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 7600

2023

Why buy it

✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅40% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS across 31 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (14,500 vs 16,000).
❌Launch MSRP is still $229 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌712.5% higher power demand at 65W vs 8W.

Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.2% higher average FPS across 31 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 8W instead of 65W, a 57W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 7600.

Ryzen 5 7600

2023

Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

2023

Why buy it

✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅40% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.2% higher average FPS across 31 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 8W instead of 65W, a 57W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS across 31 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (14,500 vs 16,000).
❌Launch MSRP is still $229 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌712.5% higher power demand at 65W vs 8W.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 7600.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS better than Ryzen 5 7600?

Yes. Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 14.2% average FPS lead across 31 shared CPU game tests in our data, 10.3% better Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 1.1% higher PassMark, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 14.2% more average FPS across 31 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is the better fit. You are getting 10.3% better Cinebench R23 multi-core, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 5 7600 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and it gives you a 14.2% average FPS lead across 31 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen 5 7600 is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (118.0 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 7600 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting 100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB). 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 7600 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
1080p
low	261 FPS	269 FPS
medium	238 FPS	243 FPS
high	203 FPS	204 FPS
ultra	175 FPS	176 FPS
1440p
low	225 FPS	236 FPS
medium	187 FPS	193 FPS
high	152 FPS	157 FPS
ultra	134 FPS	139 FPS
4K
low	157 FPS	164 FPS
medium	131 FPS	136 FPS
high	101 FPS	105 FPS
ultra	88 FPS	92 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 7600 Open Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
1080p
low	588 FPS	513 FPS
medium	486 FPS	421 FPS
high	408 FPS	363 FPS
ultra	366 FPS	323 FPS
1440p
low	504 FPS	448 FPS
medium	432 FPS	388 FPS
high	368 FPS	334 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	285 FPS
4K
low	318 FPS	295 FPS
medium	277 FPS	267 FPS
high	258 FPS	253 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	217 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 7600 Open Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
1080p
low	675 FPS	683 FPS
medium	657 FPS	683 FPS
high	575 FPS	647 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	546 FPS
1440p
low	675 FPS	683 FPS
medium	559 FPS	637 FPS
high	483 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	412 FPS	464 FPS
4K
low	471 FPS	541 FPS
medium	396 FPS	473 FPS
high	345 FPS	419 FPS
ultra	284 FPS	355 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 7600 Open Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
1080p
low	675 FPS	683 FPS
medium	675 FPS	683 FPS
high	675 FPS	683 FPS
ultra	675 FPS	683 FPS
1440p
low	675 FPS	683 FPS
medium	675 FPS	683 FPS
high	666 FPS	660 FPS
ultra	573 FPS	573 FPS
4K
low	567 FPS	572 FPS
medium	504 FPS	511 FPS
high	454 FPS	457 FPS
ultra	392 FPS	394 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 7600 Open Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 7600 and Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

Ryzen 5 7600

The Ryzen 5 7600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 14 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.8 GHz, with boost up to 5.1 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 27,013 points. Launch price was $229.

Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS

The Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 13 June 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Phoenix-HS (Zen 4) (2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4 GHz, with boost up to 5.2 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB. L2 cache: 8 MB. Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FP7/FP8. Thermal design power (TDP): 8 MB + 16 MB. Passmark benchmark score: 27,318 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 7600 packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5.1 GHz on the Ryzen 5 7600 versus 5.2 GHz on the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS — a 1.9% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (base: 3.8 GHz vs 4 GHz). The Ryzen 5 7600 uses the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture (5 nm), while the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS uses Phoenix-HS (Zen 4) (2023) (4 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 7600 scores 27,013 against the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS's 27,318 — a 1.1% lead for the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 14,500 vs 16,000 (9.8% advantage for the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,800 vs 2,605, a 7.2% lead for the Ryzen 5 7600 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 12,000 vs 10,348 (14.8% advantage for the Ryzen 5 7600). L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 7600 vs 16 MB on the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS.

Feature	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	5.1 GHz	5.2 GHz+2%
Base Clock	3.8 GHz	4 GHz+5%
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)+100%	16 MB
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	8 MB+700%
Process	5 nm	4 nm-20%
Architecture	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)	Phoenix-HS (Zen 4) (2023)
PassMark	27,013	27,318+1%
Cinebench R23 Multi	14,500	16,000+10%
Geekbench 6 Single	2,800+7%	2,605
Geekbench 6 Multi	12,000+16%	10,348

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 7600 uses the AM5 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS uses FP7/FP8 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-5200 memory speed. The Ryzen 5 7600 supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 64 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 28 (Ryzen 5 7600) vs 20 (Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS) — the Ryzen 5 7600 offers 8 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: A620,B650,X670,B840,B850,X870 (Ryzen 5 7600) and SoC (Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS).

Feature	Ryzen 5 7600	Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS
Socket	AM5	FP7/FP8
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5600
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+100%	64 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	28+40%	20

🔧

Advanced Features

Both support AVX-512 instructions, benefiting scientific computing, AI inference, and encryption workloads. Virtualization support: AMD-V (Ryzen 5 7600) vs Yes (Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon Graphics (2-core) (Ryzen 5 7600) and Radeon 780M (Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 7600 targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 7600 rivals Core i5-13400.