54%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
1219 (70%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
34670 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (22%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
1087 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (11%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
81100 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (18%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
28.9 (9%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
495 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
24763 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (100%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 2.90 GHz
26731 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
200 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
10542 (100%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
2.90 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 2.90 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)

Devices using this processor

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Apple M1
Unknown Apple iMac 24 (2021)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020)
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Apple Mac mini (2020)
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)
Apple iPad Air (2022)

News and articles for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and the Apple M1


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