Apple M1 Max vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900

Processor comparisons   21-10-2022
   Let's say you have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the full tests Apple M1 Max vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900 and decide which is better for games or normal use for machine learning, rendering, video editing, programming, streaming. Here you can find useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A careful analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, Blender, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, Prime95, Handbrake, PassMark, WPrime, UserBenchmark, PCMark 10, MATLAB, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3900 or Apple M1 Max.

Summary benchmark results

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

M1 Max

60%

Ryzen 9 3900

59%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Max is 1% better than Ryzen 9 3900. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Max

57%

Ryzen 9 3900

57%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	101.3	101.6
Valorant	115.1	115.5
Cyberpunk 2077	64.5	64.7
Apex Legends	108.2	108.6
Call of Duty Warzone	86.3	86.6
Overwatch	93.2	93.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	79.4	79.7
DOOM Eternal	57.6	57.7
Warzone	89.8	90.1
Assassin's Creed	96.7	97.0
Valheim	95.5	95.9

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Max

332%

Ryzen 9 3900

67%

To make a final resolution 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 Max is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 3900 since it has less power consumption: 18W vs. 65W. 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

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, 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 Max	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Cinbench 15 Single-core	313	196
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1811	2922
Cinbench 20 Single-core	617	485
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3106	6789
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2360	1149
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	12204	16943

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

	Apple M1 Max	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Single-Core	5344	2627
Multi-Core	34572	30807

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

	Apple M1 Max	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Single-Core	1793	1324
Multi-Core	13028	13362

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Max	AMD Ryzen 9 3900
Announcement date	October 07, 2021	September 30, 2019
Type	Laptop;Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	AM4
Core name	8x Firestorm and 2x Icestorm	Matisse
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 2
Generation	1	2
Turbo Frequency		4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	10	12
Threads	10	24
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	57000 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	18 W	65 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4
Max. Memory	64 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	409 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	768KB
L2 cache	24MB	6MB
L3 cache	48MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1105	100-000000072

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Max is 3% better than Ryzen 9 3900 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 3900 has 2 more core than M1 Max. 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 Max is better: 14
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 3900 is better: 22
Although it should be realized that the summary data in the text above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Apple M1 Max and AMD Ryzen 9 3900 before making a choice which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

Apple M1 Max - all data

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

• Apple M1 Max specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900 specs and review.