Apple M1 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 5 6600U

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Let's say you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the Apple M1 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 5 6600U tests and see which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, streaming, programming, machine learning. Here you can find useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications such as RealBench, Gears 5, AIDA64, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, WPrime, VeraCrypt, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PassMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark, Furmark, Handbrake, SuperPi, Dolphin Emulator, PCMark 10, Blender, Prime95, MATLAB, UserBenchmark, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15).
   And how good the processors are in games:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Apex Legends
Halo Infinite
Last Man Standing
Fallout 76
Rainbow Six Siege
DOOM: Eternal
Fortnite
Red Dead Redemption 2
Death Stranding
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Valheim
Overwatch
Valorant
Cyberpunk 2077
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Watch Dogs Legion
Grand Theft Auto V
Borderlands 3

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 6600U or Apple M1 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

M1 Pro

59%

Ryzen 5 6600U

57%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Pro is 3% better than Ryzen 5 6600U. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Pro

57%

Ryzen 5 6600U

54%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Half-Life: Alyx, Battlefield V, Hitman 3, Ghostrunner, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Metro Exodus, Control, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.0	96.0
Valorant	114.8	109.1
Cyberpunk 2077	64.3	61.1
Apex Legends	107.9	102.5
Call of Duty Warzone	86.1	81.8
Overwatch	93.0	88.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.2	75.3
DOOM Eternal	57.4	54.5
Warzone	89.5	85.1
Assassin's Creed	96.4	91.6
Valheim	95.3	90.5

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparing not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Pro

358%

Ryzen 5 6600U

313%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M1 Pro is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 6600U as it consumes less power: 16W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M1 Pro	AMD Ryzen 5 6600U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	304	226
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1716	2178
Cinbench 20 Single-core	590	525
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2936	4771
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2233	1356
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11512	12138

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Pro	AMD Ryzen 5 6600U
Single-Core	5046	2902
Multi-Core	32596	23998

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Apple M1 Pro	AMD Ryzen 5 6600U
Single-Core	1723	1412
Multi-Core	12737	7815

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Pro	AMD Ryzen 5 6600U
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	January 09, 2022
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M1	FP7
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Rembrandt
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 3+
Generation	1	6
Turbo Frequency		4.5 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.9 MHz
Cores	10	6
Threads	10	12
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	6 nm
Transistors count	34000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	16 W	15 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR5
Max. Memory	32 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	384KB
L2 cache	24MB	3MB
L3 cache	24MB	16MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1103	FP7:100-000000536 FP7r2:100-000000548

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Pro is 9% better than Ryzen 5 6600U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Pro has 4 more core than Ryzen 5 6600U. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Apple M1 Pro is better: 27
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 6600U is better: 9
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M1 Pro and AMD Ryzen 5 6600U before making a choice which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Apple M1 Pro - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Apple M1 Pro specs and review.

AMD Ryzen 5 6600U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Ryzen 5 6600U specs and review.