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: +15.1% higher average FPS across 24 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 95W instead of 125W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while Xeon W-1350P needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 19,611).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1350P, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 63.1 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $311 MSRP).

Xeon W-1350P

2021

Why buy it

✅+36.2% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads.
✅Costs $74 less on MSRP ($311 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 68.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 63.1 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($311 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 24 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌31.6% higher power demand at 125W vs 95W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Core i7-9700K

2018

Xeon W-1350P

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +15.1% higher average FPS across 24 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 95W instead of 125W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 630, while Xeon W-1350P needs a discrete GPU.

Why buy it

✅+36.2% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads.
✅Costs $74 less on MSRP ($311 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).
✅Delivers 68.6% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 63.1 vs 37.4 PassMark/$ ($311 MSRP vs $385 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (14,397 vs 19,611).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1350P, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads.
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 37.4 vs 63.1 PassMark/$ ($385 MSRP vs $311 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i7-9700K across 24 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌31.6% higher power demand at 125W vs 95W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i7-9700K can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Quick Answers

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

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-1350P 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-1350P is the better fit. You are getting 36.2% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

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

Xeon W-1350P is the smarter buy today. Xeon W-1350P is $74 cheaper on MSRP at $311 MSRP versus $385 MSRP, and it gives you 36.2% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i7-9700K is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 15.1% average FPS lead across 24 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 68.6% better value on MSRP (63.1 vs 37.4 PassMark/$), 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-1350P is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2018) and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 8/8. 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-1350P Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
1080p
low	308 FPS	261 FPS
medium	278 FPS	239 FPS
high	231 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	182 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	270 FPS	227 FPS
medium	221 FPS	189 FPS
high	178 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	143 FPS	134 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	156 FPS
medium	140 FPS	130 FPS
high	108 FPS	100 FPS
ultra	95 FPS	88 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350P

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
1080p
low	360 FPS	326 FPS
medium	321 FPS	274 FPS
high	291 FPS	250 FPS
ultra	259 FPS	225 FPS
1440p
low	324 FPS	290 FPS
medium	282 FPS	245 FPS
high	258 FPS	225 FPS
ultra	225 FPS	201 FPS
4K
low	249 FPS	226 FPS
medium	221 FPS	194 FPS
high	208 FPS	182 FPS
ultra	179 FPS	148 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350P

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
1080p
low	360 FPS	490 FPS
medium	360 FPS	490 FPS
high	360 FPS	449 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	388 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	490 FPS
medium	360 FPS	475 FPS
high	360 FPS	403 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	351 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	391 FPS
medium	360 FPS	345 FPS
high	360 FPS	302 FPS
ultra	318 FPS	252 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350P

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
1080p
low	360 FPS	490 FPS
medium	360 FPS	490 FPS
high	360 FPS	490 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	490 FPS
1440p
low	360 FPS	490 FPS
medium	360 FPS	490 FPS
high	360 FPS	490 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	490 FPS
4K
low	360 FPS	490 FPS
medium	360 FPS	490 FPS
high	360 FPS	490 FPS
ultra	360 FPS	437 FPS

Open Core i7-9700K Open Xeon W-1350P

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

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

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-1350P

The Xeon W-1350P 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 4 GHz, with boost up to 5.1 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 125 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,611 points. Launch price was $311.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-9700K packs 8 cores / 8 threads, while the Xeon W-1350P 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 5.1 GHz on the Xeon W-1350P — a 4% clock advantage for the Xeon W-1350P (base: 3.6 GHz vs 4 GHz). The Core i7-9700K uses the Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Xeon W-1350P uses Rocket Lake-S (2021) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700K scores 14,397 against the Xeon W-1350P's 19,611 — a 30.7% lead for the Xeon W-1350P. Both processors carry 12 MB (total) of L3 cache.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
Cores / Threads	8 / 8+33%	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.9 GHz	5.1 GHz+4%
Base Clock	3.6 GHz	4 GHz+11%
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	19,611+36%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-9700K uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon W-1350P uses LGA1200 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
Socket	LGA1151	LGA1200
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	16	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-9700K) / not specified (Xeon W-1350P). The Core i7-9700K includes integrated graphics (UHD Graphics 630), while the Xeon W-1350P requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-9700K targets Desktop.

Feature	Core i7-9700K	Xeon W-1350P
Integrated GPU	Yes	—
IGPU Model	UHD Graphics 630	—
Unlocked	Yes	—
AVX-512	No	—
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d	—
Target Use	Desktop	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i7-9700K launched at $385 MSRP, while the Xeon W-1350P debuted at $311. On MSRP ($385 vs $311), the Xeon W-1350P is $74 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-9700K delivers 37.4 pts/$ vs 63.1 pts/$ for the Xeon W-1350P — making the Xeon W-1350P the 51.1% better value option.