Apple M2 vs Ryzen 5 5500U

VS

Aggregate performance score

Ryzen 5 5500U
2021
6 cores / 12 threads, 15 Watt
8.50

Apple M2 outperforms Ryzen 5 5500U by a moderate 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking912802
Place by popularity14not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesAMD Lucienne (Zen 2, Ryzen 5000)Apple Apple M-Series
Power efficiency51.6744.50
Architecture codenameLucienne-U (Zen 2) (2021)no data
Release date12 January 2021 (3 years ago)10 June 2022 (2 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores6 (Hexa-Core)8 (Octa-Core)
Threads128
Base clock speed2.1 GHz2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed4 GHz3.48 GHz
Multiplier21no data
L1 cache384 KB2 MB
L2 cache3 MB20 MB
L3 cache8 MB (shared)no data
Chip lithography7 nm5 nm
Die size156 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Number of transistors9,800 million20000 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+no data

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration1no data
SocketFP6no data
Power consumption (TDP)15 Watt20 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsMMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, SMT, CPB, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SMEno data
AES-NI+-
FMA+-
AVX+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2 are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4no data
Maximum memory size64 GBno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardAMD Radeon Vega 7Apple M2 10-Core GPU ( - 1398 MHz)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2.

PCIe version3.0no data
PCI Express lanes12no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Ryzen 5 5500U 8.50
Apple M2 9.76
+14.8%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Ryzen 5 5500U 13015
Apple M2 14933
+14.7%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Ryzen 5 5500U 1247
+2.6%
Apple M2 1215

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Ryzen 5 5500U 177
Apple M2 223
+26%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.50 9.76
Recency 12 January 2021 10 June 2022
Physical cores 6 8
Threads 12 8
Chip lithography 7 nm 5 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 20 Watt

Ryzen 5 5500U has 50% more threads, and 33.3% lower power consumption.

Apple M2, on the other hand, has a 14.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 33.3% more physical cores, and a 40% more advanced lithography process.

The Apple M2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Ryzen 5 5500U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 5500U and Apple M2, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
Ryzen 5 5500U
Apple M2
M2

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


2.7 18469 votes

Rate Ryzen 5 5500U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.5 584 votes

Rate Apple M2 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Ryzen 5 5500U or Apple M2, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.