Core i7-4940MX vs Ryzen 5 3500U

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 i7-4940MX

2014

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (8 MB vs 4 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (6,783 vs 6,836).
❌280% higher power demand at 57W vs 15W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 3500U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 5 3500U

2019

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 15W instead of 57W, a 42W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (12 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 8, while Core i7-4940MX needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-4940MX across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 8 MB).

Core i7-4940MX

2014

Ryzen 5 3500U

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (8 MB vs 4 MB).

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 15W instead of 57W, a 42W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (12 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 8, while Core i7-4940MX needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (6,783 vs 6,836).
❌280% higher power demand at 57W vs 15W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 3500U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-4940MX across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 8 MB).

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 3500U better than Core i7-4940MX?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Core i7-4940MX is ahead with a 9.5% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 3500U pulls ahead with 0.8% better PassMark. Core i7-4940MX also has the bigger cache pool with 100% larger total L3 cache (8 MB vs 4 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 3500U 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 5 3500U still looks like the safer overall buy. Ryzen 5 3500U is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 0.8% better PassMark.

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

Ryzen 5 3500U is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2019 vs 2014) and more multi-core headroom with 4 cores / 8 threads instead of 4/8. 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.

Core i7-4940MX Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 3500U Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	169 FPS
medium	145 FPS	149 FPS
high	115 FPS	120 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	146 FPS	142 FPS
medium	121 FPS	121 FPS
high	95 FPS	95 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	76 FPS
4K
low	69 FPS	67 FPS
medium	61 FPS	61 FPS
high	48 FPS	48 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	37 FPS

Open Core i7-4940MX Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	120 FPS
medium	170 FPS	105 FPS
high	170 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	78 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	103 FPS
medium	159 FPS	90 FPS
high	147 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	121 FPS	70 FPS
4K
low	143 FPS	77 FPS
medium	129 FPS	69 FPS
high	107 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	81 FPS	42 FPS

Open Core i7-4940MX Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS

Open Core i7-4940MX Open Ryzen 5 3500U

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS

Open Core i7-4940MX Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-4940MX and Ryzen 5 3500U

Core i7-4940MX

The Core i7-4940MX is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 20 January 2014 (11 years ago). It is based on the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 3.1 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: PGA946. Thermal design power (TDP): 57 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 6,783 points. Launch price was $1,096.

Ryzen 5 3500U

The Ryzen 5 3500U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2019 (6 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 3.7 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 12 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 6,836 points. Launch price was $149.

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Processing Power

Both the Core i7-4940MX and Ryzen 5 3500U share an identical 4-core/8-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 4 GHz on the Core i7-4940MX versus 3.7 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3500U — a 7.8% clock advantage for the Core i7-4940MX (base: 3.1 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i7-4940MX uses the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the Ryzen 5 3500U uses Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020) (12 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-4940MX scores 6,783 against the Ryzen 5 3500U's 6,836 — a 0.8% lead for the Ryzen 5 3500U. L3 cache: 8 MB (total) on the Core i7-4940MX vs 4 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 3500U.

Feature	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
Cores / Threads	4 / 8	4 / 8
Boost Clock	4 GHz+8%	3.7 GHz
Base Clock	3.1 GHz+48%	2.1 GHz
L3 Cache	8 MB (total)+100%	4 MB (total)
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512K (per core)+100%
Process	22 nm	12 nm-45%
Architecture	Haswell (2013−2015)	Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020)
PassMark	6,783	6,836
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	3,545
Geekbench 6 Single	—	876
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	1,898

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Memory & Platform

The Core i7-4940MX uses the PGA946 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 5 3500U uses FP5 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i7-4940MX	Ryzen 5 3500U
Socket	PGA946	FP5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR4-2400
Max RAM Capacity	—	64 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	No
PCIe Lanes	—	12

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core i7-4940MX) / AMD-V (Ryzen 5 3500U). The Ryzen 5 3500U includes integrated graphics (Radeon Vega 8), while the Core i7-4940MX requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 3500U targets Budget. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 3500U rivals Core i5-10210U.