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.

EPYC 7401

2017

Why buy it

✅+3.9% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 24 cores / 48 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅357.1% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 8945HX across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $1,500 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8945HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌181.8% higher power demand at 155W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on TR4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8945HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8945HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 8945HX

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +22.8% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 155W, a 100W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of TR4 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon 610M, while EPYC 7401 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (53,211 vs 55,280).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7401, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

EPYC 7401

2017

Ryzen 9 8945HX

2025

Why buy it

✅+3.9% higher PassMark.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 24 cores / 48 threads, plus 128 PCIe lanes vs 28.
✅357.1% more PCIe lanes (128 vs 28) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +22.8% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 55W instead of 155W, a 100W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of TR4 and DDR4.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with AMD Radeon 610M, while EPYC 7401 needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 8945HX across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $1,500 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8945HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌181.8% higher power demand at 155W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on TR4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8945HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8945HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (53,211 vs 55,280).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than EPYC 7401, which brings 24 cores / 48 threads and 128 PCIe lanes.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 8945HX better than EPYC 7401?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 7401 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 8945HX 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, EPYC 7401 is the better fit. You are getting 3.9% better PassMark, backed by 24 cores and 48 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 8945HX is still the faster CPU overall, but EPYC 7401 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 8945HX is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $1,500 MSRP, and it gives you a 22.8% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that EPYC 7401 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 3.9% better PassMark. EPYC 7401 is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (36.9 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Ryzen 9 8945HX is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2017), a healthier platform with FL1 and DDR5 instead of TR4, and AVX-512 support for heavier modern compute workloads. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

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.

EPYC 7401 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 8945HX Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
1080p
low	187 FPS	283 FPS
medium	165 FPS	260 FPS
high	132 FPS	213 FPS
ultra	105 FPS	180 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	260 FPS
medium	127 FPS	217 FPS
high	97 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	78 FPS	147 FPS
4K
low	71 FPS	181 FPS
medium	63 FPS	150 FPS
high	48 FPS	114 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	102 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 8945HX

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
1080p
low	207 FPS	658 FPS
medium	188 FPS	569 FPS
high	160 FPS	427 FPS
ultra	131 FPS	365 FPS
1440p
low	178 FPS	557 FPS
medium	163 FPS	497 FPS
high	141 FPS	384 FPS
ultra	111 FPS	302 FPS
4K
low	112 FPS	314 FPS
medium	103 FPS	284 FPS
high	92 FPS	250 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	212 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 8945HX

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
1080p
low	620 FPS	848 FPS
medium	518 FPS	678 FPS
high	466 FPS	600 FPS
ultra	399 FPS	514 FPS
1440p
low	517 FPS	677 FPS
medium	432 FPS	542 FPS
high	378 FPS	468 FPS
ultra	325 FPS	397 FPS
4K
low	383 FPS	482 FPS
medium	308 FPS	399 FPS
high	270 FPS	359 FPS
ultra	220 FPS	301 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 8945HX

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
1080p
low	834 FPS	1071 FPS
medium	758 FPS	966 FPS
high	651 FPS	843 FPS
ultra	561 FPS	759 FPS
1440p
low	667 FPS	840 FPS
medium	584 FPS	746 FPS
high	500 FPS	651 FPS
ultra	420 FPS	564 FPS
4K
low	475 FPS	618 FPS
medium	427 FPS	553 FPS
high	375 FPS	487 FPS
ultra	320 FPS	420 FPS

Open EPYC 7401 Open Ryzen 9 8945HX

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of EPYC 7401 and Ryzen 9 8945HX

EPYC 7401

The EPYC 7401 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 29 June 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Naples (2017−2018) architecture. It features 24 cores and 48 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: TR4. Thermal design power (TDP): 170 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Eight-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 55,280 points. Launch price was $1,850.

Ryzen 9 8945HX

The Ryzen 9 8945HX is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2025-04-01. It is based on the Dragon Range (2025) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 5.4 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 5 nm process technology. Socket: FL1. Thermal design power (TDP): 55 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 53,211 points. Launch price was $700.

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Processing Power

The EPYC 7401 packs 24 cores / 48 threads, while the Ryzen 9 8945HX offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the EPYC 7401 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the EPYC 7401 versus 5.4 GHz on the Ryzen 9 8945HX — a 57.1% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 8945HX (base: 2 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The EPYC 7401 uses the Naples (2017−2018) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 9 8945HX uses Dragon Range (2025) (5 nm). In PassMark, the EPYC 7401 scores 55,280 against the Ryzen 9 8945HX's 53,211 — a 3.8% lead for the EPYC 7401. Both processors carry 64 MB (total) of L3 cache.

Feature	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
Cores / Threads	24 / 48+50%	16 / 32
Boost Clock	3 GHz	5.4 GHz+80%
Base Clock	2 GHz	2.5 GHz+25%
L3 Cache	64 MB (total)	64 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	1 MB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	5 nm-64%
Architecture	Naples (2017−2018)	Dragon Range (2025)
PassMark	55,280+4%	53,211

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Memory & Platform

The EPYC 7401 uses the TR4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 8945HX uses FL1 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 2666 on the EPYC 7401 versus 5600 on the Ryzen 9 8945HX — the Ryzen 9 8945HX supports 71% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The EPYC 7401 supports up to 2048 of RAM compared to 96 — 182.1% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 8 (EPYC 7401) vs 2 (Ryzen 9 8945HX). PCIe lanes: 128 (EPYC 7401) vs 28 (Ryzen 9 8945HX) — the EPYC 7401 offers 100 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: SP3 (EPYC 7401) and FL1 (Ryzen 9 8945HX).

Feature	EPYC 7401	Ryzen 9 8945HX
Socket	TR4	FL1
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 5.0+25%
Max RAM Speed	2666	5600+110%
Max RAM Capacity	2048+2033%	96
RAM Channels	8+300%	2
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	128+357%	28

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Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 8945HX has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 9 8945HX supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (EPYC 7401) vs VT-x, VT-d, AMD-V (Ryzen 9 8945HX). The Ryzen 9 8945HX includes integrated graphics (AMD Radeon 610M), while the EPYC 7401 requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: EPYC 7401 rivals Xeon Silver 4114; Ryzen 9 8945HX rivals Core Ultra 9 275HX.