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 7443

2021

Why buy it

✅+1.9% higher PassMark.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 64 MB).
✅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 9955HX across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,010 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 9955HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌263.6% higher power demand at 200W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 9955HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 9955HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 9955HX

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +20.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 200W, a 145W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 610M, while EPYC 7443 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (55,711 vs 56,743).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (64 MB vs 128 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7443, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

EPYC 7443

2021

Ryzen 9 9955HX

2025

Why buy it

✅+1.9% higher PassMark.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 64 MB).
✅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: +20.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 200W, a 145W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 610M, while EPYC 7443 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 9955HX across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,010 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 9955HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌263.6% higher power demand at 200W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 9955HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 9955HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (55,711 vs 56,743).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (64 MB vs 128 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7443, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 9955HX better than EPYC 7443?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 7443 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 9955HX is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, EPYC 7443 is the better fit. You are getting 1.9% better PassMark, backed by 24 cores and 48 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 9955HX is still the faster CPU overall, but EPYC 7443 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 9955HX is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $2,010 MSRP, and it gives you a 20.0% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that EPYC 7443 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 1.9% better PassMark. EPYC 7443 is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (28.2 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 9 9955HX is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2021), a healthier platform with FL1 and DDR5 instead of SP3, 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 7443 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 9955HX Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
1080p
low	170 FPS	284 FPS
medium	141 FPS	261 FPS
high	120 FPS	214 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	180 FPS
1440p
low	148 FPS	260 FPS
medium	120 FPS	217 FPS
high	95 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	147 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	181 FPS
medium	59 FPS	151 FPS
high	47 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	102 FPS

Open EPYC 7443 Open Ryzen 9 9955HX

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
1080p
low	506 FPS	666 FPS
medium	442 FPS	577 FPS
high	354 FPS	433 FPS
ultra	288 FPS	369 FPS
1440p
low	417 FPS	564 FPS
medium	373 FPS	503 FPS
high	307 FPS	389 FPS
ultra	242 FPS	305 FPS
4K
low	256 FPS	318 FPS
medium	233 FPS	288 FPS
high	205 FPS	253 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	214 FPS

Open EPYC 7443 Open Ryzen 9 9955HX

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
1080p
low	725 FPS	848 FPS
medium	619 FPS	678 FPS
high	572 FPS	600 FPS
ultra	504 FPS	515 FPS
1440p
low	543 FPS	678 FPS
medium	461 FPS	542 FPS
high	419 FPS	469 FPS
ultra	363 FPS	397 FPS
4K
low	400 FPS	482 FPS
medium	322 FPS	399 FPS
high	284 FPS	359 FPS
ultra	227 FPS	301 FPS

Open EPYC 7443 Open Ryzen 9 9955HX

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
1080p
low	915 FPS	1071 FPS
medium	830 FPS	966 FPS
high	715 FPS	843 FPS
ultra	632 FPS	759 FPS
1440p
low	726 FPS	840 FPS
medium	633 FPS	746 FPS
high	542 FPS	651 FPS
ultra	469 FPS	564 FPS
4K
low	524 FPS	618 FPS
medium	468 FPS	553 FPS
high	411 FPS	487 FPS
ultra	352 FPS	420 FPS

Open EPYC 7443 Open Ryzen 9 9955HX

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 7443 and Ryzen 9 9955HX

EPYC 7443

The EPYC 7443 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 15 March 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Milan (2021−2023) architecture. It features 24 cores and 48 threads. Base frequency is 2.85 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 128 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm+ process technology. Socket: SP3. Thermal design power (TDP): 200 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 56,743 points. Launch price was $2,010.

Ryzen 9 9955HX

The Ryzen 9 9955HX is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2025-01-01. It is based on the Fire Range-HX (Zen 5) (2025) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 5.4 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FL1. Thermal design power (TDP): 55 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 55,711 points. Launch price was $650.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 7443 packs 24 cores / 48 threads, while the Ryzen 9 9955HX offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the EPYC 7443 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4 GHz on the EPYC 7443 versus 5.4 GHz on the Ryzen 9 9955HX — a 29.8% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 9955HX (base: 2.85 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The EPYC 7443 uses the Milan (2021−2023) architecture (7 nm+), while the Ryzen 9 9955HX uses Fire Range-HX (Zen 5) (2025) (4 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 7443 scores 56,743 against the Ryzen 9 9955HX's 55,711 — a 1.8% lead for the EPYC 7443. L3 cache: 128 MB (total) on the EPYC 7443 vs 64 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 9955HX.

Feature	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
Cores / Threads	24 / 48+50%	16 / 32
Boost Clock	4 GHz	5.4 GHz+35%
Base Clock	2.85 GHz+14%	2.5 GHz
L3 Cache	128 MB (total)+100%	64 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)	1 MB (per core)+100%
Process	7 nm+	4 nm-43%
Architecture	Milan (2021−2023)	Fire Range-HX (Zen 5) (2025)
PassMark	56,743+2%	55,711
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	38,010
Geekbench 6 Single	—	3,219
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	19,563

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 7443 uses the SP3 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 9955HX uses FL1 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 3200 on the EPYC 7443 versus DDR5-5600 on the Ryzen 9 9955HX — the EPYC 7443 supports 199.4% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The EPYC 7443 supports up to 4096 of RAM compared to 96 GB — 190.8% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 8 (EPYC 7443) vs 2 (Ryzen 9 9955HX). PCIe lanes: 128 (EPYC 7443) vs 28 (Ryzen 9 9955HX) — the EPYC 7443 offers 100 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP3 (EPYC 7443) and AMD FL1 (Ryzen 9 9955HX).

Feature	EPYC 7443	Ryzen 9 9955HX
Socket	SP3	FL1
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 5.0+25%
Max RAM Speed	3200+63900%	DDR5-5600
Max RAM Capacity	4096	96 GB+2457500%
RAM Channels	8+300%	2
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	128+357%	28

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 9955HX has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 9 9955HX supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (EPYC 7443) vs true (Ryzen 9 9955HX). The Ryzen 9 9955HX includes integrated graphics (Radeon 610M), while the EPYC 7443 requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: EPYC 7443 rivals Xeon Platinum 8362; Ryzen 9 9955HX rivals Core Ultra 9 275HX.