AMD Ryzen 7 5800X vs Apple M3 Pro 11-Core vs Apple M3

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 Pro 11-Core

The Apple M3 Pro 11 Core is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced late 2023. It integrates 11 of the 12 CPU cores with 5 of 6 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 6 efficiency cores with 2.8 GHz.

Compared to the M2 Pro the M3 Pro has been slimmed down somewhat and swaps two performance cores for efficiency cores. This is due to the changed core configuration, as 6 cores are now used per cluster (the M2 Pro and M3 still have 4 cores per cluster). Furthermore, the memory bus has been reduced from 256 bits to 192 bits (150 GB/s vs. 200 GB/s). Thanks to the new architecture and higher clock rates, the new M3 Pro is still slightly faster.

The M3 Pro also integrates a new graphics card with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration via hardware. In the entry-level model, only 14 of the chip's 18 cores are used and support up to 3 displays simultaneously (internal and 2 external).

GPU and CPU can jointly access the shared memory on the package (unified memory). This is available in 18 or 36 GB variants and offers 150 GB/s maximum bandwidth (192 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.

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 37 billion transistors (-7.5% vs. Apple M2 Pro).

Apple M3

The Apple M3 is a system on a chip (SoC) from Apple for notebooks that was introduced in late 2023. It integrates a new 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores with up to 4.06 GHz and 4 efficiency cores running at up to 2.75 GHz. Apple claims that the CPU is up to 20% faster than in the old Apple M2 (3.5 GHz). 

Due to the higher clock speeds and architecture improvements, the processor performance is also significantly better than the M2 in benchmarks (see e.g. Geekbench below) and can keep up with the fastest CPUs in short single-core tests (like the Raptor Lake i9-13950HX).

The M3 also integrates a new graphics adapter with dynamic caching, mesh shading and ray tracing acceleration. According to Apple, it is 20% faster than the GPU in the M2. The chip integrates again 10 GPU cores, but the cheaper variant only offers 8 cores (e.g. in the entry iMac). Furthermore, the GPU only supports 2 displays (an additional 6K60 display to the internal one).

Both GPU and CPU can access the unified memory on the package together. It is still available in 8, 16 and 24 GB variants and offers the same 100 GB/s maximum bandwidth (unlike the Pro models that feature a reduced memory bandwidth). 

The integrated 16-core Neural Engine has also been revised and now offers 18 TOPS peak performance (versus 15.8 TOPS in the M2 but 35 TOPS in the new A17 Pro). The video engine now supports AV1 decoding in hardware. H.264, HEVC and ProRes (RAW) can still be decoded and encoded.

Unfortunately, the integrated wireless network module only supports Wi-Fi 6E (no Wi-Fi 7) and due to the support of only a single external monitor, the chip also has to make do with no Thunderbolt 4 (Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4 support only for up to 40 Gbit/s).

The chip is manufactured on the current 3nm TSMC process (N3B most likely) and contains 25 billion transistors (+25% vs. Apple M2). The 3nm process should also contribute to the excellent efficiency of the chip. Under load, the M3 CPU consumes approximately 20 Watt.