Core i7-9700K vs EPYC 7313

CPU

GPU

Core i7-9700K

8 Cores8 Thrd95 WWMax: 4.9 GHz2018

Popular choices:

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EPYC 7313

16 Cores32 Thrd155 WWMax: 3.7 GHz2021

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i7-9700K

8 / 8

14,397

0.0%

38,938

+170.5%

Ryzen Threadripper 9960X

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9975WX

About PassMark

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 i7-9700K

2018

Why buy it

✅Costs $698 less on MSRP ($385 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅Draws 95W instead of 155W, a 60W reduction.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while EPYC 7313 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 7313 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 38,938).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7313, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

EPYC 7313

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +25.2% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅700% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌
181.3% HIGHER MSRP
$1,083 MSRPvs$385 MSRP
❌63.2% higher power demand at 155W vs 95W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Core i7-9700K

2018

EPYC 7313

2021

Why buy it

✅Costs $698 less on MSRP ($385 MSRP vs $1,083 MSRP).
✅Draws 95W instead of 155W, a 60W reduction.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while EPYC 7313 needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +25.2% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 16 cores / 32 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅700% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 7313 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 38,938).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7313, which brings 16 cores / 32 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

Trade-offs

❌
181.3% HIGHER MSRP
$1,083 MSRPvs$385 MSRP
❌63.2% higher power demand at 155W vs 95W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is EPYC 7313 better than Core i7-9700K?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 7313 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i7-9700K 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, EPYC 7313 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 25.2% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 128 MB vs 12 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, EPYC 7313 is the better fit. You are getting 170.5% better PassMark, backed by 16 cores and 32 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 966.7% larger total L3 cache (128 MB vs 12 MB).

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

EPYC 7313 is the smarter buy by a wide margin for a fresh build. EPYC 7313 is 181.3% more expensive on MSRP at $1,083 MSRP versus $385 MSRP, and it gives you a 25.2% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i7-9700K only looks stronger on raw value math because it is extremely cheap, but that is mostly used-market pricing on an obsolete 2018 platform. Even with 4.0% better value on paper (37.4 vs 36.0 PassMark/$), it really only makes sense as a very cheap stopgap or a niche existing-platform option for someone already on LGA1151.

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

EPYC 7313 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2018), 3D V-Cache and a much larger 128 MB L3 cache instead of 12 MB, and more multi-core headroom with 16 cores / 32 threads instead of 8/8. That extra cache should hold up really well in CPU-limited games and high-refresh builds.

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 i7-9700K Benchmark Check

EPYC 7313 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
1080p
low	308 FPS	166 FPS
medium	278 FPS	136 FPS
high	231 FPS	116 FPS
ultra	182 FPS	91 FPS
1440p
low	270 FPS	147 FPS
medium	221 FPS	118 FPS
high	178 FPS	94 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	75 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	69 FPS
medium	140 FPS	59 FPS
high	108 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	38 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open EPYC 7313

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
1080p
low	360 FPS	505 FPS
medium	321 FPS	441 FPS
high	291 FPS	354 FPS
ultra	259 FPS	287 FPS
1440p
low	324 FPS	415 FPS
medium	282 FPS	372 FPS
high	258 FPS	307 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	242 FPS
4K
low	249 FPS	255 FPS
medium	221 FPS	233 FPS
high	208 FPS	205 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	170 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open EPYC 7313

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
1080p
low	360 FPS	665 FPS
medium	360 FPS	555 FPS
high	360 FPS	518 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	451 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	504 FPS
medium	360 FPS	419 FPS
high	360 FPS	385 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	333 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	372 FPS
medium	360 FPS	290 FPS
high	360 FPS	260 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	209 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open EPYC 7313

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
1080p
low	360 FPS	903 FPS
medium	360 FPS	822 FPS
high	360 FPS	708 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	624 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	721 FPS
medium	360 FPS	628 FPS
high	360 FPS	538 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	460 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	517 FPS
medium	360 FPS	462 FPS
high	360 FPS	406 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	349 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open EPYC 7313

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-9700K and EPYC 7313

Core i7-9700K

The Core i7-9700K is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 19 October 2018 (7 years ago). It is based on the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture. It features 8 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1151. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 14,397 points. Launch price was $374.

EPYC 7313

The EPYC 7313 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 15 March 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Milan (2021−2023) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 3.7 GHz. L3 cache: 128 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm+ process technology. Socket: SP3. Thermal design power (TDP): 155 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 38,938 points. Launch price was $1,083.

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Processing Power

The Core i7-9700K packs 8 cores / 8 threads, while the EPYC 7313 offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the EPYC 7313 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Core i7-9700K versus 3.7 GHz on the EPYC 7313 — a 27.9% clock advantage for the Core i7-9700K (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Core i7-9700K uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the EPYC 7313 uses Milan (2021−2023) (7 nm+). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700K scores 14,397 against the EPYC 7313's 38,938 — a 92% lead for the EPYC 7313. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i7-9700K vs 128 MB (total) on the EPYC 7313.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
Cores / Threads	8 / 8	16 / 32+100%
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz+32%	3.7 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+20%	3 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)	128 MB (total)+967%
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512 kB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	7 nm+-50%
Architecture	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Milan (2021−2023)
PassMark	14,397	38,938+170%
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	26,500
Geekbench 6 Single	—	1,736
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	15,264

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-9700K uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the EPYC 7313 uses SP3 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2666 memory speed. The EPYC 7313 supports up to 4096 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 187.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i7-9700K) vs 8 (EPYC 7313). PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i7-9700K) vs 128 (EPYC 7313) — the EPYC 7313 offers 112 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Intel 300 series (Core i7-9700K) and SP3,Milan (EPYC 7313).

Feature	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
Socket	LGA1151	SP3
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	4096 GB+3100%
RAM Channels	2	8+300%
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	16	128+700%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Core i7-9700K has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-9700K) vs AMD-V, SEV, IOMMU (EPYC 7313). The Core i7-9700K includes integrated graphics (UHD Graphics 630), while the EPYC 7313 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-9700K targets Desktop, EPYC 7313 targets Server / High-load computing. Direct competitor: EPYC 7313 rivals Xeon Gold 6326.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	EPYC 7313
Integrated GPU	Yes	No
IGPU Model	UHD Graphics 630	—
Unlocked	Yes	No
AVX-512	No	No
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	AMD-V, SEV, IOMMU
Target Use	Desktop	Server / High-load computing

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i7-9700K launched at $385 MSRP, while the EPYC 7313 debuted at $1083. On MSRP ($385 vs $1083), the Core i7-9700K is $698 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-9700K delivers 37.4 pts/$ vs 36.0 pts/$ for the EPYC 7313 — making the Core i7-9700K the 3.9% better value option.