AMD Ryzen 7 5800X vs Apple M3 Max 16-Core vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core desktop processor with Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), which allows it to process 16 threads simultaneously. With its launch on 08.10.2020, it is the fastest 8-core processor from AMD. The second fastest 8-core processor will be the AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT, followed by the more economical AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, also with 8 cores and 16 threads.

The Ryzen 7 5800X clocks with a base clock of 3.8 GHz and reaches up to 4.7 GHz on one core in turbo mode. When all 8 cores are utilized, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, like the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, achieves up to 4.5 GHz.

At first glance, the internal structure of the processor has not changed fundamentally. The CCX structure has changed somewhat compared to Zen2, because now a CCX consists of up to 8-CPU cores. So each individual core can access the complete L3 cache (32 MByte). Furthermore the CCX modules are connected to each other via the same I/O die, which we already know from Zen2. According to AMD, the Infinity-Fabric should now reach clock rates of up to 2Ghz, which in turn allows a RAM clock of 4.000 MHz without performance loss.

Performance

The average 5800X in our database is in the same league as the Core i9-10900K and also the Core i7-12700F, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

In games, AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X can convince with its significantly improved IPC and even put Intel in its place. With the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, gamers are well prepared for the future as simultaneous streaming is no problem with the new Ryzen 7 5800X. Semi-professional content creators, who need even more power, can choose a Ryzen 9 5900X or the Ryzen 9 5950X on the shelf.

Power consumption

The Ryzen 7 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 105 W. This applies as long as the CPU runs at stock clock speeds.

Ryzen 7 5800X is built with TSMC's 7 nm process; as rumors have it, the I/O die is manufactured separately on the 12 nm Global Foundries process.

Apple M3 Max 16-Core

The Apple M3 Max (16 Core) is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was launched towards the end of 2023. It integrates a new 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz. There is also a slimmed-down 14-core variant with a 30-core GPU.

Thanks to the higher clock rates and architectural improvements, the processor performance is also significantly better than the M2 Max in benchmarks and can keep up with the fastest mobile CPUs (such as a Core i9-13900HX).

The M3 also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the top model, all 40 cores of the chip are used and support up to 5 displays simultaneously (internal and 4 external).

GPU and CPU can jointly access the shared memory on the package (unified memory). This is available in 48, 64 and 128 GB variants and offers 400 GB/s maximum bandwidth (512 bit bus).

The integrated 16-core Neural Engine has also been revised and now offers 18 TOPS peak performance (compared to 15.8 TOPS in the M2 but 35 TOPS in the new A17 Pro). The video engine now also supports AV1 decoding in hardware. H.264, HEVC and ProRes (RAW) can still be decoded and encoded. Like its predecessor, the Max chip offers two video engines and can therefore encode and decode two streams simultaneously.

Unfortunately, the integrated WLAN only continues to support WiFi 6E (no WiFi 7), unlike the small M3 SoC thunderbolt 4 is also supported (max 40 Gbit/s).

The chip is manufactured in the current 3nm process (N3B) at TSMC and contains 92 billion transistors (+37% vs. Apple M2 Max). Under load, the CPU part consumes up to 56 watts, the chip can use a total of 78 watts.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a desktop processor with 6 SMT-enabled (12 threads) and based on the Zen 3 architecture. Launched in November 2020, it is the fastest 6-core Ryzen desktop processor. With a TDP of 65 watts, the Ryzen 5 5600X is the least energy-hungry model in the Zen 3 family to date.

The Ryzen 5 5600X is clocked at 3.7 GHz base clock and can be clocked up to 4.6 GHz with Precision Boost 2.

Performance

The average 5600X in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 9 4900H and the Ryzen 7 6800HS, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While this isn't the fastest CPU money can buy, it still rips through most workloads with ease, as of mid 2022. Find out more in our full review.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 5 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 65 W to be in line with most desktop processors.

The R5 5600X is built with TSMC's 7 nm process for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.