Apple M5 Ultra Takes the Workstation Performance Crown From AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX in Geekbench 7
Apple’s M5 Ultra has made a powerful statement in the workstation processor race, reportedly surpassing AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX in Geekbench 7. The result is especially notable because AMD’s chip comes armed with a massive 96-core, 192-thread configuration and boost clock speeds of up to 5.40GHz, while Apple’s M5 Ultra uses a 36-core CPU design.
Despite the core-count gap, Apple’s latest high-end Silicon appears to deliver stronger overall performance in both single-core and multi-core workloads, showing just how far Apple’s architecture has advanced in efficiency, memory design, and per-core performance.
In Geekbench 7 multi-core testing, the M5 Ultra reportedly beats the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX by around 10.8 percent. That is a major achievement for Apple, considering AMD’s workstation chip has nearly three times the CPU core count. Apple’s chip includes 12 high-performance “super cores” designed for demanding tasks, helping it stay competitive even against one of the most extreme desktop workstation processors available.
The bigger story, however, is single-core performance. Apple Silicon has long held a strong advantage in this area, and the M5 Ultra continues that trend. In the Geekbench 7 single-core test, the M5 Ultra scores 3,774 points, while the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX reaches 2,578 points. That gives Apple’s chip an impressive 46.4 percent lead.
For everyday professional workflows, strong single-core performance still matters. Tasks such as application responsiveness, certain photo editing operations, code compilation steps, music production tools, and many creative apps can benefit from faster individual cores. This is where the M5 Ultra appears to shine.
That does not mean AMD’s flagship workstation CPU loses everywhere. In specific workloads that scale heavily across many cores, the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX can still pull ahead. Tests such as Ray Tracer and Clang favor AMD’s 96-core layout, giving it a major advantage in highly parallelized rendering and mathematical workloads. In some of these individual tests, AMD’s chip reportedly leads by as much as 58.8 percent.
Still, the M5 Ultra fights back strongly in workloads that benefit from Apple’s unified memory architecture. In tests such as Photo Editor, HDR, Photo Library, and similar creative benchmarks, Apple’s design allows the CPU, GPU, and memory subsystem to work together with impressive efficiency. This helps the M5 Ultra deliver strong results without needing the huge power draw or cooling requirements typically associated with extreme workstation processors.
The single-core breakdown is even more favorable for Apple. The M5 Ultra wins nearly every single-core test, with only the Photo Editor benchmark reportedly going in favor of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX. In some individual single-core workloads, Apple’s chip shows a lead as high as 252.5 percent, highlighting how dominant its per-core performance can be.
Another major difference is system design. The M5 Ultra is expected to appear in compact professional machines such as the Mac Studio, where Apple focuses on high performance in a smaller and quieter chassis. AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX, by comparison, typically requires a much larger workstation build with a strong motherboard, high-capacity power delivery, and serious cooling hardware to sustain peak performance.
Extreme overclocking also shows how demanding AMD’s chip can become. In some tests, the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX has reportedly been pushed to a stable 5.80GHz across all 96 cores using liquid nitrogen cooling, but that required power consumption reaching around 1000W. That kind of setup is far removed from a practical daily workstation and mostly serves as a showcase of raw engineering limits.
The comparison between Apple’s M5 Ultra and AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX shows two very different approaches to workstation performance. AMD relies on massive core counts, high clock speeds, and traditional workstation-class scalability. Apple focuses on tight hardware integration, high single-core performance, unified memory, and efficiency.
For users running heavily threaded workloads such as large-scale rendering, simulation, or complex compilation tasks, AMD’s 96-core Threadripper PRO still has clear advantages in certain scenarios. But for creators, developers, and professionals who need a balance of fast responsiveness, strong multi-core performance, and efficient operation in a compact system, the M5 Ultra looks extremely competitive.
Based on these Geekbench 7 results, Apple’s M5 Ultra is not just another incremental upgrade. It appears to be one of the most powerful workstation-class chips Apple has produced, and its ability to challenge and outperform a 96-core AMD processor in key benchmarks makes it a major milestone for Apple Silicon.
