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Apple M1 proves its mettle once again, beats the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS and Intel Core i9-10980HK handsomely in native single-core tests

Apple M1 shows excellent single-core performance leads in comparison with the Ryzen 9 5980HS. (Image Source: Apple)
Apple M1 shows excellent single-core performance leads in comparison with the Ryzen 9 5980HS. (Image Source: Apple)
We compared the Apple M1's performance in CPU benchmarks against the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS in the Asus ROG Flow X13, the Core i9-10980HK, and the Core i7-1185G7 and found that native benchmarks such as Cinebench R23 and Geekbench 5.3 indicate clear leads for Apple Silicon in single-core performance despite operating in just a 10 W TDP envelope. We see that Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1185G7 is able to match the M1 in single-core tests but loses out significantly in multi-core tests.

The Apple M1, also known as Apple Silicon, that debuted in the Apple MacBook Air 2020 and the Apple MacBook Pro 13 2020 showed that it is possible to offer class-leading performance that can rival traditional x86 offerings from Intel and AMD in a fanless, low TDP profile. We recently took the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS-powered Asus ROG Flow X13 convertible for a spin and came out pretty impressed. With the M1 showing impressive performance across several CPU benchmarks, we thought it would be interesting to see how close Apple Silicon fares in comparison with AMD’s latest and greatest.

Cinebench R23 is natively available for Apple Silicon so right off the bat, we see Apple M1 and the Ryzen 9 5980HS being on par with each other in single-core. The fact that the M1 is able to beat the Ryzen 7 5800H by 8% and the Core i9-10980HK by 17% within a 10 W TDP envelope is highly impressive to put it mildly. Almost tying with both M1 and the Ryzen 9 5980HS is the Tiger Lake Core i7-1185G7. Multi-core has traditionally been AMD’s forte, and it is not surprising to see the Ryzen 9 5980HS score a healthy 64% lead over the M1 here. On the other hand, M1 is able to outclass the Core i7-1185G7 by 20% despite featuring only four high performance cores.

Cinebench R20, on the other hand, is emulated via Rosetta 2 on the Apple M1, so it is not surprising to see it rank at the end of the comparison.

The fortunes reverse once again in Geekbench 5.3, which is available as a native app for the M1. Here, the Ryzen 9 5980HS trails Apple Silicon by 11% though the multi-core advantage with AMD is only about 13% in this test. M1 is still able to offer 17% and 37% leads over the Core i7-1185G7 in single and multi-core Geekebench tests, respectively.

Cinebench R23
Single Core
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
1529 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
1513 Points
Average Apple M1
  (1496 - 1520, n=6)
1512 Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
1504 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
1496 Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (1251 - 1532, n=24)
1449 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
1403 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (1228 - 1305, n=4)
1277 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (1100 - 1270, n=6)
1222 Points
Multi Core
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
12629 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
11739 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (9597 - 11641, n=4)
10605 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (5135 - 9809, n=6)
8108 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
7811 Points
Average Apple M1
  (7409 - 7830, n=6)
7728 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
7409 (6401.39min - 7409.31max) Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
6383 (6226.58min - 6382.75max) Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (3610 - 6383, n=24)
5324 Points
Cinebench R20
CPU (Single Core)
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
604 Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
580 Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (489 - 593, n=28)
557 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
540 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (465 - 507, n=13)
488 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (430 - 524, n=32)
486 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
406 Points
Average Apple M1
  (401 - 406, n=4)
403 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
401 Points
CPU (Multi Core)
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
4953 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
4510 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (3526 - 4487, n=13)
3933 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (1986 - 4176, n=32)
3455 Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
2493 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
2109 Points
Average Apple M1
  (1863 - 2109, n=4)
2040 Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (1425 - 2493, n=28)
2039 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
1863 Points
Geekbench 5.5
Single-Core
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
1740 Points
Average Apple M1
  (1710 - 1745, n=9)
1729 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
1727 Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
1575 Points
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
1537 Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (1398 - 1626, n=21)
1520 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
1354 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (1283 - 1401, n=12)
1339 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (1233 - 1371, n=29)
1304 Points
Multi-Core
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
8620 Points
Average Intel Core i9-10980HK
  (7634 - 8666, n=12)
8175 Points
SCHENKER XMG Neo 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3070, 5800H)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
8035 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (5715 - 8620, n=29)
7734 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Late 2020 M1 Entry (8 / 256 GB)
Apple M1
7590 Points
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry
Apple M1
7578 Points
Average Apple M1
  (7034 - 7710, n=9)
7501 Points
Average Intel Core i7-1185G7
  (4620 - 5944, n=21)
5460 Points
MSI Stealth 15M A11SEK
Intel Core i7-1185G7
5404 Points

Overall, the Apple M1 SoC continues to impress against the latest offerings from both Intel and AMD. Though Apple has still a long way to go when it comes to raw multi-core prowess, newer versions of Apple Silicon, especially in the upcoming iMacs, have the potential to significantly narrow this gap.

With Microsoft also rumored to be developing its own ARM-based processor for servers and the Surface lineup and AMD also touted to be working on an M1-like prototype, it may not be long before a good majority of mobile computing goes the ARM way.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 03 > Apple M1 proves its mettle once again, beats the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS and Intel Core i9-10980HK handsomely in native single-core tests
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 2021-03- 4 (Update: 2021-03- 4)