Home > CPU Comparison > M5 Ultra (36-Core) or Ryzen 9 9950X3D2: what's better?

Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

100 out of 100
Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core)
VS
97 out of 100
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2
Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core)
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

We compared two desktop CPUs: the 4.61 GHz Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) with 36-cores against the 4.3 GHz AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 with 16-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
NanoReview Final Score
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Value for money (Beta)

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Currency
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Key Differences

What are the key differences between 9950X3D2 and (36-Core)
Advantages of Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core)
  • More powerful Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) integrated graphics: 33.2 vs 0.6 TFLOPS
  • Around 1139.2 GB/s (1271%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • Newer - released 5 months later
  • Has 20 more physical cores
  • Supports up to 512 GB LPDDR5X-9600 RAM
  • More modern manufacturing process – 3 versus 4 nanometers
  • 20% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 4331 vs 3614 points
Advantages of AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2
  • Unlocked multiplier

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
M5 Ultra (36-Core)
vs
Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench 2026 (Single) - 558
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) - 10459
Cinebench Scores (1st and 3rd place)
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
File compression - 2030 MB/sec
Clang compilation - 240.9 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser - 460.9 pages/sec
PDF Renderer - 570.9 Mpixels/sec
Text processing - 361 pages/sec
Background blur - 90.2 images/sec
Photo processing - 160.1 images/sec
Ray tracing - 56.9 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2]

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt - 12.6 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt - 135.6 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt - 363.9 PPW
Blender / Watt - 3.74 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2

General

Vendor Apple Amd
Released August 25, 2026 March 26, 2026
Type Desktop Desktop
Instruction Set ARMv9 x86-64
Codename Apple M5 Zen 5 (Granite Ridge)
Model number - 9950X3D2
Integrated GPU Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) Radeon Graphics

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 24 16
P-Threads 24 32
Base Frequency (P) 4.61 GHz 4.3 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) - 5.6 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 12 -
E-Threads 12 -
Base Frequency (E) 4.38 GHz -
Total
Total Cores 36 16
Total Threads 36 32
Bus Frequency 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multiplier 46x 43x
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 80K (per core)
L2 Cache - 1MB (per core)
L3 Cache - 192MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No Yes

Package

Fabrication Process 3 nm 4 nm
TDP (PL1) - 200 W
Max. Boost TDP (PL2) - 270 W
Socket Apple M-Socket AM5
Peak Temperature 100°C 95°C
Desktop CPU ranking (1st and 3rd place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core) Radeon Graphics
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 400 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1620 MHz 2200 MHz
Shading Units 10240 128
TMUs 640 8
ROPs 320 4
Execution Units 1280 2
TGP - 15 W
iGPU FLOPS
M5 Ultra (36-Core) +5433%
33.2 TFLOPS
Ryzen 9 9950X3D2
0.6 TFLOPS
More info: Radeon Graphics iGPU (Ryzen 7000) compared to Apple M5 Ultra GPU (80-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5X-9600 - DDR5-5600
Max. Memory Size 512 GB 256 GB
Memory Channels 64 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 1228.8 GB/s 89.6 GB/s
ECC Support No Yes

Misc

Official Site - AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 official page
PCI Express Version - 5.0
PCI Express Lanes - 28

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
28 (93.3%)
2 (6.7%)
Total votes: 30

Competitors

1. Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs Apple M4 Ultra
2. Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
3. Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
4. Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs Apple M2 Ultra
5. Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core) vs Intel Core Ultra 9 285
6. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 vs Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus (6)
7. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
8. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 vs Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 or Apple M5 Ultra (36-Core)?
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