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.

Core Ultra 7 255H

2025

Why buy it

✅+4.7% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Draws 26W instead of 120W, a 94W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +10.7% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (15,000 vs 15,700).
❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Core Ultra 7 255H mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌361.5% higher power demand at 120W vs 26W.

Core Ultra 7 255H

2025

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅+4.7% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Draws 26W instead of 120W, a 94W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +10.7% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (15,000 vs 15,700).
❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Core Ultra 7 255H mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌361.5% higher power demand at 120W vs 26W.

Quick Answers

So, is Core Ultra 7 255H better than Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is ahead with a 10.7% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Core Ultra 7 255H pulls ahead with 4.7% better Geekbench multi-core. Ryzen 7 7800X3D also has the bigger cache pool with 300% larger total L3 cache (96 MB vs 24 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Core Ultra 7 255H is the better fit. You are getting 4.7% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 16 cores and 16 threads.

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

Core Ultra 7 255H is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 7 7800X3D makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Core Ultra 7 255H is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $449 MSRP, and it gives you 4.7% better Geekbench multi-core. The trade-off is that Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 10.7% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (76.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Core Ultra 7 255H is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2023) and more multi-core headroom with 16 cores / 16 threads instead of 8/16. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

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.

Core Ultra 7 255H Benchmark Check

Ryzen 7 7800X3D Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	309 FPS	266 FPS
medium	278 FPS	247 FPS
high	232 FPS	211 FPS
ultra	199 FPS	186 FPS
1440p
low	251 FPS	258 FPS
medium	201 FPS	215 FPS
high	163 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	154 FPS
4K
low	173 FPS	179 FPS
medium	139 FPS	149 FPS
high	107 FPS	112 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	100 FPS

Open Core Ultra 7 255H Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	773 FPS	857 FPS
medium	636 FPS	735 FPS
high	519 FPS	579 FPS
ultra	459 FPS	491 FPS
1440p
low	704 FPS	715 FPS
medium	567 FPS	607 FPS
high	466 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	389 FPS	396 FPS
4K
low	412 FPS	393 FPS
medium	340 FPS	337 FPS
high	314 FPS	314 FPS
ultra	270 FPS	271 FPS

Open Core Ultra 7 255H Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	773 FPS	857 FPS
medium	773 FPS	857 FPS
high	773 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	662 FPS	857 FPS
1440p
low	773 FPS	857 FPS
medium	735 FPS	851 FPS
high	635 FPS	786 FPS
ultra	544 FPS	656 FPS
4K
low	642 FPS	558 FPS
medium	534 FPS	479 FPS
high	483 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	409 FPS	362 FPS

Open Core Ultra 7 255H Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
1080p
low	773 FPS	857 FPS
medium	773 FPS	857 FPS
high	773 FPS	857 FPS
ultra	773 FPS	782 FPS
1440p
low	773 FPS	857 FPS
medium	773 FPS	760 FPS
high	703 FPS	669 FPS
ultra	609 FPS	576 FPS
4K
low	612 FPS	618 FPS
medium	540 FPS	556 FPS
high	489 FPS	495 FPS
ultra	427 FPS	428 FPS

Open Core Ultra 7 255H Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core Ultra 7 255H and Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Core Ultra 7 255H

The Core Ultra 7 255H is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 January 2025 (less than a year ago). It is based on the Arrow Lake-H (2025) architecture. It features 16 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4.4 GHz, with boost up to 5.1 GHz. L3 cache: 24 MB. Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA2049. Thermal design power (TDP): 26 MB + 24 MB. Memory support: DDR5-6400. Passmark benchmark score: 30,932 points. Launch price was $514.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 4 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 4.4 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 96 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 120 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 34,293 points. Launch price was $449.

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Processing Power

The Core Ultra 7 255H packs 16 cores / 16 threads, while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Core Ultra 7 255H has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5.1 GHz on the Core Ultra 7 255H versus 5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — a 2% clock advantage for the Core Ultra 7 255H (base: 4.4 GHz vs 4.4 GHz). The Core Ultra 7 255H uses the Arrow Lake-H (2025) architecture (5 nm), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) (5 nm). In PassMark, the Core Ultra 7 255H scores 30,932 against the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's 34,293 — a 10.3% lead for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,800 vs 2,700, a 3.6% lead for the Core Ultra 7 255H that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 15,700 vs 15,000 (4.6% advantage for the Core Ultra 7 255H). L3 cache: 24 MB on the Core Ultra 7 255H vs 96 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Feature	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Cores / Threads	16 / 16+100%	8 / 16
Boost Clock	5.1 GHz+2%	5 GHz
Base Clock	4.4 GHz	4.4 GHz
L3 Cache	24 MB	96 MB (total)+300%
L2 Cache	—	1 MB (per core)
Process	5 nm	5 nm
Architecture	Arrow Lake-H (2025)	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)
PassMark	30,932	34,293+11%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	18,500
Geekbench 6 Single	2,800+4%	2,700
Geekbench 6 Multi	15,700+5%	15,000

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Memory & Platform

The Core Ultra 7 255H uses the FCBGA2049 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses AM5 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-6400 memory speed. Both support up to 128 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 28 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: HM870,WM880 (Core Ultra 7 255H) and X670E,X670,B650E,B650,A620 (Ryzen 7 7800X3D).

Feature	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Socket	FCBGA2049	AM5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0	PCIe 5.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-6400	DDR5-5200
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	128 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	28	28

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 7 7800X3D has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 7 7800X3D supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core Ultra 7 255H) vs AMD-V (Ryzen 7 7800X3D). Both include integrated graphics — Intel Arc Graphics 140T (Core Ultra 7 255H) and AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core) (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core Ultra 7 255H targets High-End Laptop, Ryzen 7 7800X3D targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 7800X3D rivals Intel Core i7-14700K.

Feature	Core Ultra 7 255H	Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Integrated GPU	Yes	Yes
IGPU Model	Intel Arc Graphics 140T	AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)
Unlocked	No	Yes
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	AMD-V
Target Use	High-End Laptop	Gaming