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 7261

2018

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.6% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+700% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 4 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 8 cores / 16 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (11,149 vs 11,239).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 22.3 vs 119.6 PassMark/$ ($501 MSRP vs $94 MSRP).
❌342.9% higher power demand at 155W vs 35W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 3 4300GE can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 3 4300GE.

Ryzen 3 4300GE

2020

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Costs $407 less on MSRP ($94 MSRP vs $501 MSRP).
✅Delivers 437.3% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 119.6 vs 22.3 PassMark/$ ($94 MSRP vs $501 MSRP).
✅Draws 35W instead of 155W, a 120W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 7261 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 32 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7261, which brings 8 cores / 16 threads.

EPYC 7261

2018

Ryzen 3 4300GE

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.6% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+700% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 4 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 8 cores / 16 threads.

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Costs $407 less on MSRP ($94 MSRP vs $501 MSRP).
✅Delivers 437.3% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 119.6 vs 22.3 PassMark/$ ($94 MSRP vs $501 MSRP).
✅Draws 35W instead of 155W, a 120W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (11,149 vs 11,239).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 22.3 vs 119.6 PassMark/$ ($501 MSRP vs $94 MSRP).
❌342.9% higher power demand at 155W vs 35W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 3 4300GE can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 3 4300GE.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 7261 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 32 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7261, which brings 8 cores / 16 threads.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 3 4300GE better than EPYC 7261?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 7261 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 3 4300GE 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, Ryzen 3 4300GE is the better fit. You are getting 0.8% better PassMark, backed by 4 cores and 8 threads.

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

Ryzen 3 4300GE is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 3 4300GE is $407 cheaper on MSRP at $94 MSRP versus $501 MSRP, and it gives you 0.8% better PassMark. The trade-off is that EPYC 7261 is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 8.6% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 437.3% better value on MSRP (119.6 vs 22.3 PassMark/$), 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?

Ryzen 3 4300GE is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2020 vs 2018) and more multi-core headroom with 4 cores / 8 threads instead of 8/16. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

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 7261 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 3 4300GE Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
1080p
low	169 FPS	183 FPS
medium	150 FPS	146 FPS
high	123 FPS	118 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	88 FPS
1440p
low	137 FPS	156 FPS
medium	116 FPS	124 FPS
high	92 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	74 FPS	73 FPS
4K
low	64 FPS	69 FPS
medium	58 FPS	58 FPS
high	45 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	36 FPS

Open EPYC 7261 Open Ryzen 3 4300GE

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
1080p
low	279 FPS	263 FPS
medium	279 FPS	224 FPS
high	263 FPS	197 FPS
ultra	213 FPS	152 FPS
1440p
low	279 FPS	218 FPS
medium	266 FPS	190 FPS
high	230 FPS	168 FPS
ultra	185 FPS	136 FPS
4K
low	186 FPS	161 FPS
medium	170 FPS	146 FPS
high	147 FPS	117 FPS
ultra	115 FPS	89 FPS

Open EPYC 7261 Open Ryzen 3 4300GE

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
1080p
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	281 FPS
1440p
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	281 FPS
4K
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	277 FPS	239 FPS

Open EPYC 7261 Open Ryzen 3 4300GE

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
1080p
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	281 FPS
1440p
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	281 FPS
4K
low	279 FPS	281 FPS
medium	279 FPS	281 FPS
high	279 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	281 FPS

Open EPYC 7261 Open Ryzen 3 4300GE

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 7261 and Ryzen 3 4300GE

EPYC 7261

The EPYC 7261 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Naples (2017−2018) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 2.9 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: SP3. Thermal design power (TDP): 170 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2666. Passmark benchmark score: 11,149 points. Launch price was $800.

Ryzen 3 4300GE

The Ryzen 3 4300GE is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 21 July 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Renoir (2020−2023) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2933. Passmark benchmark score: 11,239 points. Launch price was $149.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 7261 packs 8 cores / 16 threads, while the Ryzen 3 4300GE offers 4 cores / 8 threads — the EPYC 7261 has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.9 GHz on the EPYC 7261 versus 4 GHz on the Ryzen 3 4300GE — a 31.9% clock advantage for the Ryzen 3 4300GE (base: 2.5 GHz vs 3.5 GHz). The EPYC 7261 uses the Naples (2017−2018) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 3 4300GE uses Renoir (2020−2023) (7 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 7261 scores 11,149 against the Ryzen 3 4300GE's 11,239 — a 0.8% lead for the Ryzen 3 4300GE. L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the EPYC 7261 vs 4 MB (total) on the Ryzen 3 4300GE.

Feature	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
Cores / Threads	8 / 16+100%	4 / 8
Boost Clock	2.9 GHz	4 GHz+38%
Base Clock	2.5 GHz	3.5 GHz+40%
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)+700%	4 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	512K (per core)
Process	14 nm	7 nm-50%
Architecture	Naples (2017−2018)	Renoir (2020−2023)
PassMark	11,149	11,239
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	5,800
Geekbench 6 Single	—	1,472
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	5,063

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 7261 uses the SP3 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 3 4300GE uses AM4 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
Socket	SP3	AM4
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	—	64 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	Yes
PCIe Lanes	—	24

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (EPYC 7261) / Yes (Ryzen 3 4300GE). The Ryzen 3 4300GE includes integrated graphics (Radeon Vega 6), while the EPYC 7261 requires a dedicated GPU.

Feature	EPYC 7261	Ryzen 3 4300GE
Integrated GPU	—	Yes
IGPU Model	—	Radeon Vega 6
AVX-512	—	No
Virtualization	—	Yes

💰

Value Analysis

The EPYC 7261 launched at $501 MSRP, while the Ryzen 3 4300GE debuted at $94. On MSRP ($501 vs $94), the Ryzen 3 4300GE is $407 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the EPYC 7261 delivers 22.3 pts/$ vs 119.6 pts/$ for the Ryzen 3 4300GE — making the Ryzen 3 4300GE the 137.2% better value option.