EPYC 8324PN vs Xeon E5-2428L

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 8324PN

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.7% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on SP6 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1356 and older memory support.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (8,375 vs 8,500).
❌116.7% higher power demand at 130W vs 60W.

Xeon E5-2428L

2012

Why buy it

✅+1.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 60W instead of 130W, a 70W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 8324PN across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $692 MSRP, while EPYC 8324PN mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌Older platform position on LGA1356, while EPYC 8324PN moves to SP6 and DDR5.

EPYC 8324PN

2023

Xeon E5-2428L

2012

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.7% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on SP6 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1356 and older memory support.

Why buy it

✅+1.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 60W instead of 130W, a 70W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (8,375 vs 8,500).
❌116.7% higher power demand at 130W vs 60W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 8324PN across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $692 MSRP, while EPYC 8324PN mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌Older platform position on LGA1356, while EPYC 8324PN moves to SP6 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon E5-2428L better than EPYC 8324PN?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, EPYC 8324PN is ahead with a 9.7% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Xeon E5-2428L pulls ahead with 1.5% better PassMark. EPYC 8324PN also has the bigger cache pool with 753.3% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 15 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon E5-2428L is the better fit. You are getting 1.5% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

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

Xeon E5-2428L is the smarter buy today. Xeon E5-2428L is at an unclear MSRP at $692 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 1.5% better PassMark. The trade-off is that EPYC 8324PN is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 9.7% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (12.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 8324PN is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2012), a healthier platform with SP6 and DDR5 instead of LGA1356, and 3D V-Cache and a much larger 128 MB L3 cache instead of 15 MB. 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 8324PN Benchmark Check

Xeon E5-2428L Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 8324PN	Xeon E5-2428L
1080p
low	159 FPS	156 FPS
medium	131 FPS	134 FPS
high	110 FPS	106 FPS
ultra	87 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	142 FPS	132 FPS
medium	114 FPS	111 FPS
high	90 FPS	86 FPS
ultra	72 FPS	70 FPS
4K
low	68 FPS	62 FPS
medium	58 FPS	56 FPS
high	45 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	34 FPS

Open EPYC 8324PN Open Xeon E5-2428L

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 8324PN	Xeon E5-2428L
1080p
low	209 FPS	118 FPS
medium	209 FPS	104 FPS
high	174 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	75 FPS
1440p
low	194 FPS	104 FPS
medium	176 FPS	92 FPS
high	150 FPS	85 FPS
ultra	116 FPS	68 FPS
4K
low	120 FPS	83 FPS
medium	111 FPS	75 FPS
high	97 FPS	65 FPS
ultra	79 FPS	47 FPS

Open EPYC 8324PN Open Xeon E5-2428L

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 8324PN	Xeon E5-2428L
1080p
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	212 FPS
1440p
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	212 FPS
4K
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	191 FPS

Open EPYC 8324PN Open Xeon E5-2428L

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 8324PN	Xeon E5-2428L
1080p
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	212 FPS
1440p
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	212 FPS
4K
low	209 FPS	212 FPS
medium	209 FPS	212 FPS
high	209 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	212 FPS

Open EPYC 8324PN Open Xeon E5-2428L

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 8324PN and Xeon E5-2428L

EPYC 8324PN

The EPYC 8324PN 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 32 cores and 64 threads. Base frequency is 2.05 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 128 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: SP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 130 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 8,375 points. Launch price was $2,125.

Xeon E5-2428L

The Xeon E5-2428L is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Sandy Bridge-EN (2012) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 1.8 GHz, with boost up to 2 GHz. L3 cache: 15360 kB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1356. Thermal design power (TDP): 60 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 8,500 points. Launch price was $800.

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Processing Power

The EPYC 8324PN packs 32 cores / 64 threads, while the Xeon E5-2428L offers 6 cores / 12 threads — the EPYC 8324PN has 26 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the EPYC 8324PN versus 2 GHz on the Xeon E5-2428L — a 40% clock advantage for the EPYC 8324PN (base: 2.05 GHz vs 1.8 GHz). The EPYC 8324PN uses the Siena (2023−2024) architecture (5 nm), while the Xeon E5-2428L uses Sandy Bridge-EN (2012) (32 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 8324PN scores 8,375 against the Xeon E5-2428L's 8,500 — a 1.5% lead for the Xeon E5-2428L. L3 cache: 128 MB (total) on the EPYC 8324PN vs 15360 kB (total) on the Xeon E5-2428L.

Feature	EPYC 8324PN	Xeon E5-2428L
Cores / Threads	32 / 64+433%	6 / 12
Boost Clock	3 GHz+50%	2 GHz
Base Clock	2.05 GHz+14%	1.8 GHz
L3 Cache	128 MB (total)+753%	15360 kB (total)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+300%	256 kB (per core)
Process	5 nm-84%	32 nm
Architecture	Siena (2023−2024)	Sandy Bridge-EN (2012)
PassMark	8,375	8,500+1%

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Memory & Platform

The EPYC 8324PN uses the SP6 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon E5-2428L uses LGA1356 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.