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 8945HX

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.9% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 250W, a 195W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of LGA4189 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon 610M, while Xeon Platinum 8360Y needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (53,211 vs 54,078).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Platinum 8360Y, which brings 36 cores / 72 threads and 64 PCIe lanes.

Xeon Platinum 8360Y

2021

Why buy it

✅+1.6% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 36 cores / 72 threads, plus 64 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅128.6% more PCIe lanes (64 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 8945HX across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $5,383 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8945HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌354.5% higher power demand at 250W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on LGA4189 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8945HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8945HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 8945HX

2025

Xeon Platinum 8360Y

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.9% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 250W, a 195W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of LGA4189 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon 610M, while Xeon Platinum 8360Y needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅+1.6% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 36 cores / 72 threads, plus 64 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅128.6% more PCIe lanes (64 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (53,211 vs 54,078).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Platinum 8360Y, which brings 36 cores / 72 threads and 64 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 8945HX across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $5,383 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8945HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌354.5% higher power demand at 250W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on LGA4189 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8945HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8945HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 8945HX better than Xeon Platinum 8360Y?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Platinum 8360Y makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 8945HX 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 Platinum 8360Y is the better fit. You are getting 1.6% better PassMark, backed by 36 cores and 72 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 8945HX is still the faster CPU overall, but Xeon Platinum 8360Y makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 8945HX is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $5,383 MSRP, and it gives you a 11.9% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Platinum 8360Y is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 1.6% better PassMark. Xeon Platinum 8360Y is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (10.0 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 8945HX is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2021) and a healthier platform with FL1 and DDR5 instead of LGA4189. 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 9 8945HX Benchmark Check

Xeon Platinum 8360Y Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
1080p
low	283 FPS	185 FPS
medium	260 FPS	149 FPS
high	213 FPS	120 FPS
ultra	180 FPS	94 FPS
1440p
low	260 FPS	154 FPS
medium	217 FPS	120 FPS
high	167 FPS	93 FPS
ultra	147 FPS	74 FPS
4K
low	181 FPS	72 FPS
medium	150 FPS	60 FPS
high	114 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	102 FPS	38 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 8945HX Open Xeon Platinum 8360Y

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
1080p
low	658 FPS	412 FPS
medium	569 FPS	361 FPS
high	427 FPS	294 FPS
ultra	365 FPS	235 FPS
1440p
low	557 FPS	353 FPS
medium	497 FPS	314 FPS
high	384 FPS	264 FPS
ultra	302 FPS	203 FPS
4K
low	314 FPS	219 FPS
medium	284 FPS	198 FPS
high	250 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	212 FPS	135 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 8945HX Open Xeon Platinum 8360Y

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
1080p
low	848 FPS	971 FPS
medium	678 FPS	849 FPS
high	600 FPS	803 FPS
ultra	514 FPS	712 FPS
1440p
low	677 FPS	774 FPS
medium	542 FPS	668 FPS
high	468 FPS	631 FPS
ultra	397 FPS	560 FPS
4K
low	482 FPS	497 FPS
medium	399 FPS	393 FPS
high	359 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	285 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 8945HX Open Xeon Platinum 8360Y

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
1080p
low	1071 FPS	954 FPS
medium	966 FPS	863 FPS
high	843 FPS	745 FPS
ultra	759 FPS	634 FPS
1440p
low	840 FPS	745 FPS
medium	746 FPS	652 FPS
high	651 FPS	559 FPS
ultra	564 FPS	475 FPS
4K
low	618 FPS	537 FPS
medium	553 FPS	479 FPS
high	487 FPS	420 FPS
ultra	420 FPS	362 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 8945HX Open Xeon Platinum 8360Y

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 9 8945HX and Xeon Platinum 8360Y

Ryzen 9 8945HX

The Ryzen 9 8945HX is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2025-04-01. It is based on the Dragon Range (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 5 nm process technology. Socket: FL1. Thermal design power (TDP): 55 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 53,211 points. Launch price was $700.

Xeon Platinum 8360Y

The Xeon Platinum 8360Y is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Ice Lake-SP (2021) architecture. It features 36 cores and 72 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 3.5 GHz. L3 cache: 54 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4189. Thermal design power (TDP): 250 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 54,078 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 9 8945HX packs 16 cores / 32 threads, while the Xeon Platinum 8360Y offers 36 cores / 72 threads — the Xeon Platinum 8360Y has 20 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5.4 GHz on the Ryzen 9 8945HX versus 3.5 GHz on the Xeon Platinum 8360Y — a 42.7% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 8945HX (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Ryzen 9 8945HX uses the Dragon Range (2025) architecture (5 nm), while the Xeon Platinum 8360Y uses Ice Lake-SP (2021) (10 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 9 8945HX scores 53,211 against the Xeon Platinum 8360Y's 54,078 — a 1.6% lead for the Xeon Platinum 8360Y. L3 cache: 64 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 8945HX vs 54 MB (total) on the Xeon Platinum 8360Y.

Feature	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
Cores / Threads	16 / 32	36 / 72+125%
Boost Clock	5.4 GHz+54%	3.5 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+4%	2.4 GHz
L3 Cache	64 MB (total)+19%	54 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1 MB (per core)	1 MB (per core)
Process	5 nm-50%	10 nm
Architecture	Dragon Range (2025)	Ice Lake-SP (2021)
PassMark	53,211	54,078+2%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 9 8945HX uses the FL1 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon Platinum 8360Y uses LGA4189 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 5600 on the Ryzen 9 8945HX versus 3200 on the Xeon Platinum 8360Y — the Ryzen 9 8945HX supports 54.5% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon Platinum 8360Y supports up to 4096 of RAM compared to 96 — 190.8% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 9 8945HX) vs 8 (Xeon Platinum 8360Y). PCIe lanes: 28 (Ryzen 9 8945HX) vs 64 (Xeon Platinum 8360Y) — the Xeon Platinum 8360Y offers 36 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: FL1 (Ryzen 9 8945HX) and C621A (Xeon Platinum 8360Y).

Feature	Ryzen 9 8945HX	Xeon Platinum 8360Y
Socket	FL1	LGA4189
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	5600+75%	3200
Max RAM Capacity	96	4096+4167%
RAM Channels	2	8+300%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	28	64+129%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 8945HX has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Both support AVX-512 instructions, benefiting scientific computing, AI inference, and encryption workloads. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, AMD-V (Ryzen 9 8945HX) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon Platinum 8360Y). The Ryzen 9 8945HX includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon 610M), while the Xeon Platinum 8360Y requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: Ryzen 9 8945HX rivals Core Ultra 9 275HX; Xeon Platinum 8360Y rivals EPYC 7543.