Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) vs AMD Ryzen 5 5500

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) AMD Ryzen 5 5500

CPU comparison

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) or AMD Ryzen 5 5500 - 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 (38-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 (38-GPU) was released in Q1/2023.

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 was released in Q2/2022.
Apple M series (25) Family AMD Ryzen 5 (85)
Apple M2 (8) CPU group AMD Ryzen 5000G (16)
2 Generation 4
M2 Architecture Cezanne (Zen 3)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M1 Max (32-GPU) Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz). The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.60 GHz (4.20 GHz).

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 5500
12 Cores 6
12 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Avalanche
A-Core 3.60 GHz (4.20 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 (38-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M2 Max (38 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.45 GHz GPU frequency --
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
2 GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology
5 Max. displays
608 Compute units --
4864 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 (38 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 (38-GPU) supports a maximum of 96 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 5500
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR4-3200
96 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
409.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC No
36.00 MB L2 Cache 3.00 MB
-- L3 Cache 16.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
32 PCIe lanes 24
63.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 23.6 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) has a TDP of 40 W, that of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is 65 W.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 5500
40 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down 45 W
100 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) has a 36.00 MB cache, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 cache has a total of 19.00 MB.

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 5500
5 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
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 Q2/2022
-- Release price 159 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (55 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.6 stars (49 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (74%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (60%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
121 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
82 (68%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1025 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
582 (57%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1695 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1396 (82%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14855 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
10940 (74%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1355 (72%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
15506 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
5979 (39%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
2689 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1928 (72%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
14207 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
8027 (57%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
26310 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
19622 (75%)

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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
535 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
4086 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
Apple M2 Max (38 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
13490 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
@ 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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
146 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
584 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
4643 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
221 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
1714 (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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
14,855 CB R23 MC @ 40 W
371 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
3.60 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 (38-GPU) Apple M2 Max (38-GPU)
12C 12T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 AMD Ryzen 5 5500
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) Unknown

News and articles for the Apple M2 Max (38-GPU) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500


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