Core Ultra 5 115U vs Xeon Platinum 8481C

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.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Core Ultra 5 115U is positioned at rank 779 and the Xeon Platinum 8481C is on rank 296, so the Xeon Platinum 8481C offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core Ultra 5 115U

#767

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

1146%

#768

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

1129%

#769

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

1037%

#770

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

1032%

#771

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

1023%

#773

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

988%

#774

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

947%

#775

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

945%

#776

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

920%

#779

Core Ultra 5 115U

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#790

Athlon 64 TF-20

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

97%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon Platinum 8481C

#1

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

4448%

#6

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

840%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

746%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

576%

#230

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX

MSRP: $1337|Avg: $368

100%

#232

EPYC 7282

MSRP: $650|Avg: $199

99%

#233

Xeon w5-2545

MSRP: $889|Avg: $1100

98%

#234

Xeon W-1250P

MSRP: $311|Avg: $311

98%

#296

Xeon Platinum 8481C

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#304

Xeon E5-2620 v4

MSRP: $417|Avg: $410

99%

#306

Xeon Silver 4108

MSRP: $417|Avg: $46

98%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($0) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon Platinum 8481C is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core Ultra 5 115U	Xeon Platinum 8481C
Gaming	❌ Lower gaming performance	✅ Superior gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing
Longevity	✨ Modern (Meteor Lake (2023) / 7 nm)	✨ Modern (Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) / 10 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core Ultra 5 115U ($0), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($0 less, NaN% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core Ultra 5 115U	Xeon Platinum 8481C
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing

Performance Check

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 Ultra 5 115U Benchmark Check

Xeon Platinum 8481C Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core Ultra 5 115U and Xeon Platinum 8481C

Core Ultra 5 115U

The Core Ultra 5 115U is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Meteor Lake (2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 10 threads. Base frequency is 1.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.2 GHz. L3 cache: 10 MB (total). L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA2049. Thermal design power (TDP): + 10 MB. Memory support: DDR5 Depends on motherboard. Passmark benchmark score: 11,518 points. Launch price was $149.

Xeon Platinum 8481C

The Xeon Platinum 8481C is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) architecture. It features 56 cores and 112 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 105 MB. L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4677. Thermal design power (TDP): 350 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 11,681 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core Ultra 5 115U packs 8 cores / 10 threads, while the Xeon Platinum 8481C offers 56 cores / 112 threads — the Xeon Platinum 8481C has 48 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.2 GHz on the Core Ultra 5 115U versus 3.8 GHz on the Xeon Platinum 8481C — a 10% clock advantage for the Core Ultra 5 115U (base: 1.5 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Core Ultra 5 115U uses the Meteor Lake (2023) architecture (7 nm), while the Xeon Platinum 8481C uses Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) (10 nm). In PassMark, the Core Ultra 5 115U scores 11,518 against the Xeon Platinum 8481C's 11,681 — a 1.4% lead for the Xeon Platinum 8481C. L3 cache: 10 MB (total) on the Core Ultra 5 115U vs 105 MB on the Xeon Platinum 8481C.

Feature	Core Ultra 5 115U	Xeon Platinum 8481C
Cores / Threads	8 / 10	56 / 112+600%
Boost Clock	4.2 GHz+11%	3.8 GHz
Base Clock	1.5 GHz	2 GHz+33%
L3 Cache	10 MB (total)	105 MB+950%
L2 Cache	2 MB (per core)	2 MB (per core)
Process	7 nm-30%	10 nm
Architecture	Meteor Lake (2023)	Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024)
PassMark	11,518	11,681+1%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core Ultra 5 115U uses the FCBGA2049 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon Platinum 8481C uses LGA4677 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.