Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Last updated: 2023-11-14

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)		AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
CPU comparison Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) or AMD Ryzen 9 3950X - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results. The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) has 12 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. Up to 96 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) was released in Q1/2023. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has 16 cores with 32 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.70 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X was released in Q3/2019.

Apple M series (25)	Family	AMD Ryzen 9 (35)
Apple M2 (8)	CPU group	AMD Ryzen 3000 (15)
2	Generation	3
M2	Architecture	Matisse (Zen 2)
Mobile	Segment	Desktop / Server
Apple M1 Max (24-GPU)	Predecessor	--
Apple M3 Max (14-CPU 30-GPU)	Successor	AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) has 12 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) is 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) while the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has 16 CPU cores and 32 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is at 3.50 GHz (4.70 GHz).
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)	Characteristic	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
12	Cores	16
12	Threads	32
hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Core architecture	normal
No	Hyperthreading	Yes
No	Overclocking ?	Yes
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) 8x Avalanche	A-Core	3.50 GHz (4.70 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 Max (30-GPU)	Characteristic	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Apple Neural Engine	AI hardware	--
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS	AI specifications	--

Internal Graphics The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) or AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
Apple M2 Max (30 Core)	GPU	no iGPU
0.45 GHz	GPU frequency	--
1.40 GHz	GPU (Turbo)	--
2	GPU Generation	--
5 nm	Technology
5	Max. displays
480	Compute units	--
3840	Shader	--
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
96 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 M2 Max (30 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 The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) can use up to 96 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 409.6 GB/s. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 51.2 GB/s.
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)	Characteristic	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
LPDDR5-6400	Memory	DDR4-3200
96 GB	Max. Memory	128 GB
4 (Quad Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
409.6 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	51.2 GB/s
No	ECC	Yes
36.00 MB	L2 Cache	--
--	L3 Cache	64.00 MB
4.0	PCIe version	4.0
32	PCIe lanes	20
63.0 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	39.4 GB/s
Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) is 45 W, while the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X has a TDP of 105 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)	Characteristic	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
45 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	105 W
--	TDP (PL2)	142 W
--	TDP up	--
--	TDP down	--
100 °C	Tjunction max.	95 °C
Technical details The Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) is manufactured in 5 nm and has 36.00 MB cache. The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 64.00 MB cache.
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)	Characteristic	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
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, iPadOS	Operating systems	Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q1/2023	Release date	Q3/2019
--	Release price	650 $

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Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 3.50 GHz (4.70 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks

Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) (100%)

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (70%)

⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks

Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) (81%)

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (95%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	121 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	74 (61%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	1025 (77%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	1325 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	1695 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	1371 (81%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	14855 (62%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	24050 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	1874 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	1408 (75%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	15506 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	14322 (92%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	2689 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	1697 (63%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	14207 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	11830 (83%)

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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	26310 (67%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	39079 (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.


	Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	531 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	9148 (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 Max (30-GPU) Apple M2 Max (30 Core) @ 1.40 GHz	10650 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X @ 0.00 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.


	Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	384 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	85.4 (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.


	Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	523 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 3.50 GHz	10761 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.70 GHz	217 (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 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 4.00 GHz	3897 (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 Max (30-GPU) 14,855 CB R23 MC @ 40 W	371 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 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).


	Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) 12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz	15.8 (100%)
	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16C 32T @ 3.50 GHz	0 (0%)

Devices using this processor
Apple M2 Max (30-GPU)	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)	Memory PC High End Gaming PC AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Kiebel Gamer-PC Loki [184903]

News and articles for the Apple M2 Max (30-GPU) and the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

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.

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