Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Let's say you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and see which is better for games or normal use for programming, video editing, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is useful information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as SuperPi, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, VeraCrypt, RealBench, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, UserBenchmark, Dolphin Emulator, PassMark, AIDA64, Blender, Furmark, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Prime95, 7zip, WPrime, PCMark 10.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 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 3950X

61%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 Ultra is 10% better than Ryzen 9 3950X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M1 Ultra

64%

Ryzen 9 3950X

58%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	103.7
Valorant	128.6	117.9
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	66.0
Apex Legends	120.8	110.8
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	88.4
Overwatch	104.1	95.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	81.3
DOOM Eternal	64.3	58.9
Warzone	100.3	91.9
Assassin's Creed	108.0	99.0
Valheim	106.7	97.8

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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

M1 Ultra

272%

Ryzen 9 3950X

40%

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 Ultra is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 3950X since it has less power consumption: 20W vs. 105W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, video rendering or video editing, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software 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 3950X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	217
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	3897
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	531
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	9148
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	1371
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	24050

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	9611	2718
Multi-Core	62194	39170

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	1637	1286
Multi-Core	24642	15407

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 in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	October 01, 2019
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	AM4
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Matisse
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 2
Generation	1	3
Turbo Frequency		4.7 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.5 MHz
Cores	20	16
Threads	20	32
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	105 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	1MB
L2 cache	48MB	8MB
L3 cache	96MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1W06	100-000000051 100-100000051WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 3950X is 8% better than M1 Ultra in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 Ultra has 4 more core than Ryzen 9 3950X. 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 3950X is better: 9
However, it should be realized that all the number in the table above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Apple M1 Ultra and AMD Ryzen 9 3950X before making a decision 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 3950X specs and review.