Ryzen Embedded V3C18I vs Xeon E5-1680 v4

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 Embedded V3C18I

2022

Why buy it

✅Draws 15W instead of 140W, a 125W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP7 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon E5-1680 v4 across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,856 vs 13,945).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 20 MB).
❌Launch MSRP is still $500 MSRP, while Xeon E5-1680 v4 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon E5-1680 v4

2016

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +18.6% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).

Trade-offs

❌833.3% higher power demand at 140W vs 15W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen Embedded V3C18I moves to FP7 and DDR5.

Ryzen Embedded V3C18I

2022

Xeon E5-1680 v4

2016

Why buy it

✅Draws 15W instead of 140W, a 125W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP7 with DDR5 support instead of LGA2011 and DDR4.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +18.6% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon E5-1680 v4 across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,856 vs 13,945).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 20 MB).
❌Launch MSRP is still $500 MSRP, while Xeon E5-1680 v4 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌833.3% higher power demand at 140W vs 15W.
❌Older platform position on LGA2011 with DDR4, while Ryzen Embedded V3C18I moves to FP7 and DDR5.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon E5-1680 v4 better than Ryzen Embedded V3C18I?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E5-1680 v4 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen Embedded V3C18I 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, Xeon E5-1680 v4 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 18.6% more average FPS across 3 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon E5-1680 v4 is the better fit. You are getting 0.6% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 25% larger total L3 cache (20 MB vs 16 MB).

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

Xeon E5-1680 v4 is the smarter buy by a wide margin for any fresh desktop build. Xeon E5-1680 v4 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $500 MSRP, and it gives you a 18.6% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen Embedded V3C18I only looks good on raw value math because it is a cheap legacy laptop CPU, not because it is a serious desktop gaming option. It simply cannot keep up with modern games, especially when the gap is already 18.6% in the shared gaming data.

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

Ryzen Embedded V3C18I is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2022 vs 2016) and a healthier platform with FP7 and DDR5 instead of LGA2011. 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 Embedded V3C18I Benchmark Check

Xeon E5-1680 v4 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen Embedded V3C18I	Xeon E5-1680 v4
1080p
low	172 FPS	178 FPS
medium	138 FPS	152 FPS
high	112 FPS	124 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	99 FPS
1440p
low	142 FPS	148 FPS
medium	112 FPS	123 FPS
high	90 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	71 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	66 FPS	65 FPS
medium	55 FPS	58 FPS
high	44 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	36 FPS

Open Ryzen Embedded V3C18I Open Xeon E5-1680 v4

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen Embedded V3C18I	Xeon E5-1680 v4
1080p
low	173 FPS	349 FPS
medium	151 FPS	347 FPS
high	132 FPS	296 FPS
ultra	109 FPS	252 FPS
1440p
low	149 FPS	335 FPS
medium	134 FPS	303 FPS
high	119 FPS	259 FPS
ultra	98 FPS	219 FPS
4K
low	108 FPS	216 FPS
medium	100 FPS	195 FPS
high	92 FPS	177 FPS
ultra	74 FPS	145 FPS

Open Ryzen Embedded V3C18I Open Xeon E5-1680 v4

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen Embedded V3C18I	Xeon E5-1680 v4
1080p
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	346 FPS	349 FPS
high	346 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	346 FPS	349 FPS
1440p
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	346 FPS	349 FPS
high	346 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	346 FPS	349 FPS
4K
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	317 FPS	349 FPS
high	280 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	311 FPS

Open Ryzen Embedded V3C18I Open Xeon E5-1680 v4

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen Embedded V3C18I	Xeon E5-1680 v4
1080p
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	346 FPS	349 FPS
high	346 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	346 FPS	349 FPS
1440p
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	346 FPS	349 FPS
high	346 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	346 FPS	349 FPS
4K
low	346 FPS	349 FPS
medium	346 FPS	349 FPS
high	346 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	349 FPS

Open Ryzen Embedded V3C18I Open Xeon E5-1680 v4

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen Embedded V3C18I and Xeon E5-1680 v4

Ryzen Embedded V3C18I

The Ryzen Embedded V3C18I is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 27 September 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Rembrandt (2022) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 1.9 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 6 nm process technology. Socket: FP7. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 13,856 points. Launch price was $149.

Xeon E5-1680 v4

The Xeon E5-1680 v4 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 20 June 2016 (9 years ago). It is based on the Broadwell-EP (2016) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.4 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 20 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 140 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400. Passmark benchmark score: 13,945 points. Launch price was $1,723.

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Processing Power

Both the Ryzen Embedded V3C18I and Xeon E5-1680 v4 share an identical 8-core/16-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.8 GHz on the Ryzen Embedded V3C18I versus 4 GHz on the Xeon E5-1680 v4 — a 5.1% clock advantage for the Xeon E5-1680 v4 (base: 1.9 GHz vs 3.4 GHz). The Ryzen Embedded V3C18I uses the Rembrandt (2022) architecture (6 nm), while the Xeon E5-1680 v4 uses Broadwell-EP (2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen Embedded V3C18I scores 13,856 against the Xeon E5-1680 v4's 13,945 — a 0.6% lead for the Xeon E5-1680 v4. L3 cache: 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen Embedded V3C18I vs 20 MB (total) on the Xeon E5-1680 v4.

Feature	Ryzen Embedded V3C18I	Xeon E5-1680 v4
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	8 / 16
Boost Clock	3.8 GHz	4 GHz+5%
Base Clock	1.9 GHz	3.4 GHz+79%
L3 Cache	16 MB (total)	20 MB (total)+25%
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)+100%	256K (per core)
Process	6 nm-57%	14 nm
Architecture	Rembrandt (2022)	Broadwell-EP (2016)
PassMark	13,856	13,945

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen Embedded V3C18I uses the FP7 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon E5-1680 v4 uses LGA2011 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.