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 9700X

2024

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +17.4% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $4,313 less on MSRP ($359 MSRP vs $4,672 MSRP).
✅Delivers 1209.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 103.5 vs 7.9 PassMark/$ ($359 MSRP vs $4,672 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 165W, a 100W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (32 MB vs 45 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E7-8867 v3, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 32 PCIe lanes.

Xeon E7-8867 v3

2015

Why buy it

✅+40.6% larger total L3 cache (45 MB vs 32 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 32 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅33.3% more PCIe lanes (32 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 9700X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (36,908 vs 37,145).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 7.9 vs 103.5 PassMark/$ ($4,672 MSRP vs $359 MSRP).
❌153.8% higher power demand at 165W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 9700X moves to AM5 and DDR5.

Ryzen 7 9700X

2024

Xeon E7-8867 v3

2015

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +17.4% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $4,313 less on MSRP ($359 MSRP vs $4,672 MSRP).
✅Delivers 1209.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 103.5 vs 7.9 PassMark/$ ($359 MSRP vs $4,672 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 165W, a 100W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Why buy it

✅+40.6% larger total L3 cache (45 MB vs 32 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 32 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅33.3% more PCIe lanes (32 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (32 MB vs 45 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E7-8867 v3, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 32 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 9700X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (36,908 vs 37,145).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 7.9 vs 103.5 PassMark/$ ($4,672 MSRP vs $359 MSRP).
❌153.8% higher power demand at 165W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen 7 9700X moves to AM5 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 7 9700X better than Xeon E7-8867 v3?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E7-8867 v3 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 7 9700X 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 9700X is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 17.4% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 9700X is the better fit. You are getting 0.6% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

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

Ryzen 7 9700X is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 7 9700X is $4,313 cheaper on MSRP at $359 MSRP versus $4,672 MSRP, and it gives you a 17.4% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 1209.7% better value on MSRP (103.5 vs 7.9 PassMark/$), 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 9700X is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2024 vs 2015), a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of LGA2011, more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 16/32, 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 9700X Benchmark Check

Xeon E7-8867 v3 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
1080p
low	265 FPS	184 FPS
medium	245 FPS	156 FPS
high	209 FPS	124 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	226 FPS	156 FPS
medium	188 FPS	129 FPS
high	154 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	79 FPS
4K
low	157 FPS	72 FPS
medium	131 FPS	63 FPS
high	101 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	87 FPS	40 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 9700X Open Xeon E7-8867 v3

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
1080p
low	639 FPS	370 FPS
medium	526 FPS	335 FPS
high	436 FPS	279 FPS
ultra	392 FPS	223 FPS
1440p
low	545 FPS	317 FPS
medium	470 FPS	291 FPS
high	395 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	337 FPS	189 FPS
4K
low	319 FPS	198 FPS
medium	281 FPS	184 FPS
high	265 FPS	157 FPS
ultra	232 FPS	124 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 9700X Open Xeon E7-8867 v3

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
1080p
low	929 FPS	885 FPS
medium	744 FPS	792 FPS
high	650 FPS	752 FPS
ultra	558 FPS	665 FPS
1440p
low	736 FPS	721 FPS
medium	589 FPS	637 FPS
high	506 FPS	605 FPS
ultra	431 FPS	539 FPS
4K
low	508 FPS	470 FPS
medium	420 FPS	387 FPS
high	378 FPS	354 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	296 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 9700X Open Xeon E7-8867 v3

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
1080p
low	929 FPS	923 FPS
medium	929 FPS	845 FPS
high	850 FPS	725 FPS
ultra	756 FPS	619 FPS
1440p
low	889 FPS	758 FPS
medium	773 FPS	661 FPS
high	678 FPS	563 FPS
ultra	584 FPS	468 FPS
4K
low	582 FPS	543 FPS
medium	517 FPS	483 FPS
high	466 FPS	422 FPS
ultra	405 FPS	357 FPS

Open Ryzen 7 9700X Open Xeon E7-8867 v3

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 7 9700X and Xeon E7-8867 v3

Ryzen 7 9700X

The Ryzen 7 9700X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 8 August 2024 (1 year ago). It is based on the Granite Ridge (2024−2025) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.8 GHz, with boost up to 5.5 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 37,145 points. Launch price was $359.

Xeon E7-8867 v3

The Xeon E7-8867 v3 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Haswell-EX (2015) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 3.3 GHz. L3 cache: 45 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 165 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1333/1600/1866, DDR3-1066/1333/1600. Passmark benchmark score: 36,908 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 7 9700X packs 8 cores / 16 threads, while the Xeon E7-8867 v3 offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Xeon E7-8867 v3 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5.5 GHz on the Ryzen 7 9700X versus 3.3 GHz on the Xeon E7-8867 v3 — a 50% clock advantage for the Ryzen 7 9700X (base: 3.8 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Ryzen 7 9700X uses the Granite Ridge (2024−2025) architecture (4 nm), while the Xeon E7-8867 v3 uses Haswell-EX (2015) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 7 9700X scores 37,145 against the Xeon E7-8867 v3's 36,908 — a 0.6% lead for the Ryzen 7 9700X. L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 9700X vs 45 MB (total) on the Xeon E7-8867 v3.

Feature	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	16 / 32+100%
Boost Clock	5.5 GHz+67%	3.3 GHz
Base Clock	3.8 GHz+52%	2.5 GHz
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)	45 MB (total)+41%
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)+300%	256K (per core)
Process	4 nm-82%	22 nm
Architecture	Granite Ridge (2024−2025)	Haswell-EX (2015)
PassMark	37,145	36,908
Geekbench 6 Single	—	850
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	10,000

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 7 9700X uses the AM5 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon E7-8867 v3 uses LGA2011 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 5600 on the Ryzen 7 9700X versus DDR4-1866 on the Xeon E7-8867 v3 — the Ryzen 7 9700X supports 199.7% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon E7-8867 v3 supports up to 1536 GB of RAM compared to 256 — 142.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 7 9700X) vs 4 (Xeon E7-8867 v3). PCIe lanes: 24 (Ryzen 7 9700X) vs 32 (Xeon E7-8867 v3) — the Xeon E7-8867 v3 offers 8 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: X870E,X670E,B650 (Ryzen 7 9700X) and C602J (Xeon E7-8867 v3).

Feature	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
Socket	AM5	LGA2011
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+67%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	5600+139900%	DDR4-1866
Max RAM Capacity	256	1536 GB+629145500%
RAM Channels	2	4+100%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	24	32+33%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 7 9700X has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 7 9700X supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, AMD-V (Ryzen 7 9700X) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon E7-8867 v3). The Ryzen 7 9700X includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)), while the Xeon E7-8867 v3 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Xeon E7-8867 v3 targets Server. Direct competitor: Ryzen 7 9700X rivals Core i7-14700K.

Feature	Ryzen 7 9700X	Xeon E7-8867 v3
Integrated GPU	Yes	No
IGPU Model	AMD Radeon Graphics (2-core)	None
Unlocked	Yes	No
AVX-512	Yes	No
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d, AMD-V	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	—	Server

💰

Value Analysis

The Ryzen 7 9700X launched at $359 MSRP, while the Xeon E7-8867 v3 debuted at $4672. On MSRP ($359 vs $4672), the Ryzen 7 9700X is $4313 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Ryzen 7 9700X delivers 103.5 pts/$ vs 7.9 pts/$ for the Xeon E7-8867 v3 — making the Ryzen 7 9700X the 171.6% better value option.