My desktop system is a 24-core Zen 2. The M1 shouldn't be faster, and I'm certain the difference is almost purely a matter of software, but in reality the M1 certainly feels a lot faster.

Yes, the desktop has higher throughput. Of course it does. But that doesn't mean I don't feel a fraction of a second's lag whenever I do basically anything, and on the M1 that just... doesn't exist.