Pentium Silver N5000 vs Phenom II X4 B95

Pentium Silver N5000 vs Phenom II X4 B95 Performance Spectrum

Pentium Silver N5000

4 / 4

2,442

+0.6%

2,427

0.0%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7955WX

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

About PassMark

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.

Pentium Silver N5000 vs Phenom II X4 B95 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with GeForce RTX 5090 to isolate CPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Pentium Silver N5000 vs Phenom II X4 B95: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each CPU makes more sense in practice: gaming, heavier work, platform cost, power draw, and upgrade path.

Pentium Silver N5000

2017

Why buy it

✅+0.6% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 6W instead of 95W, a 89W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 6 MB).

Phenom II X4 B95

2009

Why buy it

✅+50% larger total L3 cache (6 MB vs 4 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (2,427 vs 2,442).
❌1483.3% higher power demand at 95W vs 6W.

Quick Answers

So, is Pentium Silver N5000 better than Phenom II X4 B95?

It depends on what you want from the system. For gaming, Phenom II X4 B95 is ahead with a 1.3% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Pentium Silver N5000 pulls ahead with 0.6% better PassMark. Phenom II X4 B95 also has the bigger cache pool with 50% larger total L3 cache (6 MB vs 4 MB).

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Pentium Silver N5000 is the stronger fit. You are getting 0.6% better PassMark, backed by 4 cores and 4 threads.

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

Pentium Silver N5000 still makes the most sense overall. Pentium Silver N5000 comes in at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it still gives you 0.6% better PassMark.

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

Pentium Silver N5000 makes more sense long term for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2017 vs 2009) and more multi-core headroom with 4 cores / 4 threads instead of 4/4. That extra compute headroom is more likely to matter as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

Pentium Silver N5000 vs Phenom II X4 B95 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

Pentium Silver N5000

The Pentium Silver N5000 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 11 December 2017 (7 years ago). It is based on the Goldmont Plus (2017) architecture. It features 4 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 1.1 GHz, with boost up to 2.7 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB. L2 cache: 4 MB (total). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA1090. Thermal design power (TDP): 6 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 2,442 points. Launch price was $161.

Phenom II X4 B95

The Phenom II X4 B95 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 1 October 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Deneb (2009−2011) architecture. It features 4 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 6 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: AM3. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 2,427 points. Launch price was $80.

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Processing Power

Both the Pentium Silver N5000 and Phenom II X4 B95 share an identical 4-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 2.7 GHz on the Pentium Silver N5000 versus 3 GHz on the Phenom II X4 B95 — a 10.5% clock advantage for the Phenom II X4 B95 (base: 1.1 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Pentium Silver N5000 uses the Goldmont Plus (2017) architecture (14 nm), while the Phenom II X4 B95 uses Deneb (2009−2011) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Pentium Silver N5000 scores 2,442 against the Phenom II X4 B95's 2,427 — a 0.6% lead for the Pentium Silver N5000. L3 cache: 4 MB on the Pentium Silver N5000 vs 6 MB (total) on the Phenom II X4 B95.

Feature	Pentium Silver N5000	Phenom II X4 B95
Cores / Threads	4 / 4	4 / 4
Boost Clock	2.7 GHz	3 GHz+11%
Base Clock	1.1 GHz	3 GHz+173%
L3 Cache	4 MB	6 MB (total)+50%
L2 Cache	4 MB (total)+700%	512 kB (per core)
Process	14 nm-69%	45 nm
Architecture	Goldmont Plus (2017)	Deneb (2009−2011)
PassMark	2,442	2,427

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Memory & Platform

The Pentium Silver N5000 uses the FCBGA1090 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Phenom II X4 B95 uses AM3 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.