Xeon Platinum 8481C vs Core Ultra 5 115U

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.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Xeon Platinum 8481C is positioned at rank 296 and the Core Ultra 5 115U is on rank 779, so the Xeon Platinum 8481C offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon Platinum 8481C

#1

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

4448%

#6

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

840%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

746%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

576%

#230

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX

MSRP: $1337|Avg: $368

100%

#232

EPYC 7282

MSRP: $650|Avg: $199

99%

#233

Xeon w5-2545

MSRP: $889|Avg: $1100

98%

#234

Xeon W-1250P

MSRP: $311|Avg: $311

98%

#296

Xeon Platinum 8481C

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#304

Xeon E5-2620 v4

MSRP: $417|Avg: $410

99%

#306

Xeon Silver 4108

MSRP: $417|Avg: $46

98%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Core Ultra 5 115U

#767

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

1146%

#768

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

1129%

#769

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

1037%

#770

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

1032%

#771

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

1023%

#773

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

988%

#774

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

947%

#775

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

945%

#776

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

920%

#779

Core Ultra 5 115U

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#790

Athlon 64 TF-20

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

97%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($0) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon Platinum 8481C is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Xeon Platinum 8481C	Core Ultra 5 115U
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing
Longevity	✨ Modern (Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) / 10 nm)	✨ Modern (Meteor Lake (2023) / 7 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core Ultra 5 115U ($0), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($0 less, NaN% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Xeon Platinum 8481C	Core Ultra 5 115U
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing

Performance Check

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.

Xeon Platinum 8481C Benchmark Check

Core Ultra 5 115U Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Xeon Platinum 8481C and Core Ultra 5 115U

Xeon Platinum 8481C

The Xeon Platinum 8481C is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) architecture. It features 56 cores and 112 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 105 MB. L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4677. Thermal design power (TDP): 350 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 11,681 points. Launch price was $800.

Core Ultra 5 115U

The Core Ultra 5 115U is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Meteor Lake (2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 10 threads. Base frequency is 1.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.2 GHz. L3 cache: 10 MB (total). L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA2049. Thermal design power (TDP): + 10 MB. Memory support: DDR5 Depends on motherboard. Passmark benchmark score: 11,518 points. Launch price was $149.

⚡

Processing Power

The Xeon Platinum 8481C packs 56 cores / 112 threads, while the Core Ultra 5 115U offers 8 cores / 10 threads — the Xeon Platinum 8481C has 48 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.8 GHz on the Xeon Platinum 8481C versus 4.2 GHz on the Core Ultra 5 115U — a 10% clock advantage for the Core Ultra 5 115U (base: 2 GHz vs 1.5 GHz). The Xeon Platinum 8481C uses the Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024) architecture (10 nm), while the Core Ultra 5 115U uses Meteor Lake (2023) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon Platinum 8481C scores 11,681 against the Core Ultra 5 115U's 11,518 — a 1.4% lead for the Xeon Platinum 8481C. L3 cache: 105 MB on the Xeon Platinum 8481C vs 10 MB (total) on the Core Ultra 5 115U.

Feature	Xeon Platinum 8481C	Core Ultra 5 115U
Cores / Threads	56 / 112+600%	8 / 10
Boost Clock	3.8 GHz	4.2 GHz+11%
Base Clock	2 GHz+33%	1.5 GHz
L3 Cache	105 MB+950%	10 MB (total)
L2 Cache	2 MB (per core)	2 MB (per core)
Process	10 nm	7 nm-30%
Architecture	Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024)	Meteor Lake (2023)
PassMark	11,681+1%	11,518

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Xeon Platinum 8481C uses the LGA4677 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Core Ultra 5 115U uses FCBGA2049 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.