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 3450U

2020

Why buy it

✅Draws 2W instead of 120W, a 118W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 8 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (6,550 vs 34,293).
❌Older platform position on FP5 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +202.0% higher average FPS across 8 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of FP5 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core), while Ryzen 5 3450U needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 3450U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌5900% higher power demand at 120W vs 2W.

Ryzen 5 3450U

2020

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Draws 2W instead of 120W, a 118W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +202.0% higher average FPS across 8 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of FP5 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core), while Ryzen 5 3450U needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 8 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (6,550 vs 34,293).
❌Older platform position on FP5 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 3450U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌5900% higher power demand at 120W vs 2W.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 7 7800X3D better than Ryzen 5 3450U?

Yes. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 202.0% average FPS lead across 8 shared CPU game tests in our data, 423.6% better PassMark, and the stronger long-term platform, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 202.0% more average FPS across 8 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 96 MB vs 4 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better fit. You are getting 423.6% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 2300% larger total L3 cache (96 MB vs 4 MB).

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

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is at an unclear MSRP at $449 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 202.0% average FPS lead across 8 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (76.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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?

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2020), a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of FP5, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 96 MB L3 cache instead of 4 MB, and more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 4/8. 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 3450U Benchmark Check

Ryzen 7 7800X3D Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	164 FPS	266 FPS
medium	139 FPS	247 FPS
high	109 FPS	211 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	186 FPS
1440p
low	142 FPS	258 FPS
medium	112 FPS	215 FPS
high	87 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	69 FPS	154 FPS
4K
low	68 FPS	179 FPS
medium	57 FPS	149 FPS
high	45 FPS	112 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	100 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3450U Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	106 FPS	857 FPS
medium	92 FPS	737 FPS
high	85 FPS	580 FPS
ultra	66 FPS	493 FPS
1440p
low	92 FPS	722 FPS
medium	80 FPS	611 FPS
high	74 FPS	500 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	398 FPS
4K
low	69 FPS	396 FPS
medium	62 FPS	339 FPS
high	50 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	273 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3450U Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	164 FPS	857 FPS
medium	164 FPS	857 FPS
high	164 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	857 FPS
1440p
low	164 FPS	857 FPS
medium	164 FPS	851 FPS
high	164 FPS	786 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	656 FPS
4K
low	164 FPS	558 FPS
medium	164 FPS	479 FPS
high	164 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	362 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3450U Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	164 FPS	857 FPS
medium	164 FPS	857 FPS
high	164 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	782 FPS
1440p
low	164 FPS	857 FPS
medium	164 FPS	760 FPS
high	164 FPS	669 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	576 FPS
4K
low	164 FPS	618 FPS
medium	164 FPS	556 FPS
high	164 FPS	495 FPS
ultra	164 FPS	428 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3450U Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 3450U and Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Ryzen 5 3450U

The Ryzen 5 3450U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 1 May 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.1 GHz, with boost up to 3.5 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB. L2 cache: 2 MB. Built on 12 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 2 MB + 4 MB. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 6,550 points. Launch price was $149.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 4 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4.4 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 96 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 120 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 34,293 points. Launch price was $449.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 3450U packs 4 cores / 8 threads, while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 7 7800X3D has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.5 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3450U versus 5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — a 35.3% clock advantage for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D (base: 2.1 GHz vs 4.4 GHz). The Ryzen 5 3450U uses the Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020) architecture (12 nm), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) (5 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 3450U scores 6,550 against the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's 34,293 — a 135.9% lead for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. L3 cache: 4 MB on the Ryzen 5 3450U vs 96 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Cores / Threads	4 / 8	8 / 16+100%
Boost Clock	3.5 GHz	5 GHz+43%
Base Clock	2.1 GHz	4.4 GHz+110%
L3 Cache	4 MB	96 MB (total)+2300%
L2 Cache	2 MB+100%	1 MB (per core)
Process	12 nm	5 nm-58%
Architecture	Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020)	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)
PassMark	6,550	34,293+424%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	18,500
Geekbench 6 Single	—	2,700
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	15,000

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 3450U uses the FP5 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses AM5 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3450U	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Socket	FP5	AM5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 5.0+67%
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR5-5200
Max RAM Capacity	—	128 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	Yes
PCIe Lanes	—	28

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Ryzen 5 3450U) / AMD-V (Ryzen 7 7800X3D). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)), while the Ryzen 5 3450U requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 7 7800X3D targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 7800X3D rivals Intel Core i7-14700K.