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: +54.5% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 120W instead of 245W, a 125W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA3647 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core), while Xeon Phi 7290 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Phi 7290, which brings 72 cores / 288 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Xeon Phi 7290 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon Phi 7290

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 72 cores / 288 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (17,839 vs 34,293).
❌104.2% higher power demand at 245W vs 120W.
❌Older platform position on LGA3647 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 Phi 7290

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +54.5% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 120W instead of 245W, a 125W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA3647 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core), while Xeon Phi 7290 needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 72 cores / 288 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Phi 7290, which brings 72 cores / 288 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $449 MSRP, while Xeon Phi 7290 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 7800X3D across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (17,839 vs 34,293).
❌104.2% higher power demand at 245W vs 120W.
❌Older platform position on LGA3647 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 Phi 7290?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Phi 7290 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 54.5% more average FPS across 3 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 96 MB vs null.

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 92.2% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

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

Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 7 7800X3D is at an unclear MSRP at $449 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 54.5% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (76.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 LGA3647, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 96 MB L3 cache instead of null, more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 72/288, 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 Phi 7290 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	266 FPS	177 FPS
medium	247 FPS	143 FPS
high	211 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	88 FPS
1440p
low	258 FPS	141 FPS
medium	215 FPS	111 FPS
high	171 FPS	87 FPS
ultra	154 FPS	68 FPS
4K
low	179 FPS	66 FPS
medium	149 FPS	56 FPS
high	112 FPS	43 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	34 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon Phi 7290

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	857 FPS	136 FPS
medium	735 FPS	120 FPS
high	579 FPS	109 FPS
ultra	491 FPS	86 FPS
1440p
low	715 FPS	120 FPS
medium	607 FPS	108 FPS
high	497 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	396 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	393 FPS	87 FPS
medium	337 FPS	81 FPS
high	314 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	271 FPS	56 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon Phi 7290

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	857 FPS	446 FPS
medium	857 FPS	446 FPS
high	857 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	857 FPS	446 FPS
1440p
low	857 FPS	446 FPS
medium	851 FPS	434 FPS
high	786 FPS	374 FPS
ultra	656 FPS	326 FPS
4K
low	558 FPS	394 FPS
medium	479 FPS	306 FPS
high	427 FPS	259 FPS
ultra	362 FPS	209 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon Phi 7290

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
1080p
low	857 FPS	446 FPS
medium	857 FPS	446 FPS
high	857 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	782 FPS	446 FPS
1440p
low	857 FPS	446 FPS
medium	760 FPS	446 FPS
high	669 FPS	446 FPS
ultra	576 FPS	420 FPS
4K
low	618 FPS	446 FPS
medium	556 FPS	405 FPS
high	495 FPS	361 FPS
ultra	428 FPS	310 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 7800X3D Open Xeon Phi 7290

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Xeon Phi 7290

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 Phi 7290

The Xeon Phi 7290 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Knights Landing (2016) architecture. It features 72 cores and 288 threads. Base frequency is 1.5 GHz, with boost up to 1.7 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 245 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 17,839 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D packs 8 cores / 16 threads, while the Xeon Phi 7290 offers 72 cores / 288 threads — the Xeon Phi 7290 has 64 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D versus 1.7 GHz on the Xeon Phi 7290 — a 98.5% clock advantage for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D (base: 4.4 GHz vs 1.5 GHz). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D uses the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture (5 nm), while the Xeon Phi 7290 uses Knights Landing (2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D scores 34,293 against the Xeon Phi 7290's 17,839 — a 63.1% lead for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. L3 cache: 96 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D vs 0 kB (total) on the Xeon Phi 7290.

Feature	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	72 / 288+800%
Boost Clock	5 GHz+194%	1.7 GHz
Base Clock	4.4 GHz+193%	1.5 GHz
L3 Cache	96 MB (total)	0 kB (total)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+100%	512 kB (per core)
Process	5 nm-64%	14 nm
Architecture	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)	Knights Landing (2016)
PassMark	34,293+92%	17,839
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 Phi 7290 uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 7 7800X3D	Xeon Phi 7290
Socket	AM5	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+67%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-5200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	Yes	—
PCIe Lanes	28	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: AMD-V (Ryzen 7 7800X3D) / not specified (Xeon Phi 7290). The Ryzen 7 7800X3D includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)), while the Xeon Phi 7290 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 7 7800X3D targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 7800X3D rivals Intel Core i7-14700K.