Apple M1 vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M1 CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Apple M1 AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M1 and the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M1 8 core processor released in Q4/2020 with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X which has 12 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2020.
Apple M series (23) Family AMD Ryzen 9 (34)
Apple M1 (9) CPU group AMD Ryzen 5000 (12)
1 Generation 4
M1 Architecture Vermeer (Zen 3)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Apple M2 Successor AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M1 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X clocks with 3.70 GHz (4.80 GHz), has 12 CPU cores and can calculate 24 threads in parallel.

Apple M1 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
8 Cores 12
8 Threads 24
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz)
4x Firestorm
A-Core 3.70 GHz (4.80 GHz)
0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz)
4x Icestorm
B-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.

Apple M1 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS AI specifications --

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.

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

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

Memory & PCIe

Up to 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M1, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s enabled.

Apple M1 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory DDR4-3200
16 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC Yes
16.00 MB L2 Cache 6.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 64.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
-- PCIe lanes 20
-- PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M1 has a TDP of 18 W. The TDP of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is 105 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M1 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
18 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 105 W
-- TDP (PL2) 142 W
20 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 90 °C

Technical details

The Apple M1 has 16.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is at 70.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 7 nm.

Apple M1 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
5 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8.5-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
-- Socket AM4 (PGA 1331)
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q4/2020 Release date Q4/2020
-- Release price 549 $
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M1 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (170 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (16 ratings). Rate now:


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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
112 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
98 (88%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
509 (43%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
1189 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1503 (92%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
1636 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7759 (35%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
21878 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1742 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
1727 (99%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
7650 (53%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
14515 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
2369 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
2199 (93%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
8576 (68%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
12637 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
117 (38%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
308 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
14463 (37%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
39295 (100%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
7,759 CB R23 MC @ 18 W
431 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
21,878 CB R23 MC @ 131 W
167 (39%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
637 (100%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
8491 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
Apple M1 (8 Core) @ 1.30 GHz
2610 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
@ 0.00 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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
314 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
647 (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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 3.70 GHz
9520 (100%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.80 GHz
270 (100%)

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.
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 4.50 GHz
3684 (100%)

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).
Apple M1 Apple M1
8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz
11 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
12C 24T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M1 AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
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)
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M1 and the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Why the new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors for the AM5 socket are currently not a good deal
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.
Most popular processors in the first half of 2022
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 ?
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 5 7600X and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X are coming in September
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X are coming in September
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-20
After we published a performance assessment of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X last week, the well-known AMD leaker Greymon55 has now posted more informations via Twitter.

He predicts the first four models of the new Zen 4 desktop generation, which AMD would like to present at the end of 2022. There is also an alleged release date of September 15, 2022.
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 !

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