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 9 5900X

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +6.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (11,888 vs 16,000).
❌Launch MSRP is still $549 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8940HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌90.9% higher power demand at 105W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8940HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8940HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 8940HX

2025

Why buy it

✅+34.6% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Draws 55W instead of 105W, a 50W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅16.7% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 610M, while Ryzen 9 5900X needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Ryzen 9 5900X

2020

Ryzen 9 8940HX

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +6.3% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Why buy it

✅+34.6% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Draws 55W instead of 105W, a 50W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FL1 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.
✅16.7% more PCIe lanes (28 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 610M, while Ryzen 9 5900X needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (11,888 vs 16,000).
❌Launch MSRP is still $549 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 8940HX mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌90.9% higher power demand at 105W vs 55W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 9 8940HX moves to FL1 and DDR5.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 8940HX can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 8940HX better than Ryzen 9 5900X?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Ryzen 9 5900X is ahead with a 6.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 8940HX pulls ahead with 34.6% better Geekbench multi-core.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 8940HX is the better fit. You are getting 34.6% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 16 cores and 32 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 8940HX is still the faster CPU overall, but Ryzen 9 5900X makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 8940HX is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $549 MSRP, and it gives you 34.6% better Geekbench multi-core. The trade-off is that Ryzen 9 5900X is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 6.3% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Ryzen 9 5900X is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (71.0 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), 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 8940HX is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2020), a healthier platform with FL1 and DDR5 instead of AM4, and more multi-core headroom with 16 cores / 32 threads instead of 12/24. 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.

Ryzen 9 5900X Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 8940HX Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
1080p
low	323 FPS	283 FPS
medium	291 FPS	260 FPS
high	243 FPS	213 FPS
ultra	193 FPS	180 FPS
1440p
low	307 FPS	260 FPS
medium	248 FPS	217 FPS
high	192 FPS	167 FPS
ultra	157 FPS	147 FPS
4K
low	193 FPS	181 FPS
medium	156 FPS	150 FPS
high	115 FPS	114 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	102 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Ryzen 9 8940HX

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
1080p
low	772 FPS	653 FPS
medium	647 FPS	564 FPS
high	508 FPS	423 FPS
ultra	450 FPS	361 FPS
1440p
low	619 FPS	553 FPS
medium	536 FPS	493 FPS
high	443 FPS	380 FPS
ultra	364 FPS	299 FPS
4K
low	365 FPS	312 FPS
medium	318 FPS	282 FPS
high	289 FPS	248 FPS
ultra	255 FPS	210 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Ryzen 9 8940HX

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
1080p
low	832 FPS	848 FPS
medium	645 FPS	678 FPS
high	558 FPS	600 FPS
ultra	459 FPS	514 FPS
1440p
low	721 FPS	677 FPS
medium	565 FPS	542 FPS
high	488 FPS	468 FPS
ultra	407 FPS	397 FPS
4K
low	511 FPS	482 FPS
medium	421 FPS	399 FPS
high	374 FPS	359 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	301 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Ryzen 9 8940HX

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
1080p
low	974 FPS	1071 FPS
medium	974 FPS	966 FPS
high	934 FPS	843 FPS
ultra	826 FPS	759 FPS
1440p
low	959 FPS	840 FPS
medium	843 FPS	746 FPS
high	726 FPS	651 FPS
ultra	617 FPS	564 FPS
4K
low	694 FPS	618 FPS
medium	621 FPS	553 FPS
high	541 FPS	487 FPS
ultra	437 FPS	420 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Ryzen 9 8940HX

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 9 8940HX

Ryzen 9 5900X

The Ryzen 9 5900X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 5 November 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022) architecture. It features 12 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 3.7 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 64 MB. L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm, 12 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 105 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 38,955 points. Launch price was $549.

Ryzen 9 8940HX

The Ryzen 9 8940HX is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 23 April 2025 (less than a year ago). It is based on the Dragon Range (2025) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 5.3 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: 51,161 points. Launch price was $499.

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Processing Power

The Ryzen 9 5900X packs 12 cores / 24 threads, while the Ryzen 9 8940HX offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Ryzen 9 8940HX has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.8 GHz on the Ryzen 9 5900X versus 5.3 GHz on the Ryzen 9 8940HX — a 9.9% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 8940HX (base: 3.7 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Ryzen 9 5900X uses the Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022) architecture (7 nm, 12 nm), while the Ryzen 9 8940HX uses Dragon Range (2025) (5 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 9 5900X scores 38,955 against the Ryzen 9 8940HX's 51,161 — a 27.1% lead for the Ryzen 9 8940HX. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,174 vs 2,800, a 25.2% lead for the Ryzen 9 8940HX that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 11,888 vs 16,000 (29.5% advantage for the Ryzen 9 8940HX). L3 cache: 64 MB on the Ryzen 9 5900X vs 64 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 8940HX.

Feature	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
Cores / Threads	12 / 24	16 / 32+33%
Boost Clock	4.8 GHz	5.3 GHz+10%
Base Clock	3.7 GHz+54%	2.4 GHz
L3 Cache	64 MB	64 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	1 MB (per core)+100%
Process	7 nm, 12 nm	5 nm-29%
Architecture	Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022)	Dragon Range (2025)
PassMark	38,955	51,161+31%
Cinebench R23 Multi	21,000	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,174	2,800+29%
Geekbench 6 Multi	11,888	16,000+35%

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 9 5900X uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 9 8940HX uses FL1 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-3200 on the Ryzen 9 5900X versus DDR5-5200 on the Ryzen 9 8940HX — the Ryzen 9 8940HX supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Ryzen 9 5900X supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 64 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 24 (Ryzen 9 5900X) vs 28 (Ryzen 9 8940HX) — the Ryzen 9 8940HX offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: A320,B350,X370,B450,X470,B550,X570 (Ryzen 9 5900X) and AMD FL1 (Ryzen 9 8940HX).

Feature	Ryzen 9 5900X	Ryzen 9 8940HX
Socket	AM4	FL1
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0	PCIe 5.0+25%
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	DDR5-5200+25%
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+100%	64 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	Yes	No
PCIe Lanes	24	28+17%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 5900X has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Ryzen 9 8940HX supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: AMD-V (Ryzen 9 5900X) vs true (Ryzen 9 8940HX). The Ryzen 9 8940HX includes integrated graphics (Radeon 610M), while the Ryzen 9 5900X requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 9 5900X targets Workstation. Direct competitor: Ryzen 9 5900X rivals Core i9-12900K.