Sony Playstation 5 vs Apple M2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Sony Playstation 5 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M2
Sony Playstation 5 Apple M2

CPU comparison

Sony Playstation 5 or Apple M2 - 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 Sony Playstation 5 has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Sony Playstation 5 was released in Q3/2020.

The Apple M2 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M2 was released in Q2/2022.
AMD Ryzen 7 (63) Family Apple M series (23)
AMD Ryzen 4000G (22) CPU group Apple M2 (8)
3 Generation 2
Renoir (Zen 2) Architecture M2
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M1
-- Successor Apple M3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Sony Playstation 5 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz). The Apple M2 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz).

Sony Playstation 5 Characteristic Apple M2
8 Cores 8
16 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz)
8x Zen 2
A-Core 0.66 GHz (3.50 GHz)
4x Avalanche
-- B-Core 0.60 GHz (2.42 GHz)
4x Blizzard

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.

Sony Playstation 5 Characteristic Apple M2
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS

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.

AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Playstation 5) GPU Apple M2 (10 Core)
2.23 GHz GPU frequency 0.45 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
1 GPU Generation 2
7 nm Technology 5 nm
1 Max. displays 2
36 Compute units 160
2304 Shader 1280
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 24 GB
12 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.

AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Playstation 5) GPU Apple M2 (10 Core)
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 / Encode Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Sony Playstation 5 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M2 can connect up to 24 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Sony Playstation 5 Characteristic Apple M2
GDDR6 Memory LPDDR5-6400
16 GB Max. Memory 24 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
448.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 20.00 MB
8.00 MB L3 Cache --
4.0 PCIe version 4.0
12 PCIe lanes --
23.6 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Sony Playstation 5 has a TDP of 65 W, that of the Apple M2 is 20 W.

Sony Playstation 5 Characteristic Apple M2
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 20 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 30 W
-- TDP down 10 W
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Sony Playstation 5 has a 8.00 MB cache, while the Apple M2 cache has a total of 20.00 MB.

Sony Playstation 5 Characteristic Apple M2
7 nm Technology 5 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
BGA Socket --
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q3/2020 Release date Q2/2022
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Sony Playstation 5 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (4 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (206 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
1056 (66%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1592 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
9625 (100%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8558 (89%)

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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
992 (53%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1874 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
6635 (75%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
8853 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Playstation 5) @ 2.23 GHz
10300 (100%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
Apple M2 (10 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
3550 (34%)

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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
16095 (100%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
15472 (96%)

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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
120 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
555 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
2596 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
10062 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
402 (100%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
3735 (100%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
277 (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.
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8,558 CB R23 MC @ 20 W
428 (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).
Sony Playstation 5 Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M2 Apple M2
8C 8T @ 0.66 GHz
15.8 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Sony Playstation 5 Apple M2
Unknown Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)

News and articles for the Sony Playstation 5 and the Apple M2

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.
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Apple M2 vs Apple M1 - What are the differences?
Posted by Stefan on 2022-06-09
During WWDC 2022 on June 6th, 2022 Apple surprisingly presented its new Apple M2 processor. This will initially be installed in a completely revised Apple MacBook Air with 13.6 inches, a even thinner form factor and new colors. Apple also updated the already known (old) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 with touch bar.

Many leakers had counted on Apple not presenting its new second-generation M processor until the fall. But things turned out differently. And there is very likely a reason for that: the improvements in the Apple M2 are limited compared to the predecessor.

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