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.

EPYC 7401

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 24 cores / 48 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅357.1% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 7950X3D across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (55,280 vs 62,323).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 36.9 vs 89.2 PassMark/$ ($1,500 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
❌29.2% higher power demand at 155W vs 120W.
❌Older platform position on TR4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.

Ryzen 9 7950X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +47.7% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $801 less on MSRP ($699 MSRP vs $1,500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 141.9% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 89.2 vs 36.9 PassMark/$ ($699 MSRP vs $1,500 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 155W, a 35W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of TR4 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7401, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

EPYC 7401

2017

Ryzen 9 7950X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 24 cores / 48 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅357.1% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +47.7% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $801 less on MSRP ($699 MSRP vs $1,500 MSRP).
✅Delivers 141.9% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 89.2 vs 36.9 PassMark/$ ($699 MSRP vs $1,500 MSRP).
✅Draws 120W instead of 155W, a 35W reduction.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of TR4 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 7950X3D across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (55,280 vs 62,323).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 36.9 vs 89.2 PassMark/$ ($1,500 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
❌29.2% higher power demand at 155W vs 120W.
❌Older platform position on TR4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7401, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 7950X3D better than EPYC 7401?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 7401 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D 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 9 7950X3D is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 47.7% more average FPS across 50 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 128 MB vs 64 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the better fit. You are getting 12.7% better PassMark, backed by 16 cores and 32 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 100% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 64 MB).

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

Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 9 7950X3D is $801 cheaper on MSRP at $699 MSRP versus $1,500 MSRP, and it gives you a 47.7% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 141.9% better value on MSRP (89.2 vs 36.9 PassMark/$), 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 9 7950X3D is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2017), a healthier platform with AM5 and DDR5 instead of TR4, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 128 MB L3 cache instead of 64 MB, more multi-core headroom with 16 cores / 32 threads instead of 24/48, 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.

EPYC 7401 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 7950X3D Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
1080p
low	187 FPS	291 FPS
medium	165 FPS	265 FPS
high	132 FPS	219 FPS
ultra	105 FPS	186 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	275 FPS
medium	127 FPS	227 FPS
high	97 FPS	177 FPS
ultra	78 FPS	156 FPS
4K
low	71 FPS	190 FPS
medium	63 FPS	156 FPS
high	48 FPS	120 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	107 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
1080p
low	207 FPS	734 FPS
medium	188 FPS	627 FPS
high	160 FPS	465 FPS
ultra	131 FPS	393 FPS
1440p
low	178 FPS	602 FPS
medium	163 FPS	536 FPS
high	141 FPS	413 FPS
ultra	111 FPS	326 FPS
4K
low	112 FPS	338 FPS
medium	103 FPS	305 FPS
high	92 FPS	268 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	229 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
1080p
low	620 FPS	1025 FPS
medium	518 FPS	1122 FPS
high	466 FPS	1062 FPS
ultra	399 FPS	875 FPS
1440p
low	517 FPS	936 FPS
medium	432 FPS	845 FPS
high	378 FPS	775 FPS
ultra	325 FPS	656 FPS
4K
low	383 FPS	574 FPS
medium	308 FPS	498 FPS
high	270 FPS	447 FPS
ultra	220 FPS	378 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
1080p
low	834 FPS	1082 FPS
medium	758 FPS	973 FPS
high	651 FPS	854 FPS
ultra	561 FPS	766 FPS
1440p
low	667 FPS	853 FPS
medium	584 FPS	751 FPS
high	500 FPS	659 FPS
ultra	420 FPS	569 FPS
4K
low	475 FPS	623 FPS
medium	427 FPS	555 FPS
high	375 FPS	493 FPS
ultra	320 FPS	426 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 7401 and Ryzen 9 7950X3D

EPYC 7401

The EPYC 7401 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 29 June 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Naples (2017−2018) architecture. It features 24 cores and 48 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: TR4. Thermal design power (TDP): 170 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Eight-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 55,280 points. Launch price was $1,850.

Ryzen 9 7950X3D

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D 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 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 4.2 GHz, with boost up to 5.7 GHz. L3 cache: 128 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm, 6 nm process technology. Socket: AM5. Thermal design power (TDP): 120 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 62,323 points. Launch price was $699.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 7401 packs 24 cores / 48 threads, while the Ryzen 9 7950X3D offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the EPYC 7401 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the EPYC 7401 versus 5.7 GHz on the Ryzen 9 7950X3D — a 62.1% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D (base: 2 GHz vs 4.2 GHz). The EPYC 7401 uses the Naples (2017−2018) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 9 7950X3D uses Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) (5 nm, 6 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 7401 scores 55,280 against the Ryzen 9 7950X3D's 62,323 — a 12% lead for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. L3 cache: 64 MB (total) on the EPYC 7401 vs 128 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Feature	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Cores / Threads	24 / 48+50%	16 / 32
Boost Clock	3 GHz	5.7 GHz+90%
Base Clock	2 GHz	4.2 GHz+110%
L3 Cache	64 MB (total)	128 MB (total)+100%
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	1 MB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	5 nm, 6 nm-64%
Architecture	Naples (2017−2018)	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)
PassMark	55,280	62,323+13%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	38,581
Geekbench 6 Single	—	2,926
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	19,643

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 7401 uses the TR4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 7950X3D uses AM5 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 2666 on the EPYC 7401 versus DDR5-5200 on the Ryzen 9 7950X3D — the EPYC 7401 supports 199.3% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The EPYC 7401 supports up to 2048 of RAM compared to 128 GB — 176.5% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 8 (EPYC 7401) vs 2 (Ryzen 9 7950X3D). PCIe lanes: 128 (EPYC 7401) vs 28 (Ryzen 9 7950X3D) — the EPYC 7401 offers 100 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP3 (EPYC 7401) and AMD X670E,AMD X670,AMD B650E,AMD B650 (Ryzen 9 7950X3D).

Feature	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Socket	TR4	AM5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 5.0+25%
Max RAM Speed	2666+53220%	DDR5-5200
Max RAM Capacity	2048	128 GB+6553500%
RAM Channels	8+300%	2
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	128+357%	28

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 7950X3D has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 9 7950X3D supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (EPYC 7401) vs true (Ryzen 9 7950X3D). The Ryzen 9 7950X3D includes integrated graphics (Radeon Graphics), while the EPYC 7401 requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: EPYC 7401 rivals Xeon Silver 4114; Ryzen 9 7950X3D rivals Core i9-13900K.

Feature	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Integrated GPU	No	Yes
IGPU Model	None	Radeon Graphics
Unlocked	No	Yes
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	true

💰

Value Analysis

The EPYC 7401 launched at $1500 MSRP, while the Ryzen 9 7950X3D debuted at $699. On MSRP ($1500 vs $699), the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is $801 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the EPYC 7401 delivers 36.9 pts/$ vs 89.2 pts/$ for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D — making the Ryzen 9 7950X3D the 83% better value option.