Core i5-10400F vs Xeon W-2170B

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 i5-10400F

2020

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 140W, a 75W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-2170B.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-2170B across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,029 vs 24,448).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (12 MB vs 19 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-2170B, which brings 14 cores / 28 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $160 MSRP, while Xeon W-2170B mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon W-2170B

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +66.2% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+60.4% larger total L3 cache (19 MB vs 12 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 14 cores / 28 threads.

Trade-offs

❌115.4% higher power demand at 140W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-10400F.

Core i5-10400F

2020

Xeon W-2170B

2017

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 140W, a 75W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-2170B.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +66.2% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+60.4% larger total L3 cache (19 MB vs 12 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 14 cores / 28 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-2170B across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,029 vs 24,448).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (12 MB vs 19 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-2170B, which brings 14 cores / 28 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $160 MSRP, while Xeon W-2170B mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌115.4% higher power demand at 140W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-10400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon W-2170B better than Core i5-10400F?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-2170B makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i5-10400F 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 W-2170B is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 66.2% more average FPS across 2 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon W-2170B is the better fit. You are getting 87.6% better PassMark, backed by 14 cores and 28 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 60.4% larger total L3 cache (19 MB vs 12 MB).

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

Xeon W-2170B is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-10400F makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Xeon W-2170B is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $160 MSRP, and it gives you a 66.2% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-10400F is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (81.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Core i5-10400F is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2020 vs 2017). 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.

Core i5-10400F Benchmark Check

Xeon W-2170B Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
1080p
low	192 FPS	167 FPS
medium	152 FPS	147 FPS
high	123 FPS	119 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	97 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	139 FPS
medium	119 FPS	118 FPS
high	97 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	79 FPS	79 FPS
4K
low	82 FPS	73 FPS
medium	70 FPS	67 FPS
high	55 FPS	53 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	41 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Xeon W-2170B

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
1080p
low	326 FPS	430 FPS
medium	318 FPS	380 FPS
high	290 FPS	329 FPS
ultra	253 FPS	298 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	378 FPS
medium	292 FPS	339 FPS
high	267 FPS	294 FPS
ultra	234 FPS	257 FPS
4K
low	309 FPS	245 FPS
medium	258 FPS	219 FPS
high	235 FPS	204 FPS
ultra	199 FPS	178 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Xeon W-2170B

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
1080p
low	326 FPS	611 FPS
medium	326 FPS	611 FPS
high	326 FPS	611 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	611 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	611 FPS
medium	326 FPS	611 FPS
high	326 FPS	611 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	567 FPS
4K
low	326 FPS	511 FPS
medium	326 FPS	426 FPS
high	289 FPS	383 FPS
ultra	229 FPS	317 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Xeon W-2170B

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
1080p
low	326 FPS	611 FPS
medium	326 FPS	611 FPS
high	326 FPS	611 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	611 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	611 FPS
medium	326 FPS	611 FPS
high	326 FPS	611 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	557 FPS
4K
low	326 FPS	611 FPS
medium	326 FPS	554 FPS
high	326 FPS	485 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	410 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Xeon W-2170B

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-10400F and Xeon W-2170B

Core i5-10400F

The Core i5-10400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 30 April 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.9 GHz, with boost up to 4.3 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 13,029 points. Launch price was $155.

Xeon W-2170B

The Xeon W-2170B is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Skylake (server) (2017−2018) architecture. It features 14 cores and 28 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.3 GHz. L3 cache: 19.25 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2066. Thermal design power (TDP): 140 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2666. Passmark benchmark score: 24,448 points. Launch price was $800.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-10400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon W-2170B offers 14 cores / 28 threads — the Xeon W-2170B has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.3 GHz on the Core i5-10400F versus 4.3 GHz on the Xeon W-2170B — identical boost frequencies (base: 2.9 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Core i5-10400F uses the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture (14 nm), while the Xeon W-2170B uses Skylake (server) (2017−2018) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-10400F scores 13,029 against the Xeon W-2170B's 24,448 — a 60.9% lead for the Xeon W-2170B. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i5-10400F vs 19.25 MB (total) on the Xeon W-2170B.

Feature	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	14 / 28+133%
Boost Clock	4.3 GHz	4.3 GHz
Base Clock	2.9 GHz+16%	2.5 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)	19.25 MB (total)+60%
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	1 MB (per core)+300%
Process	14 nm	14 nm
Architecture	Comet Lake (2020−2025)	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)
PassMark	13,029	24,448+88%
Cinebench R23 Multi	8,191	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,454	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	5,783	—

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Memory & Platform

The Core i5-10400F uses the LGA1200 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon W-2170B uses LGA2066 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-10400F	Xeon W-2170B
Socket	LGA1200	LGA2066
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	16	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-10400F) / not specified (Xeon W-2170B). Primary use case: Core i5-10400F targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-10400F rivals Ryzen 5 3600.