Ryzen 5 3600 vs Xeon Phi 7290

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 3600

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.9% higher average FPS across 15 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 245W, a 180W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Phi 7290.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (17,685 vs 17,839).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Phi 7290, which brings 72 cores / 288 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Xeon Phi 7290 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon Phi 7290

2016

Why buy it

✅+0.9% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 72 cores / 288 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 3600 across 15 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌276.9% higher power demand at 245W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 3600.

Ryzen 5 3600

2019

Xeon Phi 7290

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.9% higher average FPS across 15 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 245W, a 180W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Phi 7290.

Why buy it

✅+0.9% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 72 cores / 288 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (17,685 vs 17,839).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Phi 7290, which brings 72 cores / 288 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Xeon Phi 7290 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 3600 across 15 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌276.9% higher power demand at 245W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 3600.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 3600 better than Xeon Phi 7290?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Phi 7290 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 3600 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 Phi 7290 is the better fit. You are getting 0.9% better PassMark, backed by 72 cores and 288 threads.

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

Ryzen 5 3600 is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 3600 is at an unclear MSRP at $199 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 14.9% average FPS lead across 15 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Phi 7290 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 0.9% better PassMark. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (88.9 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 5 3600 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2019 vs 2016). 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.

Ryzen 5 3600 Benchmark Check

Xeon Phi 7290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	200 FPS	177 FPS
medium	161 FPS	143 FPS
high	135 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	106 FPS	88 FPS
1440p
low	154 FPS	141 FPS
medium	119 FPS	111 FPS
high	96 FPS	87 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	68 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	66 FPS
medium	58 FPS	56 FPS
high	46 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	34 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon Phi 7290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	442 FPS	136 FPS
medium	404 FPS	120 FPS
high	332 FPS	109 FPS
ultra	295 FPS	86 FPS
1440p
low	420 FPS	120 FPS
medium	359 FPS	108 FPS
high	303 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	263 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	297 FPS	87 FPS
medium	259 FPS	81 FPS
high	230 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	201 FPS	56 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon Phi 7290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	442 FPS	446 FPS
medium	442 FPS	446 FPS
high	442 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	446 FPS
1440p
low	442 FPS	446 FPS
medium	442 FPS	434 FPS
high	442 FPS	374 FPS
ultra	432 FPS	326 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	394 FPS
medium	361 FPS	306 FPS
high	305 FPS	259 FPS
ultra	242 FPS	209 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon Phi 7290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	442 FPS	446 FPS
medium	442 FPS	446 FPS
high	442 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	446 FPS
1440p
low	442 FPS	446 FPS
medium	442 FPS	446 FPS
high	442 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	420 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	446 FPS
medium	442 FPS	405 FPS
high	413 FPS	361 FPS
ultra	357 FPS	310 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon Phi 7290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 3600 and Xeon Phi 7290

Ryzen 5 3600

The Ryzen 5 3600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 7 July 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Matisse (2019−2020) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.2 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm, 12 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 17,685 points. Launch price was $199.

Xeon Phi 7290

The Xeon Phi 7290 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Knights Landing (2016) architecture. It features 72 cores and 288 threads. Base frequency is 1.5 GHz, with boost up to 1.7 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 245 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 17,839 points. Launch price was $800.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 3600 packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon Phi 7290 offers 72 cores / 288 threads — the Xeon Phi 7290 has 66 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.2 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3600 versus 1.7 GHz on the Xeon Phi 7290 — a 84.7% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 3600 (base: 3.6 GHz vs 1.5 GHz). The Ryzen 5 3600 uses the Matisse (2019−2020) architecture (7 nm, 12 nm), while the Xeon Phi 7290 uses Knights Landing (2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 3600 scores 17,685 against the Xeon Phi 7290's 17,839 — a 0.9% lead for the Xeon Phi 7290. L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 3600 vs 0 kB (total) on the Xeon Phi 7290.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	72 / 288+1100%
Boost Clock	4.2 GHz+147%	1.7 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+140%	1.5 GHz
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)	0 kB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	512 kB (per core)
Process	7 nm, 12 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Matisse (2019−2020)	Knights Landing (2016)
PassMark	17,685	17,839
Cinebench R23 Multi	9,500	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,295	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	1,898	—

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 3600 uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Phi 7290 uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon Phi 7290
Socket	AM4	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	24	—

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: Yes (Ryzen 5 3600) / not specified (Xeon Phi 7290). Primary use case: Ryzen 5 3600 targets Gaming/Budget Workstation. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 3600 rivals Core i5-10400.