Apple M1 vs AMD Ryzen 5 4500U

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Perhaps you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the Apple M1 vs AMD Ryzen 5 4500U tests and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, Furmark, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), AIDA64, SuperPi, MATLAB, PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, WPrime, 3DMark, Gears 5, RealBench, UserBenchmark, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, Handbrake.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 4500U or Apple M1.

Summary benchmark results

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

56%

Ryzen 5 4500U

53%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M1 is 5% better than Ryzen 5 4500U. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

54%

Ryzen 5 4500U

52%

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. Therefore, if you think 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 processors were compared: Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Forza Horizon 4, DOTA 2A, Metro Exodus, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Half-Life: Alyx, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, Control, Microsoft Flight Simulator, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL), Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.8	92.9
Valorant	108.9	105.6
Cyberpunk 2077	61.0	59.1
Apex Legends	102.4	99.3
Call of Duty Warzone	81.7	79.2
Overwatch	88.2	85.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	75.1	72.9
DOOM Eternal	54.5	52.8
Warzone	84.9	82.4
Assassin's Creed	91.5	88.7
Valheim	90.4	87.6

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 tested computers not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

388%

Ryzen 5 4500U

244%

To make a finishing 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 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 4500U as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. 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

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU 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 make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

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

	Apple M1	AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	209	176
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1163	894
Cinbench 20 Single-core	402	448
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1987	1921
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1512	1151
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7782	5620

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

	Apple M1	AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
Single-Core	3413	2452
Multi-Core	22028	11314

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

	Apple M1	AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
Single-Core	1746	1102
Multi-Core	7683	4821

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	AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	January 06, 2020
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M1	FP6
Core name	4x Firestorm;4x Icestorm	Renoir
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	1	2
Turbo Frequency		4 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	2.3 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	6
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	16000 millions	4600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	15 W
Memory type	LPDDR4 - Up to 4266MHz	DDR4 - Up to 3200MHz
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency	4266
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache	2MB
L2 cache	16MB	3MB
L3 cache		8MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	APL1102	100-000000084

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M1 is 28% better than Ryzen 5 4500U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M1 has 2 more core than Ryzen 5 4500U. 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 is better: 28
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 4500U is better: 6
However, it should be understood that the summary data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M1 and AMD Ryzen 5 4500U before making a choice which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Apple M1 specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 4500U specs and review.