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: +26.6% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+132.7% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 28 MB).
✅Costs $2,063 less on MSRP ($549 MSRP vs $2,612 MSRP).
✅Delivers 668.8% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 71.0 vs 9.2 PassMark/$ ($549 MSRP vs $2,612 MSRP).
✅Draws 105W instead of 125W, a 20W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (11,888 vs 15,439).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6138, which brings 20 cores / 40 threads and 48 PCIe lanes.
❌No AVX-512 support for niche heavy compute workloads where it can matter.

Xeon Gold 6138

2017

Why buy it

✅+29.9% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅100% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (28 MB vs 64 MB).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 71.0 PassMark/$ ($2,612 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
❌19% higher power demand at 125W vs 105W.

Ryzen 9 5900X

2020

Xeon Gold 6138

2017

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +26.6% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+132.7% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 28 MB).
✅Costs $2,063 less on MSRP ($549 MSRP vs $2,612 MSRP).
✅Delivers 668.8% more PassMark for each dollar spent, at 71.0 vs 9.2 PassMark/$ ($549 MSRP vs $2,612 MSRP).
✅Draws 105W instead of 125W, a 20W reduction.

Why buy it

✅+29.9% higher Geekbench multi-core.
✅Better for workstations and heavier parallel workloads: 20 cores / 40 threads, plus 48 PCIe lanes vs 24.
✅100% more PCIe lanes (48 vs 24) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.

Trade-offs

❌Lower Geekbench multi-core (11,888 vs 15,439).
❌Less compelling for workstation-style loads than Xeon Gold 6138, which brings 20 cores / 40 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 9 5900X across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (28 MB vs 64 MB).
❌Lower PassMark per dollar, at 9.2 vs 71.0 PassMark/$ ($2,612 MSRP vs $549 MSRP).
❌19% higher power demand at 125W vs 105W.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 5900X better than Xeon Gold 6138?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. Xeon Gold 6138 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Ryzen 9 5900X 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, Xeon Gold 6138 is the better fit. You are getting 29.9% better Geekbench multi-core, backed by 20 cores and 40 threads.

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

Ryzen 9 5900X is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 9 5900X is $2,063 cheaper on MSRP at $549 MSRP versus $2,612 MSRP, and it gives you a 26.6% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. The trade-off is that Xeon Gold 6138 is still stronger for heavier multi-core work with 29.9% better Geekbench multi-core. It is also 668.8% better value on MSRP (71.0 vs 9.2 PassMark/$), 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 9 5900X is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2020 vs 2017) and 132.7% larger total L3 cache (64 MB vs 28 MB). That makes it the safer long-term pick.

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

Xeon Gold 6138 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
1080p
low	323 FPS	186 FPS
medium	291 FPS	151 FPS
high	243 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	193 FPS	96 FPS
1440p
low	307 FPS	146 FPS
medium	248 FPS	115 FPS
high	192 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	157 FPS	72 FPS
4K
low	193 FPS	68 FPS
medium	156 FPS	57 FPS
high	115 FPS	45 FPS
ultra	103 FPS	36 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Xeon Gold 6138

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
1080p
low	772 FPS	212 FPS
medium	647 FPS	188 FPS
high	508 FPS	161 FPS
ultra	450 FPS	136 FPS
1440p
low	619 FPS	183 FPS
medium	536 FPS	166 FPS
high	443 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	364 FPS	120 FPS
4K
low	365 FPS	119 FPS
medium	318 FPS	109 FPS
high	289 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	255 FPS	82 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Xeon Gold 6138

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
1080p
low	832 FPS	603 FPS
medium	645 FPS	603 FPS
high	558 FPS	603 FPS
ultra	459 FPS	603 FPS
1440p
low	721 FPS	603 FPS
medium	565 FPS	603 FPS
high	488 FPS	573 FPS
ultra	407 FPS	506 FPS
4K
low	511 FPS	455 FPS
medium	421 FPS	357 FPS
high	374 FPS	318 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	259 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Xeon Gold 6138

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
1080p
low	974 FPS	603 FPS
medium	974 FPS	603 FPS
high	934 FPS	603 FPS
ultra	826 FPS	563 FPS
1440p
low	959 FPS	603 FPS
medium	843 FPS	587 FPS
high	726 FPS	505 FPS
ultra	617 FPS	433 FPS
4K
low	694 FPS	462 FPS
medium	621 FPS	414 FPS
high	541 FPS	369 FPS
ultra	437 FPS	320 FPS

Open Ryzen 9 5900X Open Xeon Gold 6138

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 9 5900X and Xeon Gold 6138

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.

Xeon Gold 6138

The Xeon Gold 6138 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 25 April 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Skylake (server) (2017−2018) architecture. It features 20 cores and 40 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3.7 GHz. L3 cache: 27.5 MB. L2 cache: 20 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 125 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2666. Passmark benchmark score: 24,108 points. Launch price was $2,612.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 9 5900X packs 12 cores / 24 threads, while the Xeon Gold 6138 offers 20 cores / 40 threads — the Xeon Gold 6138 has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.8 GHz on the Ryzen 9 5900X versus 3.7 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6138 — a 25.9% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 5900X (base: 3.7 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Ryzen 9 5900X uses the Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022) architecture (7 nm, 12 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6138 uses Skylake (server) (2017−2018) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 9 5900X scores 38,955 against the Xeon Gold 6138's 24,108 — a 47.1% lead for the Ryzen 9 5900X. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,174 vs 1,261, a 53.2% lead for the Ryzen 9 5900X that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 11,888 vs 15,439 (26% advantage for the Xeon Gold 6138). L3 cache: 64 MB on the Ryzen 9 5900X vs 27.5 MB on the Xeon Gold 6138.

Feature	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
Cores / Threads	12 / 24	20 / 40+67%
Boost Clock	4.8 GHz+30%	3.7 GHz
Base Clock	3.7 GHz+85%	2 GHz
L3 Cache	64 MB+133%	27.5 MB
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	20 MB+3900%
Process	7 nm, 12 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022)	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)
PassMark	38,955+62%	24,108
Cinebench R23 Multi	21,000	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,174+72%	1,261
Geekbench 6 Multi	11,888	15,439+30%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 9 5900X uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Xeon Gold 6138 uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Xeon Gold 6138 supports up to 768 GB of RAM compared to 128 GB — 142.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Ryzen 9 5900X) vs 6 (Xeon Gold 6138). PCIe lanes: 24 (Ryzen 9 5900X) vs 48 (Xeon Gold 6138) — the Xeon Gold 6138 offers 24 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: A320,B350,X370,B450,X470,B550,X570 (Ryzen 9 5900X) and C621 (Xeon Gold 6138).

Feature	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
Socket	AM4	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2666
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	768 GB+500%
RAM Channels	2	6+200%
ECC Support	Yes	Yes
PCIe Lanes	24	48+100%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Ryzen 9 5900X has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Xeon Gold 6138 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: AMD-V (Ryzen 9 5900X) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon Gold 6138). Primary use case: Ryzen 9 5900X targets Workstation, Xeon Gold 6138 targets Server. Direct competitor: Ryzen 9 5900X rivals Core i9-12900K.

Feature	Ryzen 9 5900X	Xeon Gold 6138
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	—	None
Unlocked	Yes	No
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	AMD-V	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	Workstation	Server

💰

Value Analysis

The Ryzen 9 5900X launched at $549 MSRP, while the Xeon Gold 6138 debuted at $2612. On MSRP ($549 vs $2612), the Ryzen 9 5900X is $2063 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Ryzen 9 5900X delivers 71.0 pts/$ vs 9.2 pts/$ for the Xeon Gold 6138 — making the Ryzen 9 5900X the 154% better value option.