The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is positioned as a high-performance graphics card for gaming, content creation, and AI/ML tasks, while the Apple M4 Ultra is a powerful SoC designed for a broad range of professional applications with a focus on efficiency and integration within the Apple ecosystem. The RTX 5090 is expected to offer superior graphics performance, particularly in CUDA-optimized applications, while the M4 Ultra provides a balance of performance and power efficiency, making it suitable for users prioritizing silent operation and integrated performance within Apple devices.
| Attribute | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 | Apple M4 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 | Apple M4 Ultra |
| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | ARMv9.2a |
| Manufacturing Process | 5 nm (Some sources mention 4N FinFET process at TSMC) | TSMC's second-generation 3nm process |
| CUDA Cores/GPU Cores | 21,760 | Up to 80-core GPU with 10240 shaders, 640 TMUs, and 320 ROPs |
| Clock Speed (Base/Boost) | Base: 2.017 GHz, Boost: 2.407 GHz (Some sources mention 2.41 GHz) | Base clock frequency is 4520 MHz |
| Memory (Type/Size/Bandwidth) | 32 GB GDDR7, 512-bit interface, 1.792 TB/s (Some sources cite approximately 1.8 TB/s) | Up to 128GB of RAM, M4 Pro supports up to 64GB of LPDDR memory capable of 273GB/sec of bandwidth, while the more powerful M4 Max boasts twice that at 128GB and 546GB/sec. |
| Power Consumption (TDP) | 575 W (1000W PSU recommended) | M4 (10 cores) has a TDP of 22W (max boost up to 40W). Assumed chip consumes 90 W to 100 W when under full load. |
| Ray Tracing Performance | Expected to deliver significant improvements compared to previous generations. Expected to outperform the RTX 4090 by a significant margin in ray-traced games. | Ray tracing engine that is twice as fast as the M3 |
| AI/Machine Learning Performance (Tensor Cores/Neural Engine) | 680 Tensor Cores (5th generation). Expected to deliver strong AI/ML performance. High AI TOPS (trillions of operations per second), suitable for deep learning tasks. | Neural Engine delivers 38 trillion operations per second (TOPS) |
| Gaming Performance (Frame Rates at various resolutions) | Not available | Not available |
| Content Creation Performance (Video Encoding/Decoding) | Shows improvements in video editing tasks. Expected to be faster in GPU-accelerated tasks within video editing software compared to the RTX 4090. | Ideal for video rendering, graphics processing, scientific computing, creative professionals, software developers |
| Thermal Design and Cooling Solution | Dual-slot cooling solution. Founders Edition has a "Double Flow Through" cooler design. | Operates almost silently, even under heavy workloads, providing a distraction-free environment |
| Price | $1999 (Launch Price, Current prices may vary) | Not available |
| Ratings | Overall: Not available, Performance: Not available | Overall: One of Apple s most powerful silicon advancements, combining high core counts, improved machine learning capabilities, and advanced graphics rendering. CPU: Estimated 40,012 points in multi-core benchmark. The M4 competes for the highest-scoring consumer SoC for single-core benchmarks. GPU: Estimated score of 330,000 in OpenCL benchmarks, suggesting a 78% improvement in GPU scaling over the M4 Max. |