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

✅Better for gaming: +4.0% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while Xeon E-2378 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 17,069).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (12 MB vs 16 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E-2378, which brings 8 cores / 16 threads and 20 PCIe lanes.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 47.2 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $362 MSRP).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.

Xeon E-2378

2021

Why buy it

✅+18.6% higher PassMark.
✅+33.3% larger total L3 cache (16 MB vs 12 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 8 cores / 16 threads, plus 20 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅Costs $23 less on MSRP ($362 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 26.1% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 47.2 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($362 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Core i7-9700K

2018

Xeon E-2378

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +4.0% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while Xeon E-2378 needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅+18.6% higher PassMark.
✅+33.3% larger total L3 cache (16 MB vs 12 MB).
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 8 cores / 16 threads, plus 20 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅Costs $23 less on MSRP ($362 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 26.1% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 47.2 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($362 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 17,069).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (12 MB vs 16 MB).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon E-2378, which brings 8 cores / 16 threads and 20 PCIe lanes.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 47.2 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $362 MSRP).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon E-2378 better than Core i7-9700K?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon E-2378 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 streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Xeon E-2378 is the better fit. You are getting 18.6% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 33.3% larger total L3 cache (16 MB vs 12 MB).

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

Xeon E-2378 is the smarter buy today. Xeon E-2378 is $23 cheaper on MSRP at $362 MSRP versus $385 MSRP, and it gives you 18.6% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i7-9700K is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 4.0% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 26.1% better value on MSRP (47.2 vs 37.4 PassMark/$), 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 E-2378 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2018), 33.3% larger total L3 cache (16 MB vs 12 MB), more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 8/8, 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 i7-9700K Benchmark Check

Xeon E-2378 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
1080p
low	308 FPS	287 FPS
medium	278 FPS	257 FPS
high	231 FPS	218 FPS
ultra	182 FPS	187 FPS
1440p
low	270 FPS	235 FPS
medium	221 FPS	189 FPS
high	178 FPS	156 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	137 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	164 FPS
medium	140 FPS	134 FPS
high	108 FPS	104 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	91 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon E-2378

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
1080p
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	321 FPS	427 FPS
high	291 FPS	407 FPS
ultra	259 FPS	362 FPS
1440p
low	324 FPS	427 FPS
medium	282 FPS	412 FPS
high	258 FPS	359 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	309 FPS
4K
low	249 FPS	351 FPS
medium	221 FPS	294 FPS
high	208 FPS	272 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	235 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon E-2378

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
1080p
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	427 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	427 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	399 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	332 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon E-2378

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
1080p
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	427 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	427 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	427 FPS
medium	360 FPS	427 FPS
high	360 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	427 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon E-2378

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-9700K and Xeon E-2378

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.

Xeon E-2378

The Xeon E-2378 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Rocket Lake-E (2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 17,069 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-9700K packs 8 cores / 8 threads, matching the Xeon E-2378's 8 cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Core i7-9700K versus 4.8 GHz on the Xeon E-2378 — a 2.1% clock advantage for the Core i7-9700K (base: 3.6 GHz vs 2.6 GHz). The Core i7-9700K uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Xeon E-2378 uses Rocket Lake-E (2021) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700K scores 14,397 against the Xeon E-2378's 17,069 — a 17% lead for the Xeon E-2378. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i7-9700K vs 16 MB (total) on the Xeon E-2378.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
Cores / Threads	8 / 8	8 / 16
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz+2%	4.8 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+38%	2.6 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)	16 MB (total)+33%
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512K (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	14 nm
Architecture	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Rocket Lake-E (2021)
PassMark	14,397	17,069+19%
Geekbench 6 Single	—	1,821
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	9,986

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-9700K uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon E-2378 uses LGA1200 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2666 memory speed. Both support up to 128 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i7-9700K) vs 20 (Xeon E-2378) — the Xeon E-2378 offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Intel 300 series (Core i7-9700K) and C252,C256 (Xeon E-2378).

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
Socket	LGA1151	LGA1200
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	128 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	16	20+25%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Xeon E-2378 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-9700K) vs Yes (Xeon E-2378). The Core i7-9700K includes integrated graphics (UHD Graphics 630), while the Xeon E-2378 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-9700K targets Desktop.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon E-2378
Integrated GPU	Yes	No
IGPU Model	UHD Graphics 630	—
Unlocked	Yes	—
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	Yes
Target Use	Desktop	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i7-9700K launched at $385 MSRP, while the Xeon E-2378 debuted at $362. On MSRP ($385 vs $362), the Xeon E-2378 is $23 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-9700K delivers 37.4 pts/$ vs 47.2 pts/$ for the Xeon E-2378 — making the Xeon E-2378 the 23.1% better value option.