Apple M2 vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Apple M2 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Apple M2 and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Apple M2 8 core processor released in Q2/2022 with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X which has 16 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2022.
Apple M series (23) Family AMD Ryzen 9 (34)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group AMD Ryzen 7000 (14)
2 Generation 6
M2 Architecture Raphael (Zen 4)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M1 Predecessor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Apple M3 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X clocks with 4.50 GHz (5.70 GHz), has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 32 threads in parallel.

Apple M2 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
8 Cores 16
8 Threads 32
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
4x Avalanche
A-Core 4.50 GHz (5.70 GHz)
0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard
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 M2 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 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 M2 (10 Core) GPU AMD Radeon Graphics (Raphael)
0.45 GHz GPU frequency 0.40 GHz
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) 2.20 GHz
2 GPU Generation 9
5 nm Technology 5 nm
2 Max. displays 3
160 Compute units 2
1280 Shader 128
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory 8 GB
-- DirectX Version 12

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 M2 (10 Core) GPU AMD Radeon Graphics (Raphael)
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 Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 24 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Apple M2, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s enabled.

Apple M2 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR5-5200
24 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 83.2 GB/s
No ECC Yes
20.00 MB L2 Cache 16.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 64.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 5.0
-- PCIe lanes 24
-- PCIe Bandwidth 94.5 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Apple M2 has a TDP of 20 W. The TDP of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 170 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Apple M2 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
20 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 170 W
-- TDP (PL2) 230 W
30 W TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Apple M2 has 20.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 5 nm. The cache of AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is at 80.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Apple M2 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
5 nm Technology 5 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,FMA3, AVX2, AVX512
-- Socket AM5 (LGA 1718)
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2022 Release date Q4/2022
-- Release price 699 $
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (207 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.7 stars (15 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
120 (96%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
125 (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.
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
555 (26%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
2142 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1592 (77%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
2072 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8558 (22%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
38657 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (84%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
2242 (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.
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8853 (36%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
24265 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
2596 (87%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
2974 (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.
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
10062 (48%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
20755 (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 M2 Apple M2
Apple M2 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
3550 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
AMD Radeon Graphics (Raphael) @ 2.20 GHz
563 (16%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
15472 (24%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
63621 (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 M2 Apple M2
8,558 CB R23 MC @ 20 W
428 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
38,657 CB R23 MC @ 197 W
196 (46%)

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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
793 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
15120 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
608 (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.
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
277 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
790 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 4.50 GHz
15670 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.70 GHz
331 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 5.20 GHz
6382 (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 M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 4.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)
Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M2 and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

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.
The evolution of AMD Ryzen processors
The evolution of AMD Ryzen processors
Posted by Stefan on 2022-09-06
The AMD Ryzen processors are designed for the mid to high-end range and are grouped into the Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 classes. AMD follows the market leader Intel, which groups its Core i series (Intel Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 and Core i9) identically.

The AMD Ryzen processors were first introduced by AMD in Q1 2017. They are the successor to the not particularly successful AMD Bulldozer processors. The latter were manufactured using an outdated manufacturing process and could not keep up with the competing products from Intel. AMD lost a large portion of its desktop processor market share during this period.
AMD Ryzen 7000 and Intel Core i 13 Gen at almost 6 GHz clock speed
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
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.

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