Core i5-13400F vs Xeon W-1290E

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 i5-13400F

2023

Why buy it

✅+31.3% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1200 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $196 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,060 vs 25,029).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA1200 with DDR4, while Core i5-13400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-13400F.

Core i5-13400F

2023

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅+31.3% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of LGA1200 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $196 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,060 vs 25,029).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on LGA1200 with DDR4, while Core i5-13400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-13400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Core i5-13400F better than Xeon W-1290E?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-1290E makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i5-13400F 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, Core i5-13400F is the better fit. You are getting 31.3% better PassMark, backed by 10 cores and 16 threads.

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

Core i5-13400F is the smarter buy today. Core i5-13400F is at an unclear MSRP at $196 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 31.3% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Xeon W-1290E is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 2.5% average FPS lead across 26 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (127.7 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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?

Core i5-13400F is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2020), a healthier platform with LGA1700 and DDR5 instead of LGA1200, and more multi-core headroom with 10 cores / 16 threads instead of 10/20. 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.

Core i5-13400F Benchmark Check

Xeon W-1290E Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	171 FPS	257 FPS
medium	158 FPS	237 FPS
high	132 FPS	202 FPS
ultra	112 FPS	175 FPS
1440p
low	143 FPS	221 FPS
medium	123 FPS	185 FPS
high	99 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	84 FPS	135 FPS
4K
low	81 FPS	151 FPS
medium	74 FPS	127 FPS
high	59 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	87 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open Xeon W-1290E

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	545 FPS	476 FPS
medium	464 FPS	431 FPS
high	389 FPS	366 FPS
ultra	356 FPS	331 FPS
1440p
low	458 FPS	417 FPS
medium	403 FPS	367 FPS
high	345 FPS	316 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	275 FPS
4K
low	280 FPS	258 FPS
medium	247 FPS	226 FPS
high	231 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	204 FPS	184 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open Xeon W-1290E

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	530 FPS	476 FPS
medium	449 FPS	476 FPS
high	415 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	375 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	490 FPS	476 FPS
medium	422 FPS	476 FPS
high	382 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	343 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	393 FPS	476 FPS
medium	331 FPS	476 FPS
high	296 FPS	429 FPS
ultra	246 FPS	361 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open Xeon W-1290E

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	626 FPS	476 FPS
medium	626 FPS	476 FPS
high	626 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	626 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	626 FPS	476 FPS
medium	626 FPS	476 FPS
high	598 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	521 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	535 FPS	476 FPS
medium	492 FPS	476 FPS
high	439 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	382 FPS	437 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open Xeon W-1290E

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-13400F and Xeon W-1290E

Core i5-13400F

The Core i5-13400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) architecture. It features 10 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.6 GHz. L3 cache: 20 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, DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 25,029 points. Launch price was $196.

Xeon W-1290E

The Xeon W-1290E is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 13 May 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture. It features 10 cores and 20 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 20 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 19,060 points. Launch price was $552.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-13400F packs 10 cores / 16 threads, matching the Xeon W-1290E's 10 cores. Boost clocks reach 4.6 GHz on the Core i5-13400F versus 4.8 GHz on the Xeon W-1290E — a 4.3% clock advantage for the Xeon W-1290E (base: 2.5 GHz vs 3.5 GHz). The Core i5-13400F uses the Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon W-1290E uses Comet Lake (2020−2025) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-13400F scores 25,029 against the Xeon W-1290E's 19,060 — a 27.1% lead for the Core i5-13400F. Both processors carry 20 MB (total) of L3 cache.

Feature	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
Cores / Threads	10 / 16	10 / 20
Boost Clock	4.6 GHz	4.8 GHz+4%
Base Clock	2.5 GHz	3.5 GHz+40%
L3 Cache	20 MB (total)	20 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+400%	256 kB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024)	Comet Lake (2020−2025)
PassMark	25,029+31%	19,060
Cinebench R23 Multi	16,211	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,407	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	11,408	—

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Memory & Platform

The Core i5-13400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon W-1290E uses LGA1200 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-13400F	Xeon W-1290E
Socket	LGA1700	LGA1200
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+67%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	192 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-13400F) / not specified (Xeon W-1290E). Primary use case: Core i5-13400F targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-13400F rivals Ryzen 5 7600.