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 8640U

2023

Why buy it

✅+0.1% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 28W instead of 35W, a 7W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of FP6 and DDR4.
✅25% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5980HS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Ryzen 9 5980HS

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (20,257 vs 20,274).
❌25% higher power demand at 35W vs 28W.
❌Older platform position on FP6 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8640U moves to FP8 and DDR5.

Ryzen 5 8640U

2023

Ryzen 9 5980HS

2021

Why buy it

✅+0.1% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 28W instead of 35W, a 7W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of FP6 and DDR4.
✅25% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +8.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5980HS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (20,257 vs 20,274).
❌25% higher power demand at 35W vs 28W.
❌Older platform position on FP6 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8640U moves to FP8 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 8640U better than Ryzen 9 5980HS?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Ryzen 9 5980HS is ahead with a 8.0% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 8640U pulls ahead with 0.1% better PassMark.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 8640U is the better fit. You are getting 0.1% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

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

Ryzen 5 8640U still looks like the safer overall buy. Ryzen 5 8640U is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 0.1% better PassMark.

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

Ryzen 5 8640U is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2021), a healthier platform with FP8 and DDR5 instead of FP6, and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 8/16. 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 8640U Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 5980HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	261 FPS	277 FPS
medium	237 FPS	250 FPS
high	199 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	171 FPS	180 FPS
1440p
low	230 FPS	241 FPS
medium	190 FPS	195 FPS
high	155 FPS	159 FPS
ultra	137 FPS	140 FPS
4K
low	159 FPS	168 FPS
medium	133 FPS	138 FPS
high	103 FPS	106 FPS
ultra	91 FPS	93 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	371 FPS	506 FPS
medium	309 FPS	464 FPS
high	272 FPS	390 FPS
ultra	236 FPS	342 FPS
1440p
low	313 FPS	485 FPS
medium	270 FPS	407 FPS
high	244 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	207 FPS	294 FPS
4K
low	234 FPS	334 FPS
medium	206 FPS	288 FPS
high	191 FPS	263 FPS
ultra	161 FPS	227 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	507 FPS	506 FPS
medium	507 FPS	506 FPS
high	507 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	506 FPS
1440p
low	507 FPS	506 FPS
medium	507 FPS	506 FPS
high	507 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	443 FPS	463 FPS
4K
low	493 FPS	506 FPS
medium	435 FPS	469 FPS
high	372 FPS	413 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	348 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	507 FPS	506 FPS
medium	507 FPS	506 FPS
high	507 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	506 FPS
1440p
low	507 FPS	506 FPS
medium	507 FPS	506 FPS
high	507 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	477 FPS
4K
low	507 FPS	506 FPS
medium	501 FPS	463 FPS
high	442 FPS	410 FPS
ultra	380 FPS	346 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 8640U and Ryzen 9 5980HS

Ryzen 5 8640U

The Ryzen 5 8640U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Hawk Point-U (Zen 4) (2023−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FP8. Thermal design power (TDP): 28 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 20,274 points. Launch price was $299.

Ryzen 9 5980HS

The Ryzen 9 5980HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 12 January 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 20,257 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 8640U packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen 9 5980HS offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 9 5980HS has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Ryzen 5 8640U versus 4.8 GHz on the Ryzen 9 5980HS — a 2.1% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 8640U (base: 3.5 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Ryzen 5 8640U uses the Hawk Point-U (Zen 4) (2023−2025) architecture (4 nm), while the Ryzen 9 5980HS uses Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 8640U scores 20,274 against the Ryzen 9 5980HS's 20,257 — a 0.1% lead for the Ryzen 5 8640U. Both processors carry 16 MB (total) of L3 cache.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz+2%	4.8 GHz
Base Clock	3.5 GHz+17%	3 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	16 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+100%	512K (per core)
Process	4 nm-43%	7 nm
Architecture	Hawk Point-U (Zen 4) (2023−2025)	Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021)
PassMark	20,274	20,257
Cinebench R23 Multi	10,675	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,519	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,308	—

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 8640U uses the FP8 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 5980HS uses FP6 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches LPDDR5x-7500 on the Ryzen 5 8640U versus LPDDR4-4266 on the Ryzen 9 5980HS — the Ryzen 5 8640U supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Ryzen 5 8640U supports up to 256 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 155.6% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Ryzen 5 8640U) vs 16 (Ryzen 9 5980HS) — the Ryzen 5 8640U offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Socket	FP8	FP6
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	LPDDR5x-7500+25%	LPDDR4-4266
Max RAM Capacity	256 GB+700%	32 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	Yes	No
PCIe Lanes	20+25%	16

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 5980HS has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 5 8640U supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: AMD-V (SVM) (Ryzen 5 8640U) vs AMD-V (Ryzen 9 5980HS). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon 760M (Ryzen 5 8640U) and Radeon Graphics (8CU) (Ryzen 9 5980HS) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 8640U targets Productivity, Ryzen 9 5980HS targets Mobile High-End. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 8640U rivals Core i5-1335U.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8640U	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Integrated GPU	Yes	Yes
IGPU Model	Radeon 760M	Radeon Graphics (8CU)
Unlocked	No	Yes
AVX-512	Yes	No
Virtualization	AMD-V (SVM)	AMD-V
Target Use	Productivity	Mobile High-End