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 i5-12400F

2022

Why buy it

✅Costs $389 less on MSRP ($174 MSRP vs $563 MSRP).
✅Delivers 93.3% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 112.3 vs 58.1 PassMark/$ ($174 MSRP vs $563 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Silver 4510.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon Silver 4510 across 6 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (657 vs 11,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Silver 4510, which brings 12 cores / 24 threads and 80 PCIe lanes.

Xeon Silver 4510

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +20.2% higher average FPS across 6 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 12 cores / 24 threads, plus 80 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅300% more PCIe lanes (80 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 58.1 vs 112.3 PassMark/$ ($563 MSRP vs $174 MSRP).
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Xeon Silver 4510

2023

Why buy it

✅Costs $389 less on MSRP ($174 MSRP vs $563 MSRP).
✅Delivers 93.3% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 112.3 vs 58.1 PassMark/$ ($174 MSRP vs $563 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Silver 4510.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +20.2% higher average FPS across 6 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 12 cores / 24 threads, plus 80 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅300% more PCIe lanes (80 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon Silver 4510 across 6 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (657 vs 11,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Silver 4510, which brings 12 cores / 24 threads and 80 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 58.1 vs 112.3 PassMark/$ ($563 MSRP vs $174 MSRP).
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon Silver 4510 better than Core i5-12400F?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Silver 4510 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i5-12400F 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 Silver 4510 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 20.2% more average FPS across 6 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon Silver 4510 is the better fit. You are getting 1574.3% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 12 cores and 24 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).

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

Xeon Silver 4510 is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-12400F makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Xeon Silver 4510 is 223.6% more expensive on MSRP at $563 MSRP versus $174 MSRP, and it gives you a 20.2% average FPS lead across 6 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-12400F is also 93.3% better value on MSRP (112.3 vs 58.1 PassMark/$), 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 Silver 4510 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2022), 66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB), more multi-core headroom with 12 cores / 24 threads instead of 6/12, 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 i5-12400F Benchmark Check

Xeon Silver 4510 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
1080p
low	183 FPS	176 FPS
medium	168 FPS	142 FPS
high	139 FPS	116 FPS
ultra	119 FPS	92 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	143 FPS
medium	132 FPS	113 FPS
high	106 FPS	90 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	71 FPS
4K
low	87 FPS	66 FPS
medium	81 FPS	55 FPS
high	64 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	35 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4510

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
1080p
low	471 FPS	496 FPS
medium	397 FPS	428 FPS
high	341 FPS	352 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	318 FPS
1440p
low	407 FPS	430 FPS
medium	351 FPS	383 FPS
high	309 FPS	322 FPS
ultra	265 FPS	279 FPS
4K
low	282 FPS	280 FPS
medium	248 FPS	251 FPS
high	229 FPS	227 FPS
ultra	196 FPS	203 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4510

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
1080p
low	488 FPS	817 FPS
medium	488 FPS	817 FPS
high	488 FPS	817 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	783 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	806 FPS
medium	488 FPS	712 FPS
high	485 FPS	657 FPS
ultra	434 FPS	587 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	509 FPS
medium	389 FPS	417 FPS
high	337 FPS	367 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	300 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4510

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
1080p
low	488 FPS	817 FPS
medium	488 FPS	786 FPS
high	488 FPS	682 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	591 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	688 FPS
medium	488 FPS	603 FPS
high	488 FPS	521 FPS
ultra	473 FPS	452 FPS
4K
low	488 FPS	477 FPS
medium	450 FPS	428 FPS
high	391 FPS	383 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	331 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4510

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Xeon Silver 4510

Core i5-12400F

The Core i5-12400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 18 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,532 points. Launch price was $180.

Xeon Silver 4510

The Xeon Silver 4510 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) architecture. It features 12 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 4.1 GHz. L3 cache: 30 MB (total). L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4677. Thermal design power (TDP): 150 Watt. Memory support: DDR5 @ 4400 MT/s (1 DPC &2DPC). Passmark benchmark score: 32,688 points. Launch price was $563.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon Silver 4510 offers 12 cores / 24 threads — the Xeon Silver 4510 has 6 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 4.1 GHz on the Xeon Silver 4510 — a 7.1% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon Silver 4510 uses Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) (Intel 7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Xeon Silver 4510's 32,688 — a 50.4% lead for the Xeon Silver 4510. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 1,600, a 6.1% lead for the Core i5-12400F that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 11,000 (177.5% advantage for the Xeon Silver 4510). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 30 MB (total) on the Xeon Silver 4510.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	12 / 24+100%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz+7%	4.1 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+4%	2.4 GHz
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)	30 MB (total)+67%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	2 MB (per core)+60%
Process	Intel 7 nm	Intel 7 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024)
PassMark	19,532	32,688+67%
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700+6%	1,600
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	11,000+1574%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon Silver 4510 uses LGA4677 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Core i5-12400F supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 4 TB — 187.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i5-12400F) vs 8 (Xeon Silver 4510). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 80 (Xeon Silver 4510) — the Xeon Silver 4510 offers 60 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and FCLGA4677 (Xeon Silver 4510).

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
Socket	LGA1700	LGA4677
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	DDR5-4400
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	4 TB+3100%
RAM Channels	2	8+300%
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	20	80+300%

🔧

Advanced Features

Both support VT-x, VT-d, EPT virtualization. Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value, Xeon Silver 4510 targets Server. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Xeon Silver 4510 rivals EPYC 8534P.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4510
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	—	None
Unlocked	—	No
AVX-512	—	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d, EPT	VT-x, VT-d, EPT
Target Use	Gaming Performance/Value	Server

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i5-12400F launched at $174 MSRP, while the Xeon Silver 4510 debuted at $563. On MSRP ($174 vs $563), the Core i5-12400F is $389 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-12400F delivers 112.3 pts/$ vs 58.1 pts/$ for the Xeon Silver 4510 — making the Core i5-12400F the 63.6% better value option.