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: +28.0% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 18,742).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1350, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads and 20 PCIe lanes.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 73.5 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $255 MSRP).
❌18.8% higher power demand at 95W vs 80W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Xeon W-1350.

Xeon W-1350

2021

Why buy it

✅+30.2% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads, plus 20 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅Costs $130 less on MSRP ($255 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 96.5% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 73.5 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($255 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 95W, a 15W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Core i7-9700K

2018

Xeon W-1350

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +28.0% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Why buy it

✅+30.2% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads, plus 20 PCIe lanes vs 16.
✅Costs $130 less on MSRP ($255 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 96.5% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 73.5 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($255 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 95W, a 15W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 18,742).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1350, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads and 20 PCIe lanes.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 73.5 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $255 MSRP).
❌18.8% higher power demand at 95W vs 80W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Xeon W-1350.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Quick Answers

So, is Xeon W-1350 better than Core i7-9700K?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-1350 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 W-1350 is the better fit. You are getting 30.2% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

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

Xeon W-1350 is the smarter buy today. Xeon W-1350 is $130 cheaper on MSRP at $255 MSRP versus $385 MSRP, and it gives you 30.2% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i7-9700K is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 28.0% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 96.5% better value on MSRP (73.5 vs 37.4 PassMark/$), 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 W-1350 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2018), more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 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 W-1350 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
1080p
low	308 FPS	246 FPS
medium	278 FPS	229 FPS
high	231 FPS	191 FPS
ultra	182 FPS	164 FPS
1440p
low	270 FPS	217 FPS
medium	221 FPS	184 FPS
high	178 FPS	148 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	130 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	151 FPS
medium	140 FPS	128 FPS
high	108 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	87 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
1080p
low	360 FPS	315 FPS
medium	321 FPS	267 FPS
high	291 FPS	244 FPS
ultra	259 FPS	221 FPS
1440p
low	324 FPS	280 FPS
medium	282 FPS	239 FPS
high	258 FPS	221 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	197 FPS
4K
low	249 FPS	222 FPS
medium	221 FPS	191 FPS
high	208 FPS	179 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	146 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
1080p
low	360 FPS	469 FPS
medium	360 FPS	469 FPS
high	360 FPS	440 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	380 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	469 FPS
medium	360 FPS	463 FPS
high	360 FPS	396 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	345 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	385 FPS
medium	360 FPS	337 FPS
high	360 FPS	293 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	242 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
1080p
low	360 FPS	469 FPS
medium	360 FPS	469 FPS
high	360 FPS	469 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	469 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	469 FPS
medium	360 FPS	469 FPS
high	360 FPS	469 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	469 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	469 FPS
medium	360 FPS	469 FPS
high	360 FPS	451 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	392 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-9700K and Xeon W-1350

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 W-1350

The Xeon W-1350 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 6 May 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Rocket Lake-S (2021) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.3 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 80 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 18,742 points. Launch price was $255.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-9700K packs 8 cores / 8 threads, while the Xeon W-1350 offers 6 cores / 12 threads — the Core i7-9700K has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.9 GHz on the Core i7-9700K versus 5 GHz on the Xeon W-1350 — a 2% clock advantage for the Xeon W-1350 (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3.3 GHz). The Core i7-9700K uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Xeon W-1350 uses Rocket Lake-S (2021) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700K scores 14,397 against the Xeon W-1350's 18,742 — a 26.2% lead for the Xeon W-1350. Both processors carry 12 MB (total) of L3 cache.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
Cores / Threads	8 / 8+33%	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz	5 GHz+2%
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+9%	3.3 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)	12 MB (total)
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512 kB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	14 nm
Architecture	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Rocket Lake-S (2021)
PassMark	14,397	18,742+30%
Geekbench 6 Single	—	2,140
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	9,104

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-9700K uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon W-1350 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 W-1350) — the Xeon W-1350 offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Intel 300 series (Core i7-9700K) and W580,C252,C256 (Xeon W-1350).

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
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 W-1350 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-9700K) vs Yes (Xeon W-1350). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 630 (Core i7-9700K) and UHD Graphics P750 (Xeon W-1350) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-9700K targets Desktop.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350
Integrated GPU	Yes	Yes
IGPU Model	UHD Graphics 630	UHD Graphics P750
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 W-1350 debuted at $255. On MSRP ($385 vs $255), the Xeon W-1350 is $130 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-9700K delivers 37.4 pts/$ vs 73.5 pts/$ for the Xeon W-1350 — making the Xeon W-1350 the 65.1% better value option.