Apple M2 vs Ryzen 9 3900
Aggregated performance score
Ryzen 9 3900 outperforms Apple M2 by a whopping 141% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Ryzen 9 3900 and Apple M2 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 248 | 840 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 35.63 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | AMD Matisse (Ryzen 3000 Desktop) | Apple Apple M-Series |
| Architecture codename | Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020) | no data |
| Release date | 9 October 2019 (4 years ago) | 10 June 2022 (1 year ago) |
| Current price | $381 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Ryzen 9 3900 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 | 12 (Dodeca-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 24 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 3.1 GHz | 2.424 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.3 GHz | 3.48 GHz |
| L1 cache | 768 KB | 2 MB |
| L2 cache | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| L3 cache | 64 MB | no data |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 5 nm |
| Number of transistors | no data | 20000 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | No |
Compatibility
Information on Ryzen 9 3900 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.
| Socket | AM4 (1331) | no data |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 20 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 9 3900 and Apple M2. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | 86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2 | no data |
| AES-NI | + | no data |
| AVX | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 9 3900 and Apple M2 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 9 3900 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 |
| ECC memory support | - | 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 9 3900 outperforms Apple M2 by 141% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
Ryzen 9 3900 outperforms Apple M2 by 106% in Passmark.
Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.
Benchmark coverage: 15%
Ryzen 9 3900 outperforms Apple M2 by 131% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 15%
Apple M2 outperforms Ryzen 9 3900 by 13% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 19.92 | 8.25 |
| Recency | 9 October 2019 | 10 June 2022 |
| Physical cores | 12 | 8 |
| Threads | 24 | 8 |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 20 Watt |
The Ryzen 9 3900 is our recommended choice as it beats the Apple M2 in performance tests.
Note that Ryzen 9 3900 is a desktop processor while Apple M2 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 9 3900 and Apple M2, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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