Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

Processor comparisons 21-10-2022

   Let's say you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the detailed tests Apple M1 Ultra vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and decide which is better for games or normal use for programming, rendering, streaming, video editing, machine learning. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as MATLAB, Furmark, RealBench, 3DMark, AIDA64, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, VeraCrypt, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, WPrime, Gears 5, Blender, SuperPi, PassMark, Blender, Handbrake, UserBenchmark, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 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 Threadripper 3990X

74%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is 8% better than M1 Ultra. 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 Threadripper 3990X

71%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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 low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: League of Legends (LOL), DOTA 2A, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Half-Life: Alyx, Metro Exodus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Microsoft Flight Simulator, NBA 2K20, Ghostrunner, Control, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	113.1	126.3
Valorant	128.6	143.5
Cyberpunk 2077	72.0	80.4
Apex Legends	120.8	134.9
Call of Duty Warzone	96.4	107.6
Overwatch	104.1	116.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	88.7	99.0
DOOM Eternal	64.3	71.8
Warzone	100.3	111.9
Assassin's Creed	108.0	120.6
Valheim	106.7	119.1

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 comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 Threadripper 3990X

15%

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 Threadripper 3990X since it has less power consumption: 20W vs. 280W. Power consumption is especially 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 plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video editing or video rendering, programming, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads 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 make sure that the software 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 work, 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 Ultra	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	555	200
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	3252	10542
Cinbench 20 Single-core	1103	495
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	5583	24763
Cinbench 23 Single-core	4240	1254
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	21959	74422

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
Single-Core	9611	2528
Multi-Core	62194	81559

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

	Apple M1 Ultra	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
Single-Core	1637	1341
Multi-Core	24642	37544

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 newer the processor, 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 continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new 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 Threadripper 3990X
Announcement date	April 09, 2022	February 07, 2020
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	M1	sTRX4
Core name	16x Firestorm and 4x Icestorm	Castle Peak
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 2
Generation	1	3
Turbo Frequency		4.3 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.9 MHz
Cores	20	64
Threads	20	128
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	114000 millions	22600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	20 W	280 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4
Max. Memory	128 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	818 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	4MB
L2 cache	48MB	32MB
L3 cache	96MB	256MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1W06	100-000000163 100-100000163WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 Ultra is 9% better than Ryzen Threadripper 3990X in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen Threadripper 3990X has 44 more core than M1 Ultra. 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: 15
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is better: 21
Although it should be understood that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M1 Ultra and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X before deciding which processor 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 Threadripper 3990X specs and review.