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

✅Better for gaming: +15.5% higher average FPS across 28 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Silver 4514Y.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (12,380 vs 22,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Silver 4514Y, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 80 PCIe lanes.
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Xeon Silver 4514Y mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon Silver 4514Y

2023

Why buy it

✅+77.7% higher Cinebench R23 multi-core.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 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 Core i5-12400F across 28 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Xeon Silver 4514Y

2023

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +15.5% higher average FPS across 28 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 65W instead of 150W, a 85W reduction.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon Silver 4514Y.

Why buy it

✅+77.7% higher Cinebench R23 multi-core.
✅+66.7% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 18 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 80 PCIe lanes vs 20.
✅300% more PCIe lanes (80 vs 20) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (12,380 vs 22,000).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (18 MB vs 30 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Silver 4514Y, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 80 PCIe lanes.
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Xeon Silver 4514Y mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 28 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌130.8% higher power demand at 150W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Core i5-12400F better than Xeon Silver 4514Y?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Silver 4514Y 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 streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon Silver 4514Y is the better fit. You are getting 77.7% better Cinebench R23 multi-core, backed by 16 cores and 32 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?

Core i5-12400F is the smarter buy today. Core i5-12400F is at an unclear MSRP at $174 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 15.5% average FPS lead across 28 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Silver 4514Y is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 77.7% better Cinebench R23 multi-core. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (112.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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?

Xeon Silver 4514Y 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 16 cores / 32 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 4514Y Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
1080p
low	183 FPS	165 FPS
medium	168 FPS	144 FPS
high	139 FPS	114 FPS
ultra	119 FPS	92 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	136 FPS
medium	132 FPS	116 FPS
high	106 FPS	90 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	73 FPS
4K
low	87 FPS	63 FPS
medium	81 FPS	57 FPS
high	64 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	35 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4514Y

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
1080p
low	471 FPS	217 FPS
medium	397 FPS	194 FPS
high	341 FPS	164 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	135 FPS
1440p
low	407 FPS	183 FPS
medium	351 FPS	169 FPS
high	309 FPS	146 FPS
ultra	265 FPS	118 FPS
4K
low	282 FPS	119 FPS
medium	248 FPS	111 FPS
high	229 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	196 FPS	78 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4514Y

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
1080p
low	488 FPS	766 FPS
medium	488 FPS	694 FPS
high	488 FPS	662 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	587 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	686 FPS
medium	488 FPS	604 FPS
high	485 FPS	573 FPS
ultra	434 FPS	510 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	464 FPS
medium	389 FPS	376 FPS
high	337 FPS	342 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	283 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4514Y

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
1080p
low	488 FPS	766 FPS
medium	488 FPS	751 FPS
high	488 FPS	648 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	553 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	691 FPS
medium	488 FPS	606 FPS
high	488 FPS	521 FPS
ultra	473 FPS	441 FPS
4K
low	488 FPS	478 FPS
medium	450 FPS	434 FPS
high	391 FPS	388 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	334 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Xeon Silver 4514Y

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Xeon Silver 4514Y

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 4514Y

The Xeon Silver 4514Y 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 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3.4 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. Passmark benchmark score: 30,621 points. Launch price was $780.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon Silver 4514Y offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Xeon Silver 4514Y has 10 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 3.4 GHz on the Xeon Silver 4514Y — a 25.6% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon Silver 4514Y uses Emerald Rapids (2023) (Intel 7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Xeon Silver 4514Y's 30,621 — a 44.2% lead for the Xeon Silver 4514Y. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 12,380 vs 22,000 (56% advantage for the Xeon Silver 4514Y). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 2,100, a 21.1% lead for the Xeon Silver 4514Y that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 14,000 (182.1% advantage for the Xeon Silver 4514Y). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 30 MB (total) on the Xeon Silver 4514Y.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	16 / 32+167%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz+29%	3.4 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+25%	2 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)	Emerald Rapids (2023)
PassMark	19,532	30,621+57%
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	22,000+78%
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700	2,100+24%
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	14,000+2031%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon Silver 4514Y uses LGA4677 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Xeon Silver 4514Y supports up to 4096 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 187.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i5-12400F) vs 8 (Xeon Silver 4514Y). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 80 (Xeon Silver 4514Y) — the Xeon Silver 4514Y offers 60 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and C741 (Xeon Silver 4514Y).

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
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	4096 GB+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 4514Y targets Mainstream Server / Virtualization. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Xeon Silver 4514Y rivals EPYC 8212.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Silver 4514Y
Integrated GPU	No	No
Unlocked	—	No
AVX-512	—	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d, EPT	VT-x, VT-d, EPT
Target Use	Gaming Performance/Value	Mainstream Server / Virtualization