AMD Ryzen 9 3950X vs Apple M2. Specifications, performance, tests

Comprehensive background on the processors being compared, detailing their series, generation, and targeted market segment.

• Segment
  Desktop / Server Mobile
• Family
  AMD Ryzen Apple M series
• Generation
  3 2
• CPU group
  AMD Ryzen 3000 Apple M2
• Successor
  AMD Ryzen 9 5950X --

Essential parameters including the number of cores, threads, base and turbo frequencies, and cache size. These metrics provide insight into the processor’s speed—higher values generally indicate better performance.

• Frequency
  3.50 GHz 3.50 GHz
• CPU Cores
  16 8
• Turbo (1 Core)
  4.70 GHz No turbo
• CPU Threads
  32 8
• Hyperthreading
  Yes No
• Overclocking
  Yes No
• Core architecture
  normal hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A core
  -- 4x Avalanche
• B core
  -- 4x Blizzard

The integrated graphics (iGPU) do not influence the CPU performance significantly; they serve as a substitute for a dedicated graphics card in the absence of one or are utilized in mobile devices.

• GPU name
  no iGPU Apple M2 (8 Core)
• GPU frequency
  3.50 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo No turbo
• Execution units
  128
• Max. GPU Memory
  -- 16 GB
• Max. displays
  3
• Generation
  2
• Technology
  5 nm
• Release date
  Q1/2022

This section details the built-in codecs used for encoding and decoding media content, which significantly enhance processing speed and efficiency.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  No Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No Decode / Encode
• h264
  No Decode / Encode
• VP9
  No Decode / Encode
• VP8
  No Decode
• AV1
  No Decode
• AVC
  No Decode
• VC-1
  No Decode
• JPEG
  No Decode / Encode

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Apple M2 and AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  DDR4-3200 LPDDR5-5500
• Max. Memory
  128 GB 16 GB
• ECC
  Yes No
• Memory channels
  2 2
• PCIe version
  4.0 4.0
• PCIe lanes
  20

• AES-NI
  Yes Yes

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and Apple M2 to make an informed decision on the appropriate cooling system. Remember that TDP refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  105 W 15 W
• TDP up
  -- 20 W
• TDP (PL2)
  142 W --
• TDP down
  -- 10 W
• Tjunction max.
  95 °C --

Information on architecture, interfaces, and additional instructions supported by AMD Ryzen 9 3950X and Apple M2, including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  AMD-V, SVM None
• ISA extensions
  SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
• L2-Cache
  -- 16.00 MB
• L3-Cache
  64.00 MB --
• Architecture
  Matisse (Zen 2) M2
• Technology
  7 nm 5 nm
• Socket
  AM4 N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2019 Q1/2022