EPYC 74F3 vs Xeon Gold 5520+

CPU

GPU

EPYC 74F3

24 Cores48 Thrd240 WWMax: 4 GHz2021

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Xeon Gold 5520+

28 Cores56 Thrd205 WWMax: 4 GHz2023

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Performance Spectrum - CPU

EPYC 74F3

24 / 48

60,666

0.0%

Ryzen 9 5900

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5945WX

Ryzen 9 PRO 7945

Ryzen 9 7940HX

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX

Ryzen Threadripper 9960X

Ryzen Threadripper 7970X

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7985WX

Xeon Gold 5520+

28 / 56

61,227

+0.9%

About PassMark

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 74F3

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +6.1% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $170 less on MSRP ($913 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅Delivers 17.5% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 66.4 vs 56.5 PassMark/$ ($913 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅60% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 80) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (60,666 vs 61,227).
❌17.1% higher power demand at 240W vs 205W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Xeon Gold 5520+ moves to LGA4677 and DDR5.

Xeon Gold 5520+

2023

Why buy it

✅+0.9% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 205W instead of 240W, a 35W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA4677 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 74F3 across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 56.5 vs 66.4 PassMark/$ ($1,083 MSRP vs $913 MSRP).

EPYC 74F3

2021

Xeon Gold 5520+

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +6.1% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Costs $170 less on MSRP ($913 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅Delivers 17.5% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 66.4 vs 56.5 PassMark/$ ($913 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅60% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 80) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅+0.9% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 205W instead of 240W, a 35W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA4677 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (60,666 vs 61,227).
❌17.1% higher power demand at 240W vs 205W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Xeon Gold 5520+ moves to LGA4677 and DDR5.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 74F3 across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 56.5 vs 66.4 PassMark/$ ($1,083 MSRP vs $913 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon Gold 5520+ better than EPYC 74F3?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, EPYC 74F3 is ahead with a 6.1% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Xeon Gold 5520+ pulls ahead with 0.9% better PassMark. EPYC 74F3 also has the bigger cache pool with 387.6% larger total L3 cache (256 MB vs 53 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon Gold 5520+ is the better fit. You are getting 0.9% better PassMark, backed by 28 cores and 56 threads.

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

Xeon Gold 5520+ is still the faster CPU overall, but EPYC 74F3 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Xeon Gold 5520+ is 18.6% more expensive on MSRP at $1,083 MSRP versus $913 MSRP, and it gives you 0.9% better PassMark. The trade-off is that EPYC 74F3 is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 6.1% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. EPYC 74F3 is also 17.5% better value on MSRP (66.4 vs 56.5 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Xeon Gold 5520+ is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2021), a healthier platform with LGA4677 and DDR5 instead of SP3, more multi-core headroom with 28 cores / 56 threads instead of 24/48, 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 74F3 Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 5520+ Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
1080p
low	170 FPS	185 FPS
medium	141 FPS	162 FPS
high	120 FPS	129 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	104 FPS
1440p
low	148 FPS	153 FPS
medium	120 FPS	129 FPS
high	95 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	81 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	70 FPS
medium	59 FPS	62 FPS
high	47 FPS	48 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	39 FPS

Open EPYC 74F3 Open Xeon Gold 5520+

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
1080p
low	507 FPS	266 FPS
medium	443 FPS	238 FPS
high	354 FPS	197 FPS
ultra	288 FPS	164 FPS
1440p
low	417 FPS	227 FPS
medium	373 FPS	205 FPS
high	308 FPS	175 FPS
ultra	243 FPS	140 FPS
4K
low	257 FPS	141 FPS
medium	234 FPS	130 FPS
high	205 FPS	118 FPS
ultra	171 FPS	98 FPS

Open EPYC 74F3 Open Xeon Gold 5520+

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
1080p
low	725 FPS	875 FPS
medium	619 FPS	792 FPS
high	572 FPS	748 FPS
ultra	504 FPS	658 FPS
1440p
low	543 FPS	749 FPS
medium	461 FPS	674 FPS
high	419 FPS	633 FPS
ultra	363 FPS	564 FPS
4K
low	400 FPS	506 FPS
medium	322 FPS	425 FPS
high	284 FPS	379 FPS
ultra	227 FPS	316 FPS

Open EPYC 74F3 Open Xeon Gold 5520+

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
1080p
low	937 FPS	935 FPS
medium	854 FPS	842 FPS
high	731 FPS	728 FPS
ultra	647 FPS	632 FPS
1440p
low	744 FPS	768 FPS
medium	651 FPS	674 FPS
high	554 FPS	579 FPS
ultra	479 FPS	498 FPS
4K
low	537 FPS	561 FPS
medium	482 FPS	504 FPS
high	420 FPS	445 FPS
ultra	361 FPS	383 FPS

Open EPYC 74F3 Open Xeon Gold 5520+

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 74F3 and Xeon Gold 5520+

EPYC 74F3

The EPYC 74F3 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 2.8 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 256 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm+ process technology. Socket: SP3. Thermal design power (TDP): 240 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 60,666 points. Launch price was $2,900.

Xeon Gold 5520+

The Xeon Gold 5520+ is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Emerald Rapids (2023) architecture. It features 28 cores and 56 threads. Base frequency is 2.2 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 52.5 MB (total). L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4677. Thermal design power (TDP): 205 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 61,227 points. Launch price was $1,640.

⚡

Processing Power

The EPYC 74F3 packs 24 cores / 48 threads, while the Xeon Gold 5520+ offers 28 cores / 56 threads — the Xeon Gold 5520+ has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4 GHz on the EPYC 74F3 versus 4 GHz on the Xeon Gold 5520+ — identical boost frequencies (base: 2.8 GHz vs 2.2 GHz). The EPYC 74F3 uses the Milan (2021−2023) architecture (7 nm+), while the Xeon Gold 5520+ uses Emerald Rapids (2023) (10 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 74F3 scores 60,666 against the Xeon Gold 5520+'s 61,227 — a 0.9% lead for the Xeon Gold 5520+. L3 cache: 256 MB (total) on the EPYC 74F3 vs 52.5 MB (total) on the Xeon Gold 5520+.

Feature	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
Cores / Threads	24 / 48	28 / 56+17%
Boost Clock	4 GHz	4 GHz
Base Clock	2.8 GHz+27%	2.2 GHz
L3 Cache	256 MB (total)+388%	52.5 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)	2 MB (per core)+300%
Process	7 nm+-30%	10 nm
Architecture	Milan (2021−2023)	Emerald Rapids (2023)
PassMark	60,666	61,227
Geekbench 6 Single	—	1,600
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	25,000

🧠

Memory & Platform

The EPYC 74F3 uses the SP3 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Gold 5520+ uses LGA4677 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 3200 on the EPYC 74F3 versus DDR5-4800 on the Xeon Gold 5520+ — the EPYC 74F3 supports 199.4% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. Both support up to 4096 of RAM. Both feature 8-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 128 (EPYC 74F3) vs 80 (Xeon Gold 5520+) — the EPYC 74F3 offers 48 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP3 (EPYC 74F3) and C741 (Xeon Gold 5520+).

Feature	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
Socket	SP3	LGA4677
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	3200+63900%	DDR5-4800
Max RAM Capacity	4096	4096 GB+104857500%
RAM Channels	8	8
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	128+60%	80

🔧

Advanced Features

Neither processor supports overclocking. Only the Xeon Gold 5520+ supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Both support VT-x, VT-d virtualization. Primary use case: Xeon Gold 5520+ targets Enterprise Server. Direct competitor: EPYC 74F3 rivals Xeon Platinum 8380; Xeon Gold 5520+ rivals EPYC 9354.

Feature	EPYC 74F3	Xeon Gold 5520+
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	None	None
Unlocked	No	No
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	—	Enterprise Server

💰

Value Analysis

The EPYC 74F3 launched at $913 MSRP, while the Xeon Gold 5520+ debuted at $1083. On MSRP ($913 vs $1083), the EPYC 74F3 is $170 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the EPYC 74F3 delivers 66.4 pts/$ vs 56.5 pts/$ for the Xeon Gold 5520+ — making the EPYC 74F3 the 16.1% better value option.