AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 vs Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M are both server/workstation processors, but they represent vastly different design philosophies and eras. The data shows a clear split: the AMD chip dominates single-threaded workloads with a massive 99.8% lead, while the Intel chip, with its four times the core count, sweeps the majority of multi-threaded and throughput-oriented tests. Their average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the AMD part posting an average of 58916 against the Intel's 58323, a difference of just 1%, placing both at the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 is the clear victor in any workload that relies on raw clock speed and per-core efficiency. Its single-thread score of 4636 is more than double the Intel's 2320, a 99.8% advantage that makes it the obvious choice for lightly-threaded tasks, legacy software, or any application where a single fast core is the bottleneck. The data also shows a significant win in prime number finding, where the AMD part scores 235 against the Intel's 141, a 66.7% delta, indicating superior performance in algorithms with high branch prediction and low memory latency requirements. These are the wins of a modern, high-frequency design.

The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M wins the majority of the head-to-head matchups, taking 8 of the 11 tests. Its victories are concentrated in workloads that scale with core count and memory parallelism. The most striking win is in data compression, where it scores 573896 against the AMD's 363736, a 36.6% margin. It also dominates random string sorting (69236 vs 38410, a 44.5% lead) and integer math (129213 vs 93019, a 28% lead). These are throughput-heavy, multi-threaded tasks where the Intel's 24 cores and 48 threads provide a massive parallel advantage over the AMD's 6 cores and 12 threads. The Intel's wins in floating-point math (73514 vs 62720), extended instructions (35529 vs 29705), and the multithread test (34592 vs 31434) reinforce this pattern.

Architecture Differences

The two processors are built on fundamentally different foundations. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 is a 6-core, 12-thread part from the 9000 series, codenamed Granite Ridge, built on a 4nm process at TSMC. It features a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 watts. It uses the AMD Socket AM5 and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The chip includes 80 KB of L1 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core, alongside a shared 32 MB L3 cache, and it packs 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. It also integrates Radeon Graphics and supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes from the CPU.

The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is a 24-core, 48-thread behemoth from the Cascade Lake-SP generation, built on Intel's 14nm process. It operates at a much lower base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, but its TDP is significantly higher at 165 watts. It uses the Intel Socket 3647 and supports DDR4 memory. Its cache hierarchy is different: 64 KB of L1 and 1 MB of L2 per core, but a larger shared L3 pool of 35.75 MB. It contains approximately 8,000 million transistors. The Intel part has no integrated graphics and no listed PCIe lanes in the data. The architectural chasm is clear: one is a high-frequency, modern-node part with fewer cores, while the other is an older, higher-core-count part designed for parallel throughput on a much less dense process node.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single-thread benchmark provides the starkest contrast. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 scores 4636, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 2320, yielding a 99.8% delta in favor of AMD. This is not a marginal win; it is a doubling of performance, directly attributable to the AMD's 5.40 GHz boost clock versus the Intel's 3.90 GHz. Similarly, in the find prime numbers test, the AMD chip scores 235 versus the Intel's 141, a 66.7% lead, showcasing the AMD's advantage in latency-sensitive, single-threaded integer operations.

The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M's largest victories come in data-intensive parallel workloads. In data compression, it scores 573896 against the AMD's 363736, a 36.6% deficit for the AMD part. The gap is even wider in random string sorting, where the Intel scores 69236 versus the AMD's 38410, a 44.5% difference. The integer math test shows a 28% lead for Intel (129213 vs 93019), and even in the multithread benchmark, where the core count difference should be most decisive, the Intel only manages a 9.1% lead (34592 vs 31434). This is a surprisingly small margin for a 4x core advantage, suggesting that the AMD's much higher clock speed and newer architecture help it close the gap in mixed-thread workloads. The Intel also wins in floating-point math (73514 vs 62720, a 14.7% lead), extended instructions (35529 vs 29705, a 16.4% lead), and physics (2080 vs 1945, a 6.5% lead), but the data encryption test is essentially a tie, with the Intel winning by a mere 0.1% (17625 vs 17599).

The Verdict

The data directs different buyers to different chips based on workload profile. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 is the pick for any environment where single-threaded performance is paramount. Its 99.8% lead in single-thread benchmarks and 66.7% lead in prime number finding make it superior for tasks like database queries with high per-core demands, financial modeling, or running legacy single-threaded applications. Its lower 65-watt TDP and modern DDR5 support also make it a more efficient and forward-looking platform for these roles.

The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is the choice for scale-out, throughput-oriented workloads that can utilize all 48 threads. Its 36.6% lead in data compression and 44.5% lead in random string sorting make it ideal for big-data processing, heavy file compression, or scientific computing that parallelizes well. The 28% lead in integer math further cements its position for general server-side multi-threaded tasks. However, the data also shows that its advantage is not as overwhelming as the core count suggests, with only a 9.1% lead in the multithread benchmark, meaning the AMD part is surprisingly competitive in mixed workloads. The Intel chip is the right tool for bulk parallel processing; the AMD chip is the right tool for raw speed.

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in single-threaded tasks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 is dramatically faster, scoring 4636 in the passmark single-thread test compared to the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M's 2320, a 99.8% advantage for the AMD chip.

Q: Which processor has more cores and threads?

A: The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M has 24 cores and 48 threads, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 has 6 cores and 12 threads.

Q: Which CPU wins the most benchmark comparisons?

A: The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M wins 8 out of the 11 head-to-head benchmark tests, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 wins 3.

Q: What is the average benchmark score difference between them?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 has an average benchmark score of 58916, which is only 1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M's average score of 58323.

Q: Does the AMD processor have integrated graphics?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 includes integrated Radeon Graphics. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M has no integrated graphics listed in the data.

Q: What memory types do they support?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 supports DDR5 memory, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M supports DDR4 memory.

Specification Differences

The table below lists only the specifications where the two processors differ, based on the data provided.

| Specification | AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 9645 | Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Cores | 6 | 24 |

| Threads | 12 | 48 |

| Base Clock | 3.90 GHz | 2.40 GHz |

| Boost Clock | 5.40 GHz | 3.90 GHz |

| TDP | 65 W | 165 W |

| Socket | AMD Socket AM5 | Intel Socket 3647 |

| Codename | Granite Ridge | Cascade Lake-SP |

| Process Node | 4 nm (TSMC) | 14 nm (Intel) |

| Transistors | 8,315 million | 8,000 million |

| Die Size | 70.6 mm² | Not specified |

| L1 Cache | 80 KB (per core) | 64 KB (per core) |

| L3 Cache | 32 MB (shared) | 35.75 MB (shared) |

| Memory Support | DDR5 | DDR4 |

| Memory Bus | Dual-channel | Not specified |

| Memory Bandwidth | 89.6 GB/s | Not specified |

| PCIe | Gen 5, 24 Lanes (CPU only) | Not specified |

| Integrated Graphics | Radeon Graphics | None |

| Release Date | 2025-09-15 | 2018-12-10 |

| Part Number | 100-000001409 | SRF9JCD8069504201201 |