Apple M2 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

Processor comparisons   22-10-2022
   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the detailed tests Apple M2 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and decide which is better for games or simple use for streaming, rendering, machine learning, video editing, programming. Here is all information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like PassMark, Gears 5, SuperPi, Furmark, Blender, MATLAB, GeekBench 6, 5.2, WPrime, Prime95, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, RealBench, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark, PCMark 10, Blender.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 3950X or Apple M2 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

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

M2 Pro

61%

Ryzen 9 3950X

61%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M2 Pro

59%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	103.7
Valorant	119.1	117.9
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	66.0
Apex Legends	111.9	110.8
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	88.4
Overwatch	96.5	95.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	81.3
DOOM Eternal	59.5	58.9
Warzone	92.9	91.9
Assassin's Creed	100.0	99.0
Valheim	98.8	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: 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

M2 Pro

496%

Ryzen 9 3950X

40%

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 M2 Pro is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 3950X as it consumes less power: 14W vs. 105W. 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

Let's say you want 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, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using 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 turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	217
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	3897
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	531
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	9148
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	1371
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	24050

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

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	6111	2718
Multi-Core	39485	39170

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

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Single-Core	2085	1286
Multi-Core	16467	15407

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. 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 benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	October 01, 2019
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Desktop
Socket	M2	AM4
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Matisse
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 2
Generation	2	3
Turbo Frequency		4.7 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.5 MHz
Cores	12	16
Threads	12	32
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	7800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 W	105 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR4
Max. Memory	32 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	1MB
L2 cache	24MB	8MB
L3 cache	36MB	64MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		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 0% better than M2 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 3950X has 4 more core than M2 Pro. 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 M2 Pro is better: 26
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is better: 11
All the figures in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of Apple M2 Pro and AMD Ryzen 9 3950X before making a selection which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Apple M2 Pro - all data

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

• Apple M2 Pro specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3950X specs and review.