Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   For example you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a decision after reading the full tests Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and see which is better for games or normal use for video editing, machine learning, rendering, streaming, programming. Here you can find useful information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like UserBenchmark, WPrime, SuperPi, RealBench, Prime95, PassMark, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, GeekBench 6, 5.2, AIDA64, Furmark, Blender, VeraCrypt, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 3DMark, Gears 5, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 5900 or Apple M1 Ultra.

Summary benchmark results

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

M1 Ultra

68%

Ryzen 9 5900

62%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Ultra is 8% better than Ryzen 9 5900. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Ultra

64%

Ryzen 9 5900

59%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	103.8
Valorant	128.6	118.0
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	66.1
Apex Legends	120.8	110.9
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	88.5
Overwatch	104.1	95.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	81.4
DOOM Eternal	64.3	59.0
Warzone	100.3	92.0
Assassin's Creed	108.0	99.1
Valheim	106.7	97.9

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance 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 Ultra

272%

Ryzen 9 5900

89%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the M1 Ultra is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 5900 as it consumes less power: 20W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video editing or video rendering, streaming, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor turns on all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit 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 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	285
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	3789
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	668
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	8653
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	1815
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	23790

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Single-Core	9611	3487
Multi-Core	62194	39560

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Single-Core	1637	1743
Multi-Core	24642	15530

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 5900
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	January 12, 2021
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	AM4
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Vermeer
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 3
Generation	1	4
Turbo Frequency		4.7 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3 MHz
Cores	20	12
Threads	20	24
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	9400 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	65 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB
L2 cache	48MB	6MB
L3 cache	96MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1W06	100-000000062

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Ultra is 6% better than Ryzen 9 5900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Ultra has 8 more core than Ryzen 9 5900. 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 Ultra is better: 28
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 5900 is better: 9
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M1 Ultra and AMD Ryzen 9 5900 before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M1 Ultra - all data

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

• Apple M1 Ultra specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900 specs and review.