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.

Ryzen 5 240

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +7.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 45W instead of 105W, a 60W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (23,167 vs 23,441).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).

Ryzen 7 3800XT

2020

Why buy it

✅+1.2% higher PassMark.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 240 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $399 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 240 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌133.3% higher power demand at 105W vs 45W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 240 moves to FP8 and DDR5.

Ryzen 5 240

2025

Ryzen 7 3800XT

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +7.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 45W instead of 105W, a 60W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.

Why buy it

✅+1.2% higher PassMark.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (23,167 vs 23,441).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 240 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $399 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 240 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌133.3% higher power demand at 105W vs 45W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 240 moves to FP8 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 240 better than Ryzen 7 3800XT?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Ryzen 5 240 is ahead with a 7.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 3800XT pulls ahead with 1.2% better PassMark. Ryzen 7 3800XT also has the bigger cache pool with 100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 3800XT is the better fit. You are getting 1.2% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).

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

Ryzen 5 240 is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 7 3800XT makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 5 240 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $399 MSRP, and it gives you a 7.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Ryzen 7 3800XT is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 1.2% better PassMark. Ryzen 7 3800XT is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (58.7 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Ryzen 5 240 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2020) and a healthier platform with FP8 and DDR5 instead of AM4. 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.

Ryzen 5 240 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 7 3800XT Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 240	Ryzen 7 3800XT
1080p
low	265 FPS	172 FPS
medium	239 FPS	145 FPS
high	200 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	172 FPS	106 FPS
1440p
low	234 FPS	147 FPS
medium	191 FPS	119 FPS
high	156 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	138 FPS	82 FPS
4K
low	162 FPS	82 FPS
medium	135 FPS	72 FPS
high	104 FPS	58 FPS
ultra	91 FPS	45 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 240 Open Ryzen 7 3800XT

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 240	Ryzen 7 3800XT
1080p
low	426 FPS	586 FPS
medium	353 FPS	502 FPS
high	308 FPS	387 FPS
ultra	271 FPS	341 FPS
1440p
low	369 FPS	507 FPS
medium	320 FPS	439 FPS
high	281 FPS	353 FPS
ultra	240 FPS	296 FPS
4K
low	265 FPS	315 FPS
medium	235 FPS	275 FPS
high	218 FPS	240 FPS
ultra	183 FPS	207 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 240 Open Ryzen 7 3800XT

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 240	Ryzen 7 3800XT
1080p
low	579 FPS	586 FPS
medium	579 FPS	586 FPS
high	579 FPS	554 FPS
ultra	579 FPS	459 FPS
1440p
low	579 FPS	586 FPS
medium	579 FPS	562 FPS
high	520 FPS	485 FPS
ultra	449 FPS	405 FPS
4K
low	501 FPS	504 FPS
medium	445 FPS	414 FPS
high	380 FPS	367 FPS
ultra	315 FPS	301 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 240 Open Ryzen 7 3800XT

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 240	Ryzen 7 3800XT
1080p
low	579 FPS	586 FPS
medium	579 FPS	586 FPS
high	579 FPS	586 FPS
ultra	579 FPS	586 FPS
1440p
low	579 FPS	586 FPS
medium	579 FPS	586 FPS
high	579 FPS	586 FPS
ultra	545 FPS	547 FPS
4K
low	565 FPS	570 FPS
medium	506 FPS	510 FPS
high	450 FPS	460 FPS
ultra	386 FPS	398 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 240 Open Ryzen 7 3800XT

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 240 and Ryzen 7 3800XT

Ryzen 5 240

The Ryzen 5 240 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2025 (less than a year ago). It is based on the Hawk Point (2024−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 4.3 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FP8. Thermal design power (TDP): 45 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 23,167 points. Launch price was $299.

Ryzen 7 3800XT

The Ryzen 7 3800XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 7 July 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.8 GHz, with boost up to 4.7 GHz. L3 cache: 32 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. Passmark benchmark score: 23,441 points. Launch price was $399.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 240 packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen 7 3800XT offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 7 3800XT has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Ryzen 5 240 versus 4.7 GHz on the Ryzen 7 3800XT — a 6.2% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 240 (base: 4.3 GHz vs 3.8 GHz). The Ryzen 5 240 uses the Hawk Point (2024−2025) architecture (4 nm), while the Ryzen 7 3800XT uses Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020) (7 nm, 12 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 240 scores 23,167 against the Ryzen 7 3800XT's 23,441 — a 1.2% lead for the Ryzen 7 3800XT. L3 cache: 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 240 vs 32 MB on the Ryzen 7 3800XT.

Feature	Ryzen 5 240	Ryzen 7 3800XT
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	5 GHz+6%	4.7 GHz
Base Clock	4.3 GHz+13%	3.8 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	32 MB+100%
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+100%	512K (per core)
Process	4 nm-43%	7 nm, 12 nm
Architecture	Hawk Point (2024−2025)	Matisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020)
PassMark	23,167	23,441+1%

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 240 uses the FP8 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 7 3800XT uses AM4 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.