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.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +10.2% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 129W, a 64W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of FCBGA2579 and DDR4.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon D-2799.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (12,380 vs 20,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon D-2799, which brings 20 cores / 40 threads and 32 PCIe lanes.
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Xeon D-2799 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon D-2799

2022

Why buy it

✅+61.6% higher Cinebench R23 multi-core.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 32 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅60% more PCIe lanes (32 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌98.5% higher power demand at 129W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on FCBGA2579 with DDR4, while Core i5-12400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Xeon D-2799

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +10.2% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 129W, a 64W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of FCBGA2579 and DDR4.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon D-2799.

Why buy it

✅+61.6% higher Cinebench R23 multi-core.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 32 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅60% more PCIe lanes (32 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (12,380 vs 20,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon D-2799, which brings 20 cores / 40 threads and 32 PCIe lanes.
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Xeon D-2799 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌98.5% higher power demand at 129W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on FCBGA2579 with DDR4, while Core i5-12400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Core i5-12400F better than Xeon D-2799?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon D-2799 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i5-12400F is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon D-2799 is the better fit. You are getting 61.6% better Cinebench R23 multi-core, backed by 20 cores and 40 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).

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

Core i5-12400F is the smarter buy today. Core i5-12400F is at an unclear MSRP at $174 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 10.2% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon D-2799 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 61.6% better Cinebench R23 multi-core. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (112.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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?

Xeon D-2799 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting AVX-512 support for heavier modern compute workloads. That makes it the safer long-term pick.

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.

Core i5-12400F Benchmark Check

Xeon D-2799 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
1080p
low	183 FPS	184 FPS
medium	168 FPS	154 FPS
high	139 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	119 FPS	97 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	147 FPS
medium	132 FPS	118 FPS
high	106 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	73 FPS
4K
low	87 FPS	70 FPS
medium	81 FPS	59 FPS
high	64 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	36 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon D-2799

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
1080p
low	471 FPS	364 FPS
medium	397 FPS	316 FPS
high	341 FPS	262 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	213 FPS
1440p
low	407 FPS	313 FPS
medium	351 FPS	281 FPS
high	309 FPS	238 FPS
ultra	265 FPS	190 FPS
4K
low	282 FPS	202 FPS
medium	248 FPS	183 FPS
high	229 FPS	155 FPS
ultra	196 FPS	124 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon D-2799

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
1080p
low	488 FPS	721 FPS
medium	488 FPS	581 FPS
high	488 FPS	504 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	441 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	587 FPS
medium	488 FPS	478 FPS
high	485 FPS	415 FPS
ultra	434 FPS	362 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	429 FPS
medium	389 FPS	333 FPS
high	337 FPS	285 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	229 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon D-2799

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
1080p
low	488 FPS	845 FPS
medium	488 FPS	785 FPS
high	488 FPS	680 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	585 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	682 FPS
medium	488 FPS	596 FPS
high	488 FPS	513 FPS
ultra	473 FPS	442 FPS
4K
low	488 FPS	466 FPS
medium	450 FPS	418 FPS
high	391 FPS	373 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	326 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon D-2799

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Xeon D-2799

Core i5-12400F

The Core i5-12400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 18 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,532 points. Launch price was $180.

Xeon D-2799

The Xeon D-2799 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 24 February 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Ice Lake-D (2022−2023) architecture. It features 20 cores and 40 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 3.4 GHz. L3 cache: 30 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA2579. Thermal design power (TDP): 129 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 33,792 points. Launch price was $1,972.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon D-2799 offers 20 cores / 40 threads — the Xeon D-2799 has 14 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 3.4 GHz on the Xeon D-2799 — a 25.6% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon D-2799 uses Ice Lake-D (2022−2023) (10 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Xeon D-2799's 33,792 — a 53.5% lead for the Xeon D-2799. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 12,380 vs 20,000 (47.1% advantage for the Xeon D-2799). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 1,959, a 14.2% lead for the Xeon D-2799 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 1,895 (97% advantage for the Xeon D-2799). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 30 MB (total) on the Xeon D-2799.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	20 / 40+233%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz+29%	3.4 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+4%	2.4 GHz
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)	30 MB (total)+67%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	1.25 MB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm-30%	10 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Ice Lake-D (2022−2023)
PassMark	19,532	33,792+73%
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	20,000+62%
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700	1,959+15%
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	1,895+188%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon D-2799 uses FCBGA2579 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-12400F versus DDR4-3200 on the Xeon D-2799 — the Core i5-12400F supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon D-2799 supports up to 1024 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 155.6% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i5-12400F) vs 4 (Xeon D-2799). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 32 (Xeon D-2799) — the Xeon D-2799 offers 12 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and Ice Lake-D (Xeon D-2799).

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon D-2799
Socket	LGA1700	FCBGA2579
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200+25%	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	1024 GB+700%
RAM Channels	2	4+100%
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	20	32+60%

🔧

Advanced Features

Both support VT-x, VT-d, EPT virtualization. Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value, Xeon D-2799 targets Edge Server / Networking. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Xeon D-2799 rivals EPYC 7302.