Pentium Extreme Edition 965 vs Xeon W3505

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 Pentium Extreme Edition 965 is positioned at rank 1119 and the Xeon W3505 is on rank 970, so the Xeon W3505 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 Pentium Extreme Edition 965

#1

Ryzen 9 7950X

MSRP: $194|Avg: $20

266423%

#2

Core i9-10900T

MSRP: $120|Avg: $5

251744%

#3

Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE

MSRP: $423|Avg: $5

182786%

#4

Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

MSRP: $1399|Avg: $85

55066%

#5

Ryzen 9 9950X

MSRP: $649|Avg: $129

43618%

#6

Ryzen 5 8400F

MSRP: $303|Avg: $55

38157%

#7

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700

MSRP: $299|Avg: $60

21855%

#8

Ryzen 5 2600X

MSRP: $229|Avg: $55

21569%

#9

Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G

MSRP: $150|Avg: $60

19639%

#10

Core Ultra 5 245KF

MSRP: $294|Avg: $189

19638%

#11

Ryzen 5 5500

MSRP: $159|Avg: $85

19418%

#12

Ryzen 5 3600

MSRP: $199|Avg: $80

18894%

#13

Core i3-9100E

MSRP: $202|Avg: $30

18630%

#14

Core Ultra 5 245K

MSRP: $319|Avg: $200

18555%

#15

Core i3-8300T

MSRP: $138|Avg: $25

18386%

#1119

Pentium Extreme Edition 965

MSRP: $999|Avg: $100

100%

#1120

Athlon 64 FX-60

MSRP: $1031|Avg: $1000

100%

#1121

Athlon XP 2200+

MSRP: $241|Avg: $30

99%

#1122

Athlon XP 1700+

MSRP: $190|Avg: $15

96%

#1123

Pentium Extreme Edition 955

MSRP: $999|Avg: $50

94%

#1124

Athlon XP 2700+

MSRP: $349|Avg: $20

88%

#1125

Athlon XP 2800+

MSRP: $375|Avg: $35

86%

#1126

Pentium III 1200

MSRP: $200|Avg: $10

84%

#1127

Athlon XP 3200+

MSRP: $464|Avg: $40

82%

#1128

Pentium III 1400

MSRP: $250|Avg: $20

78%

#1129

Pentium III 1400S

MSRP: $250|Avg: $250

78%

#1130

Pentium 4 2.60

MSRP: $401|Avg: $25

78%

#1131

Athlon XP 1800+

MSRP: $252|Avg: $30

76%

#1132

Athlon XP 1900+

MSRP: $269|Avg: $20

75%

#1133

Athlon 64 FX-51

MSRP: $733|Avg: $733

72%

#1134

Athlon 64 FX-55

MSRP: $827|Avg: $50

71%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon W3505

#1

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

35708%

#6

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

6742%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

5990%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

4627%

#535

Xeon W-3245M

MSRP: $5002|Avg: $5002

98%

#536

Xeon W-3265M

MSRP: $6300|Avg: $3500

97%

#969

Xeon E5-2687W v2

MSRP: $2112|Avg: $62

100%

#970

Xeon W3505

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#971

Xeon L5430

MSRP: $390|Avg: $380

99%

#972

Xeon E5-2470

MSRP: $1440|Avg: $125

99%

#973

Xeon E5-2670

MSRP: $1552|Avg: $60

99%

#975

Xeon X3470

MSRP: $589|Avg: $16

97%

#978

Xeon E5-2689

MSRP: $1800|Avg: $18

95%

#979

Xeon E5-2450L

MSRP: $1106|Avg: $78

94%

#980

Xeon X3480

MSRP: $612|Avg: $48

93%

#981

Xeon E5-2687W

MSRP: $1885|Avg: $70

91%

#982

Xeon E5-4610

MSRP: $1219|Avg: $50

91%

#984

Xeon X7550

MSRP: $1500|Avg: $1400

90%

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 W3505 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Pentium Extreme Edition 965	Xeon W3505
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($100)	✅ More affordable ($0)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Presler (2005−2007) / 65 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Bloomfield (2008−2010) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Pentium Extreme Edition 965 ($100), 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 ($100 less, Infinity% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Pentium Extreme Edition 965	Xeon W3505
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($100)	✅ More affordable ($0)

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.

Pentium Extreme Edition 965 Benchmark Check

Xeon W3505 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Pentium Extreme Edition 965 and Xeon W3505

Pentium Extreme Edition 965

The Pentium Extreme Edition 965 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 26 March 2006 (19 years ago). It is based on the Presler (2005−2007) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 3.733 GHz, with boost up to 0.73 GHz. L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 65 nm process technology. Socket: LGA775. Thermal design power (TDP): 130 Watt. Memory support: DDR1, DDR2, DDR3 Depends on motherboard. Passmark benchmark score: 1,165 points. Launch price was $999.

Xeon W3505

The Xeon W3505 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Bloomfield (2008−2010) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.53 GHz, with boost up to 0.53 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 130 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,163 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Pentium Extreme Edition 965 packs 2 cores / 4 threads, matching the Xeon W3505's 2 cores. Boost clocks reach 0.73 GHz on the Pentium Extreme Edition 965 versus 0.53 GHz on the Xeon W3505 — a 31.7% clock advantage for the Pentium Extreme Edition 965 (base: 3.733 GHz vs 2.53 GHz). The Pentium Extreme Edition 965 uses the Presler (2005−2007) architecture (65 nm), while the Xeon W3505 uses Bloomfield (2008−2010) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Pentium Extreme Edition 965 scores 1,165 against the Xeon W3505's 1,163 — a 0.2% lead for the Pentium Extreme Edition 965.

Feature	Pentium Extreme Edition 965	Xeon W3505
Cores / Threads	2 / 4	2 / 2
Boost Clock	0.73 GHz+38%	0.53 GHz
Base Clock	3.733 GHz+48%	2.53 GHz
L3 Cache	—	4 MB (total)
L2 Cache	2 MB (per core)+700%	256 kB (per core)
Process	65 nm	45 nm-31%
Architecture	Presler (2005−2007)	Bloomfield (2008−2010)
PassMark	1,165	1,163

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Pentium Extreme Edition 965 uses the LGA775 socket (PCIe 1.1), while the Xeon W3505 uses LGA1366 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.