AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X vs Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and the Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) 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 Ultra (64-GPU) which has 20 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2022.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper (13) Family Apple M series (23)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 (3) CPU group Apple M1 (9)
3 Generation 1
Castle Peak (Zen 2) Architecture M1
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX Predecessor --
-- Successor Apple M2 Ultra (76-GPU)

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 Ultra (64-GPU) clocks with 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz), has 20 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
64 Cores 20
128 Threads 20
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)
16x Firestorm
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm

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 Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 32 Neural cores @ 22 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.

no iGPU GPU Apple M1 Ultra (64 Core)
GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.30 GHz
-- GPU Generation 1
Technology 5 nm
Max. displays 5
-- Compute units 1024
-- Shader 8192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 64 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 Ultra (64 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 Ultra (64-GPU) supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 819.2 GB/s enabled.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
DDR4-3200 Memory LPDDR5-6400
2048 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
51.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 819.2 GB/s
Yes ECC No
32.00 MB L2 Cache 52.00 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 Ultra (64-GPU) is 60 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
280 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 60 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 120 W
-- TDP down --
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 Ultra (64-GPU) is at 52.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Characteristic Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
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 Q1/2022
3990 $ Release price --
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks

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 (65%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
114 (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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1624 (49%)

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 (84%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1534 (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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24189 (38%)

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 (68%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
1793 (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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
24055 (69%)

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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 4.30 GHz
1639 (68%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
2397 (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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 3.20 GHz
15832 (66%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
23970 (100%)

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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
379 (35%)

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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 GHz
41059 (51%)

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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
Apple M1 Ultra (64 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
21200 (100%)

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 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 2.90 GHz
26731 (100%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 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 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 3.20 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 Threadripper 3990X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
64C 128T @ 2.90 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU) Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
20C 20T @ 0.60 GHz
22 (100%)

Devices using this processor

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)
Unknown Apple Mac Studio (2022)

News and articles for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and the Apple M1 Ultra (64-GPU)

Apple M2 Pro with more CPU cores and production in 3 nm ?
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.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Cinebench R23 Benchmark projection
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Cinebench R23 Benchmark projection
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-10
We give you a preview of AMD's new Zen 4 desktop processors and calculate the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X top model for the new AM5 socket. The performance data and other technical details come directly from the press kit that AMD released as part of its Financial Analyst Day on June 9, 2022.

Up to 15 percent more single-core performance and 35 percent more multi-core performance of the 16-core model are realistic !
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
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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