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 5600

2022

Why buy it

✅+13.1% higher PassMark.
✅+60% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 20 MB).
✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-1290E across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +7.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,060 vs 21,550).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (20 MB vs 32 MB).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600.

Ryzen 5 5600

2022

Xeon W-1290E

2020

Why buy it

✅+13.1% higher PassMark.
✅+60% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 20 MB).
✅Draws 65W instead of 95W, a 30W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Xeon W-1290E.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +7.5% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 10 cores / 20 threads.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Xeon W-1290E across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon W-1290E, which brings 10 cores / 20 threads.
❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Xeon W-1290E mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,060 vs 21,550).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (20 MB vs 32 MB).
❌46.2% higher power demand at 95W vs 65W.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 5600 better than Xeon W-1290E?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon W-1290E makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 5 5600 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, Ryzen 5 5600 is the better fit. You are getting 13.1% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 60% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 20 MB).

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

Ryzen 5 5600 is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 5600 is at an unclear MSRP at $199 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 13.1% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Xeon W-1290E is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 7.5% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (108.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 5600 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2022 vs 2020), 60% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 20 MB), and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 10/20. 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 5600 Benchmark Check

Xeon W-1290E Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	161 FPS	257 FPS
medium	130 FPS	237 FPS
high	112 FPS	202 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	175 FPS
1440p
low	141 FPS	221 FPS
medium	113 FPS	185 FPS
high	95 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	78 FPS	135 FPS
4K
low	79 FPS	151 FPS
medium	69 FPS	127 FPS
high	55 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	44 FPS	87 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Xeon W-1290E

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	508 FPS	476 FPS
medium	419 FPS	431 FPS
high	351 FPS	366 FPS
ultra	310 FPS	331 FPS
1440p
low	447 FPS	417 FPS
medium	375 FPS	367 FPS
high	323 FPS	316 FPS
ultra	277 FPS	275 FPS
4K
low	313 FPS	258 FPS
medium	268 FPS	226 FPS
high	243 FPS	212 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	184 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Xeon W-1290E

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	539 FPS	476 FPS
medium	526 FPS	476 FPS
high	483 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	414 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	539 FPS	476 FPS
medium	434 FPS	476 FPS
high	396 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	339 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	371 FPS	476 FPS
medium	298 FPS	476 FPS
high	255 FPS	429 FPS
ultra	197 FPS	361 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Xeon W-1290E

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Xeon W-1290E
1080p
low	539 FPS	476 FPS
medium	539 FPS	476 FPS
high	539 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	539 FPS	476 FPS
1440p
low	539 FPS	476 FPS
medium	539 FPS	476 FPS
high	539 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	476 FPS
4K
low	501 FPS	476 FPS
medium	448 FPS	476 FPS
high	398 FPS	476 FPS
ultra	349 FPS	437 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Xeon W-1290E

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 5600 and Xeon W-1290E

Ryzen 5 5600

The Ryzen 5 5600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 20 April 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 21,550 points. Launch price was $299.

Xeon W-1290E

The Xeon W-1290E is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 13 May 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture. It features 10 cores and 20 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 20 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 19,060 points. Launch price was $552.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 5600 packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon W-1290E offers 10 cores / 20 threads — the Xeon W-1290E has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Ryzen 5 5600 versus 4.8 GHz on the Xeon W-1290E — a 8.7% clock advantage for the Xeon W-1290E (base: 3.5 GHz vs 3.5 GHz). The Ryzen 5 5600 uses the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture (7 nm), while the Xeon W-1290E uses Comet Lake (2020−2025) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 5600 scores 21,550 against the Xeon W-1290E's 19,060 — a 12.3% lead for the Ryzen 5 5600. L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 5600 vs 20 MB (total) on the Xeon W-1290E.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5600	Xeon W-1290E
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	10 / 20+67%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz	4.8 GHz+9%
Base Clock	3.5 GHz	3.5 GHz
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)+60%	20 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)+100%	256 kB (per core)
Process	7 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Vermeer (2020−2025)	Comet Lake (2020−2025)
PassMark	21,550+13%	19,060
Cinebench R23 Multi	11,077	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,052	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	8,600	—

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 5600 uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon W-1290E uses LGA1200 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.