AMD Ryzen 9 9900X vs Apple M5 Ultra (36-core)
90.1Single-core—
83.6Multi-core—
84.6Gamingspec-based52.5
1 spec wins — AMD Ryzen 9 9900X6 spec wins — Apple M5 Ultra (36-core)
InnoReviews verdict
No overall winner yet: Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) lacks the published benchmark results an Inno Score requires, so there is no Inno Score to compare — we don't rank chips on their spec sheet alone. The spec table below still shows every difference we track.
Which would you pick?
Key differences
Reasons to pick the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
- 22% higher Boost clock: 5.6 GHz vs 4.6 GHz
- Lower launch price: $499 vs $12,299
Reasons to pick the Apple M5 Ultra (36-core)
- 200% higher cores: 36 vs 12
- 167% higher Max memory: 512 GB vs 192 GB
- 50% higher threads: 36 vs 24
- 25% lower process: 3 nm vs 4 nm
General
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2024 | 2026 |
| Socket | AM5 | — |
| Process | 4 nm | 3 nm+25% |
| Base TDP | 120 W | — |
| Max turbo power | 162 W | — |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | — |
| Cooler included | No | — |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 12 | 36+200% |
| Performance cores | 12 | 12 |
| Efficiency cores | 0 | 24 |
| Threads | 24 | 36+50% |
| Base clock | 4.4 GHz | — |
| Boost clock | 5.6 GHz+22% | 4.6 GHz |
| L2 cache | 12 MB | — |
| L3 cache | 64 MB | — |
Integrated GPU
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| iGPU | AMD Radeon Graphics (2 CU RDNA 2) | Apple 80-core GPU |
| iGPU clock | 2,200 MHz | — |
Memory
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| Memory support | DDR5-5600 | — |
| Max memory | 192 GB | 512 GB+167% |
| Memory channels | 2 | — |
Platform
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| PCIe version | 5 | — |
| CPU PCIe lanes | 28 | — |
Benchmarks
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | Apple M5 Ultra (36-core) |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | 3,300Top 6% | — |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 19,800Top 15% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (single) | 2,230Top 11% | — |
| Cinebench R23 (multi) | 32,000Top 14% | — |
| PassMark | 55,500Top 13% | — |
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