Apple M3 (8-GPU) vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M3 (8-GPU) CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Apple M3 (8-GPU) AMD Ryzen 5 2600

CPU comparison

Apple M3 (8-GPU) or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 - 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 M3 (8-GPU) has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.06 GHz. Up to 24 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) was released in Q4/2023.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.90 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 was released in Q2/2018.
Apple M series (25) Family AMD Ryzen 5 (85)
Apple M3 (6) CPU group AMD Ryzen 2000 (9)
3 Generation 2
M3 Architecture Pinnacle Ridge (Zen+)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M2 (8-GPU) Predecessor --
-- Successor AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M3 (8-GPU) is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz). The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.40 GHz (3.90 GHz).

Apple M3 (8-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 2600
8 Cores 6
8 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
4x P-Core
A-Core 3.40 GHz (3.90 GHz)
0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
4x E-Core
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 M3 (8-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 35 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 M3 (8 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.39 GHz GPU frequency --
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
3 nm Technology
2 Max. displays
128 Compute units --
1024 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 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 M3 (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
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M3 (8-GPU) supports a maximum of 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M3 (8-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 2600
LPDDR5-6400 Memory DDR4-2933
24 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 46.9 GB/s
No ECC Yes
20.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 16.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 20
-- PCIe Bandwidth 19.7 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M3 (8-GPU) has a TDP of 22 W, that of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is 65 W.

Apple M3 (8-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 2600
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
10 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Apple M3 (8-GPU) has a 20.00 MB cache, while the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 cache has a total of 16.00 MB.

Apple M3 (8-GPU) Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 2600
3 nm Technology 12 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-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
Q4/2023 Release date Q2/2018
-- Release price 195 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M3 (8-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (70 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (18 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple M3 (8-GPU) (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (46%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Apple M3 (8-GPU) (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (56%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
1965 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
1040 (53%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
10437 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
7555 (72%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
2150 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
977 (45%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
10450 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
5351 (51%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
3125 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
1233 (39%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
11863 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
5387 (45%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
137 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
659 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)

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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
374 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
2736 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
Apple M3 (8 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
2840 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
@ 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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
104 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
13230 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
292.5 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
424 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
3340 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
158 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
1305 (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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
10,437 CB R23 MC @ 22 W
474 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
3.40 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 M3 (8-GPU) Apple M3 (8-GPU)
8C 8T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M3 (8-GPU) AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Apple iMac 24 (2023) Memory PC Aufrüst-Kit Bundle AMD Ryzen 5 2600
CSL Sprint D10088X (Ryzen 5)
Memory Gaming PC AMD Ryzen 5 2600

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