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 9454P

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +15.1% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 48 cores / 96 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅Newer platform on SP5 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅433.3% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 20.6 vs 88.9 PassMark/$ ($4,598 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌346.2% higher power demand at 290W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 3600.

Ryzen 5 3600

2019

Why buy it

✅Costs $4,399 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $4,598 MSRP).
✅Delivers 331.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 88.9 vs 20.6 PassMark/$ ($199 MSRP vs $4,598 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 290W, a 225W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike EPYC 9454P.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 9454P across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (1,898 vs 18,576).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 9454P, which brings 48 cores / 96 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while EPYC 9454P moves to SP5 and DDR5.

EPYC 9454P

2022

Ryzen 5 3600

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +15.1% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 48 cores / 96 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅Newer platform on SP5 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅433.3% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Costs $4,399 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $4,598 MSRP).
✅Delivers 331.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 88.9 vs 20.6 PassMark/$ ($199 MSRP vs $4,598 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 290W, a 225W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike EPYC 9454P.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 20.6 vs 88.9 PassMark/$ ($4,598 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌346.2% higher power demand at 290W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 3600.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 9454P across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (1,898 vs 18,576).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 9454P, which brings 48 cores / 96 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while EPYC 9454P moves to SP5 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is EPYC 9454P better than Ryzen 5 3600?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 9454P makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 3600 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, EPYC 9454P is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 15.1% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 256 MB vs 32 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, EPYC 9454P is the better fit. You are getting 878.7% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 48 cores and 96 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 700% larger total L3 cache (256 MB vs 32 MB).

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

EPYC 9454P is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 5 3600 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. EPYC 9454P is 2210.6% more expensive on MSRP at $4,598 MSRP versus $199 MSRP, and it gives you a 15.1% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen 5 3600 is also 331.6% better value on MSRP (88.9 vs 20.6 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

EPYC 9454P is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2022 vs 2019), a healthier platform with SP5 and DDR5 instead of AM4, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 256 MB L3 cache instead of 32 MB, and more multi-core headroom with 48 cores / 96 threads instead of 6/12. 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 9454P Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 3600 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
1080p
low	171 FPS	200 FPS
medium	142 FPS	161 FPS
high	122 FPS	135 FPS
ultra	96 FPS	106 FPS
1440p
low	149 FPS	154 FPS
medium	120 FPS	119 FPS
high	97 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	75 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	70 FPS
medium	60 FPS	58 FPS
high	47 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	36 FPS

Open EPYC 9454P Open Ryzen 5 3600

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
1080p
low	533 FPS	442 FPS
medium	465 FPS	404 FPS
high	373 FPS	332 FPS
ultra	303 FPS	295 FPS
1440p
low	438 FPS	420 FPS
medium	392 FPS	359 FPS
high	323 FPS	303 FPS
ultra	255 FPS	263 FPS
4K
low	270 FPS	297 FPS
medium	246 FPS	259 FPS
high	216 FPS	230 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	201 FPS

Open EPYC 9454P Open Ryzen 5 3600

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
1080p
low	672 FPS	442 FPS
medium	561 FPS	442 FPS
high	522 FPS	442 FPS
ultra	455 FPS	442 FPS
1440p
low	511 FPS	442 FPS
medium	426 FPS	442 FPS
high	390 FPS	442 FPS
ultra	337 FPS	432 FPS
4K
low	377 FPS	442 FPS
medium	294 FPS	361 FPS
high	263 FPS	305 FPS
ultra	211 FPS	242 FPS

Open EPYC 9454P Open Ryzen 5 3600

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
1080p
low	902 FPS	442 FPS
medium	822 FPS	442 FPS
high	708 FPS	442 FPS
ultra	625 FPS	442 FPS
1440p
low	724 FPS	442 FPS
medium	631 FPS	442 FPS
high	540 FPS	442 FPS
ultra	462 FPS	442 FPS
4K
low	519 FPS	442 FPS
medium	464 FPS	442 FPS
high	407 FPS	413 FPS
ultra	350 FPS	357 FPS

Open EPYC 9454P Open Ryzen 5 3600

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 9454P and Ryzen 5 3600

EPYC 9454P

The EPYC 9454P is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 10 November 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Genoa (2022−2023) architecture. It features 48 cores and 96 threads. Base frequency is 2.75 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 256 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm, 6 nm process technology. Socket: SP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 290 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800. Passmark benchmark score: 94,686 points. Launch price was $4,598.

Ryzen 5 3600

The Ryzen 5 3600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 7 July 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Matisse (2019−2020) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.2 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm, 12 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 17,685 points. Launch price was $199.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 9454P packs 48 cores / 96 threads, while the Ryzen 5 3600 offers 6 cores / 12 threads — the EPYC 9454P has 42 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.8 GHz on the EPYC 9454P versus 4.2 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3600 — a 10% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 3600 (base: 2.75 GHz vs 3.6 GHz). The EPYC 9454P uses the Genoa (2022−2023) architecture (5 nm, 6 nm), while the Ryzen 5 3600 uses Matisse (2019−2020) (7 nm, 12 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 9454P scores 94,686 against the Ryzen 5 3600's 17,685 — a 137% lead for the EPYC 9454P. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,923 vs 1,295, a 39% lead for the EPYC 9454P that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 18,576 vs 1,898 (162.9% advantage for the EPYC 9454P). L3 cache: 256 MB (total) on the EPYC 9454P vs 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 3600.

Feature	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
Cores / Threads	48 / 96+700%	6 / 12
Boost Clock	3.8 GHz	4.2 GHz+11%
Base Clock	2.75 GHz	3.6 GHz+31%
L3 Cache	256 MB (total)+700%	32 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+100%	512K (per core)
Process	5 nm, 6 nm-29%	7 nm, 12 nm
Architecture	Genoa (2022−2023)	Matisse (2019−2020)
PassMark	94,686+435%	17,685
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	9,500
Geekbench 6 Single	1,923+48%	1,295
Geekbench 6 Multi	18,576+879%	1,898

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 9454P uses the SP5 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Ryzen 5 3600 uses AM4 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800 on the EPYC 9454P versus DDR4-3200 on the Ryzen 5 3600 — the EPYC 9454P supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Ryzen 5 3600 supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 6 TB — 182.1% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 12 (EPYC 9454P) vs 2 (Ryzen 5 3600). PCIe lanes: 128 (EPYC 9454P) vs 24 (Ryzen 5 3600) — the EPYC 9454P offers 104 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP5 (EPYC 9454P) and AMD B550,AMD X570,AMD B450,AMD X470 (Ryzen 5 3600).

Feature	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
Socket	SP5	AM4
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800+25%	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	6 TB+4700%	128 GB
RAM Channels	12+500%	2
ECC Support	Yes	No
PCIe Lanes	128+433%	24

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization support: AMD-V, SEV-SNP (EPYC 9454P) vs Yes (Ryzen 5 3600). Primary use case: EPYC 9454P targets Data Center / Single Socket, Ryzen 5 3600 targets Gaming/Budget Workstation. Direct competitor: EPYC 9454P rivals Xeon 8468; Ryzen 5 3600 rivals Core i5-10400.

Feature	EPYC 9454P	Ryzen 5 3600
Integrated GPU	No	No
Unlocked	—	Yes
AVX-512	—	No
Virtualization	AMD-V, SEV-SNP	Yes
Target Use	Data Center / Single Socket	Gaming/Budget Workstation

💰

Value Analysis

The EPYC 9454P launched at $4598 MSRP, while the Ryzen 5 3600 debuted at $199. On MSRP ($4598 vs $199), the Ryzen 5 3600 is $4399 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the EPYC 9454P delivers 20.6 pts/$ vs 88.9 pts/$ for the Ryzen 5 3600 — making the Ryzen 5 3600 the 124.7% better value option.