PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

EPYC 8124P

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 96 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅Newer platform on SP6 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅300% more PCIe lanes (96 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (36,079 vs 38,955).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 56.5 vs 71.0 PassMark/$ ($639 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
❌19% higher power demand at 125W vs 105W.

Ryzen 9 5900X

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +18.9% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $90 less on MSRP ($549 MSRP vs $639 MSRP).
✅Delivers 25.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 71.0 vs 56.5 PassMark/$ ($549 MSRP vs $639 MSRP).
✅Draws 105W instead of 125W, a 20W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 8124P, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 96 PCIe lanes.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while EPYC 8124P moves to SP6 and DDR5.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

EPYC 8124P

2023

Ryzen 9 5900X

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 96 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅Newer platform on SP6 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅300% more PCIe lanes (96 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +18.9% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $90 less on MSRP ($549 MSRP vs $639 MSRP).
✅Delivers 25.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 71.0 vs 56.5 PassMark/$ ($549 MSRP vs $639 MSRP).
✅Draws 105W instead of 125W, a 20W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (36,079 vs 38,955).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 56.5 vs 71.0 PassMark/$ ($639 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
❌19% higher power demand at 125W vs 105W.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 8124P, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 96 PCIe lanes.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while EPYC 8124P moves to SP6 and DDR5.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 5900X better than EPYC 8124P?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 8124P makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 5900X is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 9 5900X is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 18.9% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 5900X is the better fit. You are getting 8% better PassMark, backed by 12 cores and 24 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 9 5900X is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 9 5900X is $90 cheaper on MSRP at $549 MSRP versus $639 MSRP, and it gives you a 18.9% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 25.7% better value on MSRP (71.0 vs 56.5 PassMark/$), so the better CPU is not just faster, it is also the cleaner value play on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

EPYC 8124P is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2020), a healthier platform with SP6 and DDR5 instead of AM4, and AVX-512 support for heavier modern compute workloads. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

EPYC 8124P Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 5900X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
1080p
low	153 FPS	323 FPS
medium	125 FPS	291 FPS
high	105 FPS	243 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	193 FPS
1440p
low	139 FPS	307 FPS
medium	111 FPS	248 FPS
high	87 FPS	192 FPS
ultra	70 FPS	157 FPS
4K
low	67 FPS	193 FPS
medium	57 FPS	156 FPS
high	44 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	103 FPS

Open EPYC 8124P Open Ryzen 9 5900X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
1080p
low	387 FPS	772 FPS
medium	344 FPS	647 FPS
high	281 FPS	508 FPS
ultra	224 FPS	450 FPS
1440p
low	327 FPS	619 FPS
medium	296 FPS	536 FPS
high	250 FPS	443 FPS
ultra	191 FPS	364 FPS
4K
low	202 FPS	365 FPS
medium	186 FPS	318 FPS
high	157 FPS	289 FPS
ultra	127 FPS	255 FPS

Open EPYC 8124P Open Ryzen 9 5900X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
1080p
low	856 FPS	832 FPS
medium	767 FPS	645 FPS
high	743 FPS	558 FPS
ultra	667 FPS	459 FPS
1440p
low	660 FPS	721 FPS
medium	573 FPS	565 FPS
high	546 FPS	488 FPS
ultra	487 FPS	407 FPS
4K
low	432 FPS	511 FPS
medium	341 FPS	421 FPS
high	305 FPS	374 FPS
ultra	250 FPS	308 FPS

Open EPYC 8124P Open Ryzen 9 5900X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
1080p
low	902 FPS	974 FPS
medium	902 FPS	974 FPS
high	769 FPS	934 FPS
ultra	647 FPS	826 FPS
1440p
low	823 FPS	959 FPS
medium	707 FPS	843 FPS
high	596 FPS	726 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	617 FPS
4K
low	596 FPS	694 FPS
medium	521 FPS	621 FPS
high	449 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	372 FPS	437 FPS

Open EPYC 8124P Open Ryzen 9 5900X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 8124P and Ryzen 9 5900X

EPYC 8124P

The EPYC 8124P is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 18 September 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Siena (2023−2024) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.45 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: SP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 125 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 36,079 points. Launch price was $639.

Ryzen 9 5900X

The Ryzen 9 5900X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 5 November 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022) architecture. It features 12 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 3.7 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB. L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm, 12 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 105 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 38,955 points. Launch price was $549.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 8124P packs 16 cores / 32 threads, while the Ryzen 9 5900X offers 12 cores / 24 threads — the EPYC 8124P has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the EPYC 8124P versus 4.8 GHz on the Ryzen 9 5900X — a 46.2% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 5900X (base: 2.45 GHz vs 3.7 GHz). The EPYC 8124P uses the Siena (2023−2024) architecture (5 nm), while the Ryzen 9 5900X uses Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022) (7 nm, 12 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 8124P scores 36,079 against the Ryzen 9 5900X's 38,955 — a 7.7% lead for the Ryzen 9 5900X. L3 cache: 64 MB (total) on the EPYC 8124P vs 64 MB on the Ryzen 9 5900X.

Feature	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
Cores / Threads	16 / 32+33%	12 / 24
Boost Clock	3 GHz	4.8 GHz+60%
Base Clock	2.45 GHz	3.7 GHz+51%
L3 Cache	64 MB (total)	64 MB
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+100%	512K (per core)
Process	5 nm-29%	7 nm, 12 nm
Architecture	Siena (2023−2024)	Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022)
PassMark	36,079	38,955+8%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	21,000
Geekbench 6 Single	—	2,174
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	11,888

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 8124P uses the SP6 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 5900X uses AM4 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 4800 on the EPYC 8124P versus DDR4-3200 on the Ryzen 9 5900X — the EPYC 8124P supports 199.7% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The EPYC 8124P supports up to 2048 of RAM compared to 128 GB — 176.5% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 6 (EPYC 8124P) vs 2 (Ryzen 9 5900X). PCIe lanes: 96 (EPYC 8124P) vs 24 (Ryzen 9 5900X) — the EPYC 8124P offers 72 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP6 (EPYC 8124P) and A320,B350,X370,B450,X470,B550,X570 (Ryzen 9 5900X).

Feature	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
Socket	SP6	AM4
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	4800+119900%	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	2048	128 GB+6553500%
RAM Channels	6+200%	2
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	96+300%	24

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 5900X has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the EPYC 8124P supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: AMD-V, IOMMU (EPYC 8124P) vs AMD-V (Ryzen 9 5900X). Primary use case: Ryzen 9 5900X targets Workstation. Direct competitor: EPYC 8124P rivals Xeon Gold 6426Y; Ryzen 9 5900X rivals Core i9-12900K.

Feature	EPYC 8124P	Ryzen 9 5900X
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	None	—
Unlocked	No	Yes
AVX-512	Yes	No
Virtualization	AMD-V, IOMMU	AMD-V
Target Use	—	Workstation

💰

Value Analysis

The EPYC 8124P launched at $639 MSRP, while the Ryzen 9 5900X debuted at $549. On MSRP ($639 vs $549), the Ryzen 9 5900X is $90 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the EPYC 8124P delivers 56.5 pts/$ vs 71.0 pts/$ for the Ryzen 9 5900X — making the Ryzen 9 5900X the 22.8% better value option.