Ryzen 5 5500GT vs Xeon W-1290E

CPU

GPU

Ryzen 5 5500GT

6 Cores12 Thrd65 WWMax: 4.4 GHz2024

Popular choices:

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Xeon W-1290E

10 Cores20 Thrd95 WWMax: 4.8 GHz2020

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Ryzen 5 5500GT

6 / 12

18,846

0.0%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX

Ryzen Threadripper 9960X

Xeon W-1290E

10 / 20

19,060

+1.1%

About PassMark

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 5500GT

2024

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 7, while Xeon W-1290E needs a discrete GPU.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-1290E across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (18,846 vs 19,060).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 20 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $125 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +20.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 5500GT can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5500GT.

Ryzen 5 5500GT

2024

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 7, while Xeon W-1290E needs a discrete GPU.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +20.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-1290E across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (18,846 vs 19,060).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 20 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $125 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 5500GT can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5500GT.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon W-1290E better than Ryzen 5 5500GT?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-1290E makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 5500GT is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Xeon W-1290E is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 20.5% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon W-1290E is the better fit. You are getting 1.1% better PassMark, backed by 10 cores and 20 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).

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

Xeon W-1290E is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 5 5500GT makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Xeon W-1290E is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $125 MSRP, and it gives you a 20.5% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen 5 5500GT is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (150.8 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 5500GT is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2024 vs 2020). 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 5500GT Benchmark Check

Xeon W-1290E Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	178 FPS	257 FPS
medium	148 FPS	237 FPS
high	117 FPS	202 FPS
ultra	99 FPS	175 FPS
1440p
low	152 FPS	221 FPS
medium	124 FPS	185 FPS
high	99 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	135 FPS
4K
low	83 FPS	151 FPS
medium	74 FPS	127 FPS
high	59 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	87 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5500GT Open Xeon W-1290E

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	340 FPS	476 FPS
medium	287 FPS	431 FPS
high	256 FPS	366 FPS
ultra	222 FPS	331 FPS
1440p
low	301 FPS	417 FPS
medium	261 FPS	367 FPS
high	238 FPS	316 FPS
ultra	202 FPS	275 FPS
4K
low	234 FPS	258 FPS
medium	207 FPS	226 FPS
high	191 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	161 FPS	184 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5500GT Open Xeon W-1290E

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	471 FPS	476 FPS
medium	471 FPS	476 FPS
high	471 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	418 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	471 FPS	476 FPS
medium	409 FPS	476 FPS
high	369 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	339 FPS	476 FPS
medium	287 FPS	476 FPS
high	249 FPS	429 FPS
ultra	192 FPS	361 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5500GT Open Xeon W-1290E

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	471 FPS	476 FPS
medium	471 FPS	476 FPS
high	471 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	471 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	471 FPS	476 FPS
medium	471 FPS	476 FPS
high	471 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	461 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	471 FPS	476 FPS
medium	428 FPS	476 FPS
high	377 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	327 FPS	437 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5500GT Open Xeon W-1290E

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 5500GT and Xeon W-1290E

Ryzen 5 5500GT

The Ryzen 5 5500GT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 8 January 2024 (1 year ago). It is based on the Cezanne (2021−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 18,846 points. Launch price was $125.

Xeon W-1290E

The Xeon W-1290E is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 13 May 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture. It features 10 cores and 20 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 20 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 19,060 points. Launch price was $552.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 5500GT packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon W-1290E offers 10 cores / 20 threads — the Xeon W-1290E has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Ryzen 5 5500GT versus 4.8 GHz on the Xeon W-1290E — a 8.7% clock advantage for the Xeon W-1290E (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3.5 GHz). The Ryzen 5 5500GT uses the Cezanne (2021−2025) architecture (7 nm), while the Xeon W-1290E uses Comet Lake (2020−2025) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 5500GT scores 18,846 against the Xeon W-1290E's 19,060 — a 1.1% lead for the Xeon W-1290E. L3 cache: 16 MB on the Ryzen 5 5500GT vs 20 MB (total) on the Xeon W-1290E.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	10 / 20+67%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz	4.8 GHz+9%
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+3%	3.5 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB	20 MB (total)+25%
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)+100%	256 kB (per core)
Process	7 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Cezanne (2021−2025)	Comet Lake (2020−2025)
PassMark	18,846	19,060+1%
Cinebench R23 Multi	10,500	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,412	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	8,514	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 5500GT uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon W-1290E uses LGA1200 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5500GT	Xeon W-1290E
Socket	AM4	LGA1200
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	24	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: AMD-V (Ryzen 5 5500GT) / not specified (Xeon W-1290E). The Ryzen 5 5500GT includes integrated graphics (Radeon Vega 7), while the Xeon W-1290E requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 5500GT targets Budget. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 5500GT rivals Core i5-12400.