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 9 7950X3D

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +208.1% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1151 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Graphics, while Xeon E3-1245 v6 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $699 MSRP, while Xeon E3-1245 v6 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌64.4% higher power demand at 120W vs 73W.

Xeon E3-1245 v6

2017

Why buy it

✅Draws 73W instead of 120W, a 47W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 7950X3D across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (8,711 vs 62,323).
❌Older platform position on LGA1151 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 7950X3D

2023

Xeon E3-1245 v6

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +208.1% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Newer platform on AM5 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1151 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Graphics, while Xeon E3-1245 v6 needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅Draws 73W instead of 120W, a 47W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $699 MSRP, while Xeon E3-1245 v6 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌64.4% higher power demand at 120W vs 73W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 7950X3D across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (8,711 vs 62,323).
❌Older platform position on LGA1151 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D moves to AM5 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 7950X3D can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 7950X3D better than Xeon E3-1245 v6?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E3-1245 v6 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 208.1% more average FPS across 2 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 128 MB vs 8 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 615.5% better PassMark, backed by 16 cores and 32 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 1500% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 8 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 at an unclear MSRP at $699 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 208.1% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (89.2 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 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 LGA1151, 3D V-Cache and a much larger 128 MB L3 cache instead of 8 MB, more multi-core headroom with 16 cores / 32 threads instead of 4/8, 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 9 7950X3D Benchmark Check

Xeon E3-1245 v6 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
1080p
low	291 FPS	203 FPS
medium	265 FPS	158 FPS
high	219 FPS	127 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	91 FPS
1440p
low	275 FPS	170 FPS
medium	227 FPS	131 FPS
high	177 FPS	104 FPS
ultra	156 FPS	74 FPS
4K
low	190 FPS	71 FPS
medium	156 FPS	58 FPS
high	120 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	107 FPS	36 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D Open Xeon E3-1245 v6

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
1080p
low	734 FPS	218 FPS
medium	627 FPS	216 FPS
high	465 FPS	197 FPS
ultra	393 FPS	169 FPS
1440p
low	602 FPS	218 FPS
medium	536 FPS	193 FPS
high	413 FPS	176 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	151 FPS
4K
low	338 FPS	182 FPS
medium	305 FPS	158 FPS
high	268 FPS	134 FPS
ultra	229 FPS	111 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D Open Xeon E3-1245 v6

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
1080p
low	1025 FPS	218 FPS
medium	1122 FPS	218 FPS
high	1062 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	875 FPS	218 FPS
1440p
low	936 FPS	218 FPS
medium	845 FPS	218 FPS
high	775 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	656 FPS	218 FPS
4K
low	574 FPS	218 FPS
medium	498 FPS	218 FPS
high	447 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	378 FPS	218 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D Open Xeon E3-1245 v6

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
1080p
low	1082 FPS	218 FPS
medium	973 FPS	218 FPS
high	854 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	766 FPS	218 FPS
1440p
low	853 FPS	218 FPS
medium	751 FPS	218 FPS
high	659 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	569 FPS	218 FPS
4K
low	623 FPS	218 FPS
medium	555 FPS	218 FPS
high	493 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	426 FPS	218 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 7950X3D Open Xeon E3-1245 v6

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Xeon E3-1245 v6

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.

Xeon E3-1245 v6

The Xeon E3-1245 v6 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 28 March 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Kaby Lake (2016−2019) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 3.7 GHz, with boost up to 4.1 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB. L2 cache: 1 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1151. Thermal design power (TDP): 73 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2400, DDR3L-1866. Passmark benchmark score: 8,711 points. Launch price was $284.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D packs 16 cores / 32 threads, while the Xeon E3-1245 v6 offers 4 cores / 8 threads — the Ryzen 9 7950X3D has 12 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5.7 GHz on the Ryzen 9 7950X3D versus 4.1 GHz on the Xeon E3-1245 v6 — a 32.7% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D (base: 4.2 GHz vs 3.7 GHz). The Ryzen 9 7950X3D uses the Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023) architecture (5 nm, 6 nm), while the Xeon E3-1245 v6 uses Kaby Lake (2016−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D scores 62,323 against the Xeon E3-1245 v6's 8,711 — a 150.9% lead for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. L3 cache: 128 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 7950X3D vs 8 MB on the Xeon E3-1245 v6.

Feature	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
Cores / Threads	16 / 32+300%	4 / 8
Boost Clock	5.7 GHz+39%	4.1 GHz
Base Clock	4.2 GHz+14%	3.7 GHz
L3 Cache	128 MB (total)+1500%	8 MB
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	1 MB
Process	5 nm, 6 nm-64%	14 nm
Architecture	Raphael (Zen4) (2022−2023)	Kaby Lake (2016−2019)
PassMark	62,323+615%	8,711
Cinebench R23 Multi	38,581	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,926	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	19,643	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D uses the AM5 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon E3-1245 v6 uses LGA1151 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Ryzen 9 7950X3D	Xeon E3-1245 v6
Socket	AM5	LGA1151
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: true (Ryzen 9 7950X3D) / not specified (Xeon E3-1245 v6). The Ryzen 9 7950X3D includes integrated graphics (Radeon Graphics), while the Xeon E3-1245 v6 requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: Ryzen 9 7950X3D rivals Core i9-13900K.