AMD
Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Zen 5 · 8C/16T · 104 MB cache · Gaming king
95
/ 100
From $479
VS
Ryzen 7 9800X3D wins by 1
Apple
Apple M5
10C CPU · 10C GPU · 50 TOPS NPU
94
/ 100
From $1,299
Specdex verdict
Ryzen 7 9800X3D takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, Ryzen 7 9800X3D lands at 95 and Apple M5 at 94. That puts Ryzen 7 9800X3D ahead by 1 points — a narrow margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick Ryzen 7 9800X3D if…
- ✓Fastest gaming CPU on the planet
- ✓Overclockable unlike prior X3D
- ✓Great efficiency
Pick Apple M5 if…
- ✓Industry-leading perf-per-watt
- ✓Neural Engine 5th-gen (50 TOPS)
- ✓Hardware ray tracing v2
Score breakdown
Ryzen 7 9800X3D
95 single 92
multi 86
gaming 100
efficiency 94
Apple M5
94 single 100
multi 90
gaming 78
efficiency 100
Specs side-by-side
Spec
Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Apple M5
Cores
8
10 (4P+6E)
Threads
16
—
Base clock
4.7 GHz
—
Boost clock
5.2 GHz
—
L3 cache
96 MB (3D V-Cache)
—
TDP
120 W
—
Socket
AM5
—
Process
TSMC 4 nm
TSMC N3P
Memory bandwidth
—
150 GB/s
Neural engine
—
16-core, 50 TOPS
Release year
—
2025
Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Pros
- +Fastest gaming CPU on the planet
- +Overclockable unlike prior X3D
- +Great efficiency
Cons
- −Only 8 cores for productivity
- −AM5 motherboard required
- −Scarce at launch
Apple M5
Pros
- +Industry-leading perf-per-watt
- +Neural Engine 5th-gen (50 TOPS)
- +Hardware ray tracing v2
Cons
- −Apple-ecosystem only
- −Base tier starts at 16 GB
- −Windows via Parallels only
FAQ: Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs Apple M5
Which is better, Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Apple M5? +
Ryzen 7 9800X3D scores 95 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 1. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is Ryzen 7 9800X3D worth the price? +
At $479, Ryzen 7 9800X3D delivers a Specdex score of 95 — strongest in gaming.
Is Apple M5 worth the price? +
At $1,299, Apple M5 delivers a Specdex score of 94 — strongest in single.
Does Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Apple M5 last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.