Apple M2 vs Ryzen 5 3500

Place in the ranking	940	814
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	AMD Ryzen 5	Apple Apple M-Series
Power efficiency	11.73	44.51
Architecture codename	Zen 2 (2017−2020)	no data
Release date	no data	10 June 2022 (2 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 5 3500 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 cores	6 (Hexa-Core)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	6	8
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.424 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.1 GHz	3.48 GHz
L1 cache	384 KB	2 MB
L2 cache	3 MB	20 MB
L3 cache	16 MB	no data
Chip lithography	7 nm, 12 nm	5 nm
Number of transistors	no data	20000 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 5 3500 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 configuration	1 (Uniprocessor)	no data
Socket	Socket AM4	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	20 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Apple M2. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Precision Boost 2	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Apple M2 are enumerated here.

AMD-V

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Apple M2. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-3200	no data
Maximum memory size	128 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.196 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

Apple M2 10-Core GPU ( - 1398 MHz)

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 3500 8.05

Apple M2 9.40
+16.8%

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 3500 12787

Apple M2 14933
+16.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.05	9.40
Physical cores	6	8
Threads	6	8
Chip lithography	7 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	20 Watt

Apple M2 has a 16.8% higher aggregate performance score, 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, a 40% more advanced lithography process, and 225% lower power consumption.

The Apple M2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Ryzen 5 3500 in performance tests.

Note that Ryzen 5 3500 is a desktop processor while Apple M2 is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 3500 and Apple M2, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.