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

✅Better for gaming: +21.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 28W instead of 125W, a 97W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of LGA3647 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 760M, while Xeon Gold 6138T needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (10,308 vs 11,988).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 28 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6138T, which brings 20 cores / 40 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.

Xeon Gold 6138T

2017

Why buy it

✅+16.3% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅+71.9% larger total L3 cache (28 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅140% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 8640U across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,742 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 8640U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌346.4% higher power demand at 125W vs 28W.
❌Older platform position on LGA3647 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8640U moves to FP8 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 8640U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 5 8640U

2023

Xeon Gold 6138T

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +21.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 28W instead of 125W, a 97W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP8 with DDR5 support instead of LGA3647 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 760M, while Xeon Gold 6138T needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅+16.3% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅+71.9% larger total L3 cache (28 MB vs 16 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅140% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (10,308 vs 11,988).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 28 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6138T, which brings 20 cores / 40 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 8640U across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,742 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 8640U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌346.4% higher power demand at 125W vs 28W.
❌Older platform position on LGA3647 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 8640U moves to FP8 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 8640U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 8640U better than Xeon Gold 6138T?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Gold 6138T makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 8640U 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 Gold 6138T is the better fit. You are getting 16.3% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 20 cores and 40 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 71.9% larger total L3 cache (28 MB vs 16 MB).

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

Ryzen 5 8640U is still the faster CPU overall, but Xeon Gold 6138T makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 5 8640U is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $2,742 MSRP, and it gives you a 21.5% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Gold 6138T is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 16.3% better Geekbench multi-core. Xeon Gold 6138T is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (7.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 8640U is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2017) and a healthier platform with FP8 and DDR5 instead of LGA3647. 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

Xeon Gold 6138T Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
1080p
low	261 FPS	189 FPS
medium	237 FPS	153 FPS
high	199 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	171 FPS	96 FPS
1440p
low	230 FPS	149 FPS
medium	190 FPS	117 FPS
high	155 FPS	93 FPS
ultra	137 FPS	73 FPS
4K
low	159 FPS	69 FPS
medium	133 FPS	58 FPS
high	103 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	91 FPS	36 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Xeon Gold 6138T

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
1080p
low	371 FPS	213 FPS
medium	309 FPS	188 FPS
high	272 FPS	161 FPS
ultra	236 FPS	136 FPS
1440p
low	313 FPS	184 FPS
medium	270 FPS	166 FPS
high	244 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	207 FPS	120 FPS
4K
low	234 FPS	120 FPS
medium	206 FPS	109 FPS
high	191 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	161 FPS	82 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Xeon Gold 6138T

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
1080p
low	507 FPS	509 FPS
medium	507 FPS	509 FPS
high	507 FPS	495 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	429 FPS
1440p
low	507 FPS	509 FPS
medium	507 FPS	449 FPS
high	507 FPS	408 FPS
ultra	443 FPS	354 FPS
4K
low	493 FPS	399 FPS
medium	435 FPS	314 FPS
high	372 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	226 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Xeon Gold 6138T

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
1080p
low	507 FPS	509 FPS
medium	507 FPS	509 FPS
high	507 FPS	509 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	509 FPS
1440p
low	507 FPS	509 FPS
medium	507 FPS	509 FPS
high	507 FPS	509 FPS
ultra	507 FPS	463 FPS
4K
low	507 FPS	496 FPS
medium	501 FPS	445 FPS
high	442 FPS	396 FPS
ultra	380 FPS	340 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 8640U Open Xeon Gold 6138T

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 8640U and Xeon Gold 6138T

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.

Xeon Gold 6138T

The Xeon Gold 6138T is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 25 April 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Skylake (server) (2017−2018) architecture. It features 20 cores and 40 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3.7 GHz. L3 cache: 27.5 MB. L2 cache: 20 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 125 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2666. Passmark benchmark score: 20,356 points. Launch price was $2,742.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 8640U packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon Gold 6138T offers 20 cores / 40 threads — the Xeon Gold 6138T has 14 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Ryzen 5 8640U versus 3.7 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6138T — a 27.9% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 8640U (base: 3.5 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Ryzen 5 8640U uses the Hawk Point-U (Zen 4) (2023−2025) architecture (4 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6138T uses Skylake (server) (2017−2018) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 8640U scores 20,274 against the Xeon Gold 6138T's 20,356 — a 0.4% lead for the Xeon Gold 6138T. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,519 vs 1,030, a 83.9% lead for the Ryzen 5 8640U that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 10,308 vs 11,988 (15.1% advantage for the Xeon Gold 6138T). L3 cache: 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 8640U vs 27.5 MB on the Xeon Gold 6138T.

Feature	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	20 / 40+233%
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz+32%	3.7 GHz
Base Clock	3.5 GHz+75%	2 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	27.5 MB+72%
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	20 MB+1900%
Process	4 nm-71%	14 nm
Architecture	Hawk Point-U (Zen 4) (2023−2025)	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)
PassMark	20,274	20,356
Cinebench R23 Multi	10,675	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,519+145%	1,030
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,308	11,988+16%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 8640U uses the FP8 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Gold 6138T uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches LPDDR5x-7500 on the Ryzen 5 8640U versus DDR4-2666 on the Xeon Gold 6138T — the Ryzen 5 8640U supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon Gold 6138T supports up to 768 GB of RAM compared to 256 GB — 100% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 5 8640U) vs 6 (Xeon Gold 6138T). PCIe lanes: 20 (Ryzen 5 8640U) vs 48 (Xeon Gold 6138T) — the Xeon Gold 6138T offers 28 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SoC (Ryzen 5 8640U) and C620 (Xeon Gold 6138T).

Feature	Ryzen 5 8640U	Xeon Gold 6138T
Socket	FP8	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	LPDDR5x-7500+25%	DDR4-2666
Max RAM Capacity	256 GB	768 GB+200%
RAM Channels	2	6+200%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	20	48+140%

🔧

Advanced Features

Both support AVX-512 instructions, benefiting scientific computing, AI inference, and encryption workloads. Virtualization support: AMD-V (SVM) (Ryzen 5 8640U) vs Yes (Xeon Gold 6138T). The Ryzen 5 8640U includes integrated graphics (Radeon 760M), while the Xeon Gold 6138T requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 8640U targets Productivity. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 8640U rivals Core i5-1335U.