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 8500G

2024

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +5.8% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $2,712 less on MSRP ($179 MSRP vs $2,891 MSRP).
✅Delivers 1504.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 120.0 vs 7.5 PassMark/$ ($179 MSRP vs $2,891 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 145W, a 80W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (21,481 vs 21,621).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 40 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E5-2697A v4, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads.

Xeon E5-2697A v4

2016

Why buy it

✅+0.7% higher PassMark.
✅+150% larger total L3 cache (40 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 8500G across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 7.5 vs 120.0 PassMark/$ ($2,891 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
❌123.1% higher power demand at 145W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8500G moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 8500G can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 5 8500G

2024

Xeon E5-2697A v4

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +5.8% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $2,712 less on MSRP ($179 MSRP vs $2,891 MSRP).
✅Delivers 1504.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 120.0 vs 7.5 PassMark/$ ($179 MSRP vs $2,891 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 145W, a 80W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Why buy it

✅+0.7% higher PassMark.
✅+150% larger total L3 cache (40 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (21,481 vs 21,621).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 40 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E5-2697A v4, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 8500G across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 7.5 vs 120.0 PassMark/$ ($2,891 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
❌123.1% higher power demand at 145W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8500G moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 8500G can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 8500G better than Xeon E5-2697A v4?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E5-2697A v4 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 8500G 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 E5-2697A v4 is the better fit. You are getting 0.7% better PassMark, backed by 16 cores and 32 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 150% larger total L3 cache (40 MB vs 16 MB).

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

Ryzen 5 8500G is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 8500G is $2,712 cheaper on MSRP at $179 MSRP versus $2,891 MSRP, and it gives you a 5.8% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon E5-2697A v4 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 0.7% better PassMark. It is also 1504.6% better value on MSRP (120.0 vs 7.5 PassMark/$), 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 8500G is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2024 vs 2016) and a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of LGA2011. 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 8500G Benchmark Check

Xeon E5-2697A v4 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
1080p
low	267 FPS	182 FPS
medium	238 FPS	158 FPS
high	203 FPS	126 FPS
ultra	173 FPS	101 FPS
1440p
low	231 FPS	152 FPS
medium	186 FPS	128 FPS
high	155 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	80 FPS
4K
low	159 FPS	69 FPS
medium	130 FPS	62 FPS
high	100 FPS	48 FPS
ultra	87 FPS	39 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8500G Open Xeon E5-2697A v4

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
1080p
low	455 FPS	364 FPS
medium	371 FPS	330 FPS
high	321 FPS	279 FPS
ultra	279 FPS	224 FPS
1440p
low	394 FPS	313 FPS
medium	338 FPS	284 FPS
high	294 FPS	242 FPS
ultra	248 FPS	188 FPS
4K
low	287 FPS	195 FPS
medium	251 FPS	178 FPS
high	230 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	193 FPS	120 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8500G Open Xeon E5-2697A v4

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
1080p
low	537 FPS	541 FPS
medium	537 FPS	541 FPS
high	537 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	537 FPS	541 FPS
1440p
low	537 FPS	541 FPS
medium	537 FPS	541 FPS
high	517 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	441 FPS	532 FPS
4K
low	497 FPS	466 FPS
medium	418 FPS	379 FPS
high	357 FPS	345 FPS
ultra	293 FPS	289 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8500G Open Xeon E5-2697A v4

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
1080p
low	537 FPS	541 FPS
medium	537 FPS	541 FPS
high	537 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	537 FPS	541 FPS
1440p
low	537 FPS	541 FPS
medium	537 FPS	541 FPS
high	537 FPS	541 FPS
ultra	537 FPS	497 FPS
4K
low	537 FPS	541 FPS
medium	519 FPS	515 FPS
high	462 FPS	455 FPS
ultra	393 FPS	381 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8500G Open Xeon E5-2697A v4

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 8500G and Xeon E5-2697A v4

Ryzen 5 8500G

The Ryzen 5 8500G is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 8 January 2024 (1 year ago). It is based on the Phoenix2 (2024) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 21,481 points. Launch price was $229.

Xeon E5-2697A v4

The Xeon E5-2697A v4 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 20 June 2016 (9 years ago). It is based on the Broadwell (2015−2019) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.6 GHz, with boost up to 3.6 GHz. L3 cache: 40 MB. L2 cache: 4 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 145 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400. Passmark benchmark score: 21,621 points. Launch price was $2,891.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 8500G packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon E5-2697A v4 offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Xeon E5-2697A v4 has 10 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Ryzen 5 8500G versus 3.6 GHz on the Xeon E5-2697A v4 — a 32.6% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 8500G (base: 3.5 GHz vs 2.6 GHz). The Ryzen 5 8500G uses the Phoenix2 (2024) architecture (4 nm), while the Xeon E5-2697A v4 uses Broadwell (2015−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 8500G scores 21,481 against the Xeon E5-2697A v4's 21,621 — a 0.6% lead for the Xeon E5-2697A v4. L3 cache: 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 8500G vs 40 MB on the Xeon E5-2697A v4.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	16 / 32+167%
Boost Clock	5 GHz+39%	3.6 GHz
Base Clock	3.5 GHz+35%	2.6 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	40 MB+150%
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	4 MB+300%
Process	4 nm-71%	14 nm
Architecture	Phoenix2 (2024)	Broadwell (2015−2019)
PassMark	21,481	21,621
Cinebench R23 Multi	9,310	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,500	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,000	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 8500G uses the AM5 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon E5-2697A v4 uses LGA2011 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
Socket	AM5	LGA2011
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-5200	—
Max RAM Capacity	256 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	Yes	—
PCIe Lanes	14	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: AMD-V (Ryzen 5 8500G) / not specified (Xeon E5-2697A v4). The Ryzen 5 8500G includes integrated graphics (Radeon 740M), while the Xeon E5-2697A v4 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 8500G targets General Use. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 8500G rivals Core i5-13400.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8500G	Xeon E5-2697A v4
Integrated GPU	Yes	—
IGPU Model	Radeon 740M	—
Unlocked	Yes	—
Virtualization	AMD-V	—
Target Use	General Use	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Ryzen 5 8500G launched at $179 MSRP, while the Xeon E5-2697A v4 debuted at $2891. On MSRP ($179 vs $2891), the Ryzen 5 8500G is $2712 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Ryzen 5 8500G delivers 120.0 pts/$ vs 7.5 pts/$ for the Xeon E5-2697A v4 — making the Ryzen 5 8500G the 176.5% better value option.