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.

Core i7-11700B

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +12.8% higher average FPS across 37 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $1,249 less on MSRP ($323 MSRP vs $1,572 MSRP).
✅Delivers 390.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 66.8 vs 13.6 PassMark/$ ($323 MSRP vs $1,572 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 105W, a 40W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 5218T, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads.

Xeon Gold 5218T

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-11700B across 37 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (21,433 vs 21,581).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 13.6 vs 66.8 PassMark/$ ($1,572 MSRP vs $323 MSRP).
❌61.5% higher power demand at 105W vs 65W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-11700B can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Core i7-11700B

2021

Xeon Gold 5218T

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +12.8% higher average FPS across 37 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $1,249 less on MSRP ($323 MSRP vs $1,572 MSRP).
✅Delivers 390.0% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 66.8 vs 13.6 PassMark/$ ($323 MSRP vs $1,572 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 105W, a 40W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 5218T, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-11700B across 37 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (21,433 vs 21,581).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 13.6 vs 66.8 PassMark/$ ($1,572 MSRP vs $323 MSRP).
❌61.5% higher power demand at 105W vs 65W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-11700B can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Core i7-11700B better than Xeon Gold 5218T?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Gold 5218T makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i7-11700B 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, Core i7-11700B is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 12.8% more average FPS across 37 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Core i7-11700B is the better fit. You are getting 0.7% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

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

Core i7-11700B is the smarter buy today. Core i7-11700B is $1,249 cheaper on MSRP at $323 MSRP versus $1,572 MSRP, and it gives you a 12.8% average FPS lead across 37 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 390.0% better value on MSRP (66.8 vs 13.6 PassMark/$), 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?

Core i7-11700B is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2019), more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 16/32, and AVX-512 support for heavier modern compute workloads. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

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.

Core i7-11700B Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 5218T Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
1080p
low	250 FPS	185 FPS
medium	231 FPS	148 FPS
high	194 FPS	119 FPS
ultra	167 FPS	93 FPS
1440p
low	222 FPS	147 FPS
medium	186 FPS	116 FPS
high	151 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	133 FPS	72 FPS
4K
low	155 FPS	68 FPS
medium	131 FPS	57 FPS
high	101 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	36 FPS

Open Core i7-11700B Open Xeon Gold 5218T

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
1080p
low	540 FPS	212 FPS
medium	490 FPS	186 FPS
high	410 FPS	160 FPS
ultra	374 FPS	135 FPS
1440p
low	477 FPS	183 FPS
medium	421 FPS	165 FPS
high	365 FPS	142 FPS
ultra	317 FPS	119 FPS
4K
low	294 FPS	118 FPS
medium	262 FPS	107 FPS
high	247 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	219 FPS	81 FPS

Open Core i7-11700B Open Xeon Gold 5218T

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
1080p
low	540 FPS	536 FPS
medium	540 FPS	536 FPS
high	488 FPS	495 FPS
ultra	388 FPS	429 FPS
1440p
low	540 FPS	536 FPS
medium	501 FPS	449 FPS
high	426 FPS	408 FPS
ultra	346 FPS	354 FPS
4K
low	430 FPS	399 FPS
medium	369 FPS	314 FPS
high	325 FPS	281 FPS
ultra	260 FPS	226 FPS

Open Core i7-11700B Open Xeon Gold 5218T

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
1080p
low	540 FPS	536 FPS
medium	540 FPS	536 FPS
high	540 FPS	536 FPS
ultra	540 FPS	536 FPS
1440p
low	540 FPS	536 FPS
medium	540 FPS	536 FPS
high	540 FPS	536 FPS
ultra	492 FPS	468 FPS
4K
low	522 FPS	500 FPS
medium	469 FPS	449 FPS
high	417 FPS	400 FPS
ultra	358 FPS	345 FPS

Open Core i7-11700B Open Xeon Gold 5218T

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-11700B and Xeon Gold 5218T

Core i7-11700B

The Core i7-11700B is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 11 May 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Tiger Lake-H (2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.2 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 24 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm SuperFin process technology. Socket: FCBGA1787. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: Up to 3200 MT/s. Passmark benchmark score: 21,581 points. Launch price was $299.

Xeon Gold 5218T

The Xeon Gold 5218T is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2 April 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Cascade Lake (2019−2020) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.1 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 22 MB. L2 cache: 16 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 105 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2667. Passmark benchmark score: 21,433 points. Launch price was $1,561.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-11700B packs 8 cores / 16 threads, while the Xeon Gold 5218T offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Xeon Gold 5218T has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.8 GHz on the Core i7-11700B versus 3.8 GHz on the Xeon Gold 5218T — a 23.3% clock advantage for the Core i7-11700B (base: 3.2 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i7-11700B uses the Tiger Lake-H (2021) architecture (10 nm SuperFin), while the Xeon Gold 5218T uses Cascade Lake (2019−2020) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-11700B scores 21,581 against the Xeon Gold 5218T's 21,433 — a 0.7% lead for the Core i7-11700B. L3 cache: 24 MB (total) on the Core i7-11700B vs 22 MB on the Xeon Gold 5218T.

Feature	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	16 / 32+100%
Boost Clock	4.8 GHz+26%	3.8 GHz
Base Clock	3.2 GHz+52%	2.1 GHz
L3 Cache	24 MB (total)+9%	22 MB
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	16 MB+1180%
Process	10 nm SuperFin-29%	14 nm
Architecture	Tiger Lake-H (2021)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
PassMark	21,581	21,433
Cinebench R23 Multi	10,287	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,265	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,050	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-11700B uses the FCBGA1787 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Gold 5218T uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
Socket	FCBGA1787	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-11700B) / not specified (Xeon Gold 5218T). The Core i7-11700B includes integrated graphics (Intel UHD Graphics 750), while the Xeon Gold 5218T requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-11700B targets Desktop.

Feature	Core i7-11700B	Xeon Gold 5218T
Integrated GPU	Yes	—
IGPU Model	Intel UHD Graphics 750	—
Unlocked	No	—
AVX-512	Yes	—
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	—
Target Use	Desktop	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i7-11700B launched at $323 MSRP, while the Xeon Gold 5218T debuted at $1572. On MSRP ($323 vs $1572), the Core i7-11700B is $1249 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-11700B delivers 66.8 pts/$ vs 13.6 pts/$ for the Xeon Gold 5218T — making the Core i7-11700B the 132.2% better value option.