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 PRO 5945

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.2% higher average FPS across 39 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+66.2% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 39 MB).
✅Draws 65W instead of 165W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (12,500 vs 21,433).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6238R, which brings 28 cores / 56 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Xeon Gold 6238R

2020

Why buy it

✅+71.5% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 28 cores / 56 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅140% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 across 39 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (39 MB vs 64 MB).
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,612 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌153.8% higher power demand at 165W vs 65W.

Ryzen 9 PRO 5945

2022

Xeon Gold 6238R

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.2% higher average FPS across 39 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+66.2% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 39 MB).
✅Draws 65W instead of 165W, a 100W reduction.

Why buy it

✅+71.5% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 28 cores / 56 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅140% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (12,500 vs 21,433).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6238R, which brings 28 cores / 56 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 across 39 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (39 MB vs 64 MB).
❌Launch MSRP is still $2,612 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌153.8% higher power demand at 165W vs 65W.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 better than Xeon Gold 6238R?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Gold 6238R makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 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, Xeon Gold 6238R is the better fit. You are getting 71.5% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 28 cores and 56 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 is still the faster CPU overall, but Xeon Gold 6238R makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $2,612 MSRP, and it gives you a 11.2% average FPS lead across 39 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Gold 6238R is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 71.5% better Geekbench multi-core. Xeon Gold 6238R is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (13.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 PRO 5945 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2022 vs 2020) and 66.2% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 39 MB). That makes it the safer long-term pick.

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 PRO 5945 Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 6238R Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
1080p
low	164 FPS	196 FPS
medium	136 FPS	158 FPS
high	116 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	97 FPS	100 FPS
1440p
low	149 FPS	157 FPS
medium	119 FPS	123 FPS
high	97 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	82 FPS	76 FPS
4K
low	83 FPS	72 FPS
medium	72 FPS	60 FPS
high	57 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	38 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 Open Xeon Gold 6238R

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
1080p
low	630 FPS	233 FPS
medium	544 FPS	207 FPS
high	434 FPS	174 FPS
ultra	381 FPS	145 FPS
1440p
low	524 FPS	200 FPS
medium	460 FPS	180 FPS
high	385 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	315 FPS	123 FPS
4K
low	307 FPS	125 FPS
medium	271 FPS	114 FPS
high	249 FPS	104 FPS
ultra	221 FPS	86 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 Open Xeon Gold 6238R

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
1080p
low	845 FPS	869 FPS
medium	670 FPS	869 FPS
high	586 FPS	833 FPS
ultra	494 FPS	753 FPS
1440p
low	676 FPS	761 FPS
medium	535 FPS	676 FPS
high	460 FPS	635 FPS
ultra	387 FPS	569 FPS
4K
low	480 FPS	492 FPS
medium	398 FPS	406 FPS
high	354 FPS	357 FPS
ultra	293 FPS	292 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 Open Xeon Gold 6238R

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
1080p
low	864 FPS	869 FPS
medium	864 FPS	816 FPS
high	836 FPS	703 FPS
ultra	743 FPS	613 FPS
1440p
low	864 FPS	716 FPS
medium	757 FPS	628 FPS
high	661 FPS	539 FPS
ultra	566 FPS	466 FPS
4K
low	626 FPS	521 FPS
medium	557 FPS	465 FPS
high	490 FPS	408 FPS
ultra	423 FPS	351 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 Open Xeon Gold 6238R

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 and Xeon Gold 6238R

Ryzen 9 PRO 5945

The Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 4 April 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture. It features 12 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 4.7 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 34,549 points. Launch price was $499.

Xeon Gold 6238R

The Xeon Gold 6238R is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 24 February 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Cascade Lake (2019−2020) architecture. It features 28 cores and 56 threads. Base frequency is 2.2 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 38.5 MB. L2 cache: 28 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 165 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2933. Passmark benchmark score: 34,751 points. Launch price was $2,612.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 packs 12 cores / 24 threads, while the Xeon Gold 6238R offers 28 cores / 56 threads — the Xeon Gold 6238R has 16 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.7 GHz on the Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 versus 4 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6238R — a 16.1% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (base: 3 GHz vs 2.2 GHz). The Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 uses the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture (7 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6238R uses Cascade Lake (2019−2020) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 scores 34,549 against the Xeon Gold 6238R's 34,751 — a 0.6% lead for the Xeon Gold 6238R. Multi-core Geekbench: 12,500 vs 21,433 (52.7% advantage for the Xeon Gold 6238R). L3 cache: 64 MB on the Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 vs 38.5 MB on the Xeon Gold 6238R.

Feature	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
Cores / Threads	12 / 24	28 / 56+133%
Boost Clock	4.7 GHz+18%	4 GHz
Base Clock	3 GHz+36%	2.2 GHz
L3 Cache	64 MB+66%	38.5 MB
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)	28 MB+5500%
Process	7 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Vermeer (2020−2025)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
PassMark	34,549	34,751
Cinebench R23 Multi	23,200	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,175	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	12,500	21,433+71%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Gold 6238R uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 1 TB — 196.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 9 PRO 5945) vs 6 (Xeon Gold 6238R). PCIe lanes: 20 (Ryzen 9 PRO 5945) vs 48 (Xeon Gold 6238R) — the Xeon Gold 6238R offers 28 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: X570,B550,A520,X470,B450 (Ryzen 9 PRO 5945) and C621,C622,C624,C627,C628 (Xeon Gold 6238R).

Feature	Ryzen 9 PRO 5945	Xeon Gold 6238R
Socket	AM4	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2933
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	1 TB+700%
RAM Channels	2	6+200%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	20	48+140%

🔧

Advanced Features

Neither processor supports overclocking. Only the Xeon Gold 6238R supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: AMD-V (SVM) (Ryzen 9 PRO 5945) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Xeon Gold 6238R). Primary use case: Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 targets High-end Gaming, Xeon Gold 6238R targets Server. Direct competitor: Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 rivals Core i9-12900; Xeon Gold 6238R rivals Xeon Gold 6248R.