Apple M2 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX

Processor comparisons 22-10-2022

   For example you have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Apple M2 Pro vs AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX and see which is better for games or normal use for programming, video editing, machine learning, rendering, streaming. Here is all information from many benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests like Furmark, SuperPi, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), DaVinci Resolve Studio, VeraCrypt, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, WPrime, Prime95, RealBench, AIDA64, Blender, MATLAB, 3DMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, Blender, PassMark, UserBenchmark, Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, Handbrake, PCMark 10.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX 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 6980HX

58%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, M2 Pro is 4% better than Ryzen 9 6980HX. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

M2 Pro

59%

Ryzen 9 6980HX

55%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	104.8	97.1
Valorant	119.1	110.3
Cyberpunk 2077	66.7	61.8
Apex Legends	111.9	103.7
Call of Duty Warzone	89.3	82.8
Overwatch	96.5	89.4
Red Dead Redemption 2	82.2	76.1
DOOM Eternal	59.5	55.2
Warzone	92.9	86.1
Assassin's Creed	100.0	92.7
Valheim	98.8	91.6

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 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

M2 Pro

496%

Ryzen 9 6980HX

119%

To make a final choice 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 6980HX as it consumes less power: 14W vs. 45W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must 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

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, video rendering or video editing, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses 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 can use only one core to run, and all the advantages 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 6980HX
Cinbench 15 Single-core	366	263
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	2078	2492
Cinbench 20 Single-core	714	605
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3555	5453
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2063	972
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	16023	13866

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

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX
Single-Core	6111	3318
Multi-Core	39485	27686

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

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX
Single-Core	2085	1617
Multi-Core	16467	8927

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 in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Apple M2 Pro	AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX
Announcement date	October 20, 2022	January 09, 2022
Type	Desktop;Laptop	Laptop
Socket	M2	FP7
Core name	8x Avalanche and 4x Blizzard	Rembrandt
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	Zen 3+
Generation	2	6
Turbo Frequency		5 MHz
Frequency	3.49 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	12	8
Threads	12	16
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	4 nm	6 nm
Transistors count	42000 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	14 W	45 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 - Up to 6400MHz	DDR5
Max. Memory	32 Gb
Memory Frequency	6400	3200
Memory bandwidth	208 GByte/s
L1 cache	4MB	512KB
L2 cache	24MB	4MB
L3 cache	36MB	16MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		FP7:100-000000750 FP7r2:100-000000751

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here M2 Pro is 5% better than Ryzen 9 6980HX in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that M2 Pro has 4 more core than Ryzen 9 6980HX. 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: 29
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX is better: 8
Although it should be understood that all the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Apple M2 Pro and AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

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 6980HX - all data

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

• AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX specs and review.