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Apple - M4 Max (16-core) vs AMD - Ryzen 9 7900X

Last updated · How Mars Score works
M4 Max (16-core)APPLERENDER
Probe A
Apple
M4 Max (16-core)
50.7/ 100D
Cores48· 40%
Benchmarks54· 40%
Platform· 20%
Ryzen 9 7900XAMDRENDER
Probe B
AMD
Ryzen 9 7900X
55.6/ 100D
Cores55· 40%
Benchmarks56· 40%
Platform· 20%
Quick verdict

Between the M4 Max (16-core) and Ryzen 9 7900X, the M4 Max (16-core) comes out ahead in tdp and cores, while the Ryzen 9 7900X wins on l3 cache and boost clock. Overall, the M4 Max (16-core) scores 50.7 and the Ryzen 9 7900X scores 55.6 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

The Ryzen 9 7900X edges ahead on the Mars Score (50.7 vs 55.6), but the 4.9-point gap is small enough that the right pick comes down to which spec advantages matter to you.

Pick the M4 Max (16-core) if you care most about tdp and cores. The biggest gaps in its favor are tdp, cores.

Pick the Ryzen 9 7900X if you push the hardware — gaming, on-device AI, heavy multitasking — and the extra compute headroom is worth the trade-offs. Its strongest claims are l3 cache, boost clock, cinebench r23 (multi).

There are no meaningful ties on the headline specs — every popular-comparison metric has a winner.

Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity tells you both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.

Why Apple - M4 Max (16-core) wins

  • TDP — 125.00 W less. 45 vs 170.
  • Cores — 16.67% more. 14 vs 12.

Why AMD - Ryzen 9 7900X wins

  • L3 cache — 128.57% more. 64 MB vs 28 MB.
  • Boost clock — 24.44% more. 5.6 GHz vs 4.5 GHz.
  • Cinebench R23 (multi) — 11.70% more. 29600 vs 26500.
Full readout

Spec comparison

Cores

SpecApple - M4 Max (16-core)AMD - Ryzen 9 7900X
Cores14lead12
Threads1424lead
Base clock0 GHz4.7 GHzlead
Boost clock4.5 GHz5.6 GHzlead
L3 cache28 MB64 MBlead

Platform

SpecApple - M4 Max (16-core)AMD - Ryzen 9 7900X
SocketSolderedAM5
TDP45 Wlead170 W
Integrated graphicstruetrue
DDR5truetrue

Benchmarks

SpecApple - M4 Max (16-core)AMD - Ryzen 9 7900X
Cinebench R23 (multi)2650029600lead
Cinebench R23 (single)2275lead2030
Reader questions

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