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.

Ryzen 5 3600

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +48.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+287.9% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 8.3 MB).
✅Costs $418 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $617 MSRP).
✅Delivers 334.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 88.9 vs 20.4 PassMark/$ ($199 MSRP vs $617 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 140W, a 75W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-2133, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Xeon W-2133

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅100% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅AVX-512 support for select workstation, AI, and scientific workloads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 3600 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (6,000 vs 9,500).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8.3 MB vs 32 MB).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 20.4 vs 88.9 PassMark/$ ($617 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌115.4% higher power demand at 140W vs 65W.

Ryzen 5 3600

2019

Xeon W-2133

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +48.0% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+287.9% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 8.3 MB).
✅Costs $418 less on MSRP ($199 MSRP vs $617 MSRP).
✅Delivers 334.7% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 88.9 vs 20.4 PassMark/$ ($199 MSRP vs $617 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 140W, a 75W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 6 cores / 12 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅100% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅AVX-512 support for select workstation, AI, and scientific workloads.

Trade-offs

❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-2133, which brings 6 cores / 12 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 3600 across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower Cinebench R23 multi-core (6,000 vs 9,500).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8.3 MB vs 32 MB).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 20.4 vs 88.9 PassMark/$ ($617 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
❌115.4% higher power demand at 140W vs 65W.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 3600 better than Xeon W-2133?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-2133 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 3600 is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 5 3600 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 48.0% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 3600 is the better fit. You are getting 58.3% better Cinebench R23 multi-core, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 287.9% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 8.3 MB).

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

Ryzen 5 3600 is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 3600 is $418 cheaper on MSRP at $199 MSRP versus $617 MSRP, and it gives you a 48.0% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 334.7% better value on MSRP (88.9 vs 20.4 PassMark/$), 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?

Ryzen 5 3600 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2019 vs 2017), 287.9% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 8.3 MB), and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 6/12. 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.

Ryzen 5 3600 Benchmark Check

Xeon W-2133 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
1080p
low	200 FPS	193 FPS
medium	161 FPS	163 FPS
high	135 FPS	131 FPS
ultra	106 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	154 FPS	163 FPS
medium	119 FPS	135 FPS
high	96 FPS	106 FPS
ultra	75 FPS	79 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	67 FPS
medium	58 FPS	59 FPS
high	46 FPS	46 FPS
ultra	36 FPS	36 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon W-2133

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
1080p
low	442 FPS	214 FPS
medium	404 FPS	187 FPS
high	332 FPS	173 FPS
ultra	295 FPS	140 FPS
1440p
low	420 FPS	187 FPS
medium	359 FPS	162 FPS
high	303 FPS	150 FPS
ultra	263 FPS	126 FPS
4K
low	297 FPS	160 FPS
medium	259 FPS	142 FPS
high	230 FPS	127 FPS
ultra	201 FPS	94 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon W-2133

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
1080p
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	442 FPS	315 FPS
high	442 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	315 FPS
1440p
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	442 FPS	315 FPS
high	442 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	432 FPS	315 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	361 FPS	315 FPS
high	305 FPS	311 FPS
ultra	242 FPS	251 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon W-2133

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
1080p
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	442 FPS	315 FPS
high	442 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	315 FPS
1440p
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	442 FPS	315 FPS
high	442 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	442 FPS	315 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	315 FPS
medium	442 FPS	315 FPS
high	413 FPS	315 FPS
ultra	357 FPS	315 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 3600 Open Xeon W-2133

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 3600 and Xeon W-2133

Ryzen 5 3600

The Ryzen 5 3600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 7 July 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Matisse (2019−2020) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.2 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm, 12 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 17,685 points. Launch price was $199.

Xeon W-2133

The Xeon W-2133 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 29 August 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Skylake (server) (2017−2018) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 3.9 GHz. L3 cache: 8.25 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2066. Thermal design power (TDP): 140 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400, DDR4-2666. Passmark benchmark score: 12,615 points. Launch price was $617.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Ryzen 5 3600 and Xeon W-2133 share an identical 6-core/12-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 4.2 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3600 versus 3.9 GHz on the Xeon W-2133 — a 7.4% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 3600 (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3.6 GHz). The Ryzen 5 3600 uses the Matisse (2019−2020) architecture (7 nm, 12 nm), while the Xeon W-2133 uses Skylake (server) (2017−2018) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 3600 scores 17,685 against the Xeon W-2133's 12,615 — a 33.5% lead for the Ryzen 5 3600. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 9,500 vs 6,000 (45.2% advantage for the Ryzen 5 3600). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,295 vs 1,292, a 0.2% lead for the Ryzen 5 3600 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 1,898 vs 6,647 (111.2% advantage for the Xeon W-2133). L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 3600 vs 8.25 MB (total) on the Xeon W-2133.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.2 GHz+8%	3.9 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz	3.6 GHz
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)+288%	8.25 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	1 MB (per core)+100%
Process	7 nm, 12 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Matisse (2019−2020)	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)
PassMark	17,685+40%	12,615
Cinebench R23 Multi	9,500+58%	6,000
Geekbench 6 Single	1,295	1,292
Geekbench 6 Multi	1,898	6,647+250%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 3600 uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon W-2133 uses LGA2066 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Xeon W-2133 supports up to 512 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 5 3600) vs 4 (Xeon W-2133). PCIe lanes: 24 (Ryzen 5 3600) vs 48 (Xeon W-2133) — the Xeon W-2133 offers 24 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: AMD B550,AMD X570,AMD B450,AMD X470 (Ryzen 5 3600) and C422 (Xeon W-2133).

Feature	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
Socket	AM4	LGA2066
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2666
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	512 GB+300%
RAM Channels	2	4+100%
ECC Support	No	Yes
PCIe Lanes	24	48+100%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 5 3600 has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Xeon W-2133 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: Yes (Ryzen 5 3600) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon W-2133). Primary use case: Ryzen 5 3600 targets Gaming/Budget Workstation, Xeon W-2133 targets Workstation. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 3600 rivals Core i5-10400; Xeon W-2133 rivals Ryzen Threadripper 1900X.

Feature	Ryzen 5 3600	Xeon W-2133
Integrated GPU	No	No
Unlocked	Yes	No
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	Yes	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	Gaming/Budget Workstation	Workstation

💰

Value Analysis

The Ryzen 5 3600 launched at $199 MSRP, while the Xeon W-2133 debuted at $617. On MSRP ($199 vs $617), the Ryzen 5 3600 is $418 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Ryzen 5 3600 delivers 88.9 pts/$ vs 20.4 pts/$ for the Xeon W-2133 — making the Ryzen 5 3600 the 125.2% better value option.