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 7 7800X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +64.0% higher average FPS across 7 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $1,641 less on MSRP ($449 MSRP vs $2,090 MSRP).
✅Delivers 729.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 76.4 vs 9.2 PassMark/$ ($449 MSRP vs $2,090 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 135W, a 15W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E5-2690 v4, which brings 14 cores / 28 threads and 40 PCIe lanes.

Xeon E5-2690 v4

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 14 cores / 28 threads, plus 40 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅42.9% more PCIe lanes (40 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 7 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (19,255 vs 34,293).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 76.4 PassMark/$ ($2,090 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

2023

Xeon E5-2690 v4

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +64.0% higher average FPS across 7 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $1,641 less on MSRP ($449 MSRP vs $2,090 MSRP).
✅Delivers 729.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 76.4 vs 9.2 PassMark/$ ($449 MSRP vs $2,090 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 135W, a 15W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 14 cores / 28 threads, plus 40 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅42.9% more PCIe lanes (40 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E5-2690 v4, which brings 14 cores / 28 threads and 40 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 7 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (19,255 vs 34,293).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 76.4 PassMark/$ ($2,090 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 7 7800X3D better than Xeon E5-2690 v4?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E5-2690 v4 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 64.0% more average FPS across 7 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 96 MB vs 35 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the better fit. You are getting 78.1% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 174.3% larger total L3 cache (96 MB vs 35 MB).

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

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is $1,641 cheaper on MSRP at $449 MSRP versus $2,090 MSRP, and it gives you a 64.0% average FPS lead across 7 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 729.0% better value on MSRP (76.4 vs 9.2 PassMark/$), 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 7 7800X3D is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2016), a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of LGA2011, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 96 MB L3 cache instead of 35 MB, more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 14/28, and AVX-512 support for heavier modern compute workloads. 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 7 7800X3D Benchmark Check

Xeon E5-2690 v4 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
1080p
low	266 FPS	177 FPS
medium	247 FPS	154 FPS
high	211 FPS	121 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	97 FPS
1440p
low	258 FPS	148 FPS
medium	215 FPS	125 FPS
high	171 FPS	95 FPS
ultra	154 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	179 FPS	69 FPS
medium	149 FPS	61 FPS
high	112 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	38 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon E5-2690 v4

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
1080p
low	857 FPS	364 FPS
medium	737 FPS	330 FPS
high	580 FPS	279 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	224 FPS
1440p
low	722 FPS	313 FPS
medium	611 FPS	284 FPS
high	500 FPS	242 FPS
ultra	398 FPS	188 FPS
4K
low	396 FPS	195 FPS
medium	339 FPS	178 FPS
high	315 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	273 FPS	120 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon E5-2690 v4

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
1080p
low	857 FPS	481 FPS
medium	857 FPS	481 FPS
high	857 FPS	481 FPS
ultra	857 FPS	481 FPS
1440p
low	857 FPS	481 FPS
medium	851 FPS	481 FPS
high	786 FPS	481 FPS
ultra	656 FPS	481 FPS
4K
low	558 FPS	447 FPS
medium	479 FPS	363 FPS
high	427 FPS	331 FPS
ultra	362 FPS	277 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon E5-2690 v4

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
1080p
low	857 FPS	481 FPS
medium	857 FPS	481 FPS
high	857 FPS	481 FPS
ultra	782 FPS	481 FPS
1440p
low	857 FPS	481 FPS
medium	760 FPS	481 FPS
high	669 FPS	481 FPS
ultra	576 FPS	461 FPS
4K
low	618 FPS	481 FPS
medium	556 FPS	470 FPS
high	495 FPS	416 FPS
ultra	428 FPS	358 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon E5-2690 v4

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Xeon E5-2690 v4

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.

Xeon E5-2690 v4

The Xeon E5-2690 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 14 cores and 28 threads. Base frequency is 2.6 GHz, with boost up to 3.5 GHz. L3 cache: 35 MB. L2 cache: 3.5 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 135 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400. Passmark benchmark score: 19,255 points. Launch price was $2,090.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D packs 8 cores / 16 threads, while the Xeon E5-2690 v4 offers 14 cores / 28 threads — the Xeon E5-2690 v4 has 6 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D versus 3.5 GHz on the Xeon E5-2690 v4 — a 35.3% clock advantage for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D (base: 4.4 GHz vs 2.6 GHz). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture (5 nm), while the Xeon E5-2690 v4 uses Broadwell (2015−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D scores 34,293 against the Xeon E5-2690 v4's 19,255 — a 56.2% lead for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. L3 cache: 96 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs 35 MB on the Xeon E5-2690 v4.

Feature	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	14 / 28+75%
Boost Clock	5 GHz+43%	3.5 GHz
Base Clock	4.4 GHz+69%	2.6 GHz
L3 Cache	96 MB (total)+174%	35 MB
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	3.5 MB+250%
Process	5 nm-64%	14 nm
Architecture	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)	Broadwell (2015−2019)
PassMark	34,293+78%	19,255
Cinebench R23 Multi	18,500	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,700	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	15,000	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses the AM5 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon E5-2690 v4 uses LGA2011 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-5200 on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D versus DDR4-2400 on the Xeon E5-2690 v4 — the Ryzen 7 7800X3D supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon E5-2690 v4 supports up to 1536 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 169.2% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) vs 4 (Xeon E5-2690 v4). PCIe lanes: 28 (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) vs 40 (Xeon E5-2690 v4) — the Xeon E5-2690 v4 offers 12 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: X670E,X670,B650E,B650,A620 (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) and Intel X99,Intel C612 (Xeon E5-2690 v4).

Feature	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
Socket	AM5	LGA2011
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-5200+25%	DDR4-2400
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	1536 GB+1100%
RAM Channels	2	4+100%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	28	40+43%

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: AMD-V (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) / not specified (Xeon E5-2690 v4). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)), while the Xeon E5-2690 v4 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 7 7800X3D targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 7800X3D rivals Intel Core i7-14700K.

Feature	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon E5-2690 v4
Integrated GPU	Yes	No
IGPU Model	AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)	—
Unlocked	Yes	—
AVX-512	Yes	—
Virtualization	AMD-V	—
Target Use	Gaming	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D launched at $449 MSRP, while the Xeon E5-2690 v4 debuted at $2090. On MSRP ($449 vs $2090), the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is $1641 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Ryzen 7 7800X3D delivers 76.4 pts/$ vs 9.2 pts/$ for the Xeon E5-2690 v4 — making the Ryzen 7 7800X3D the 156.9% better value option.