Xeon 656 vs Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435
Aggregate performance score
Xeon 656 outperforms Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 by a whopping 249% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 937 | 123 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 17.94 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Server |
| Power efficiency | 16.10 | 7.48 |
| Designer | AMD | Intel |
| Manufacturer | no data | Intel |
| Architecture codename | Gorgon Point (2026) | Granite Rapids (2024−2026) |
| Release date | 5 January 2026 (less than a year ago) | 2 February 2026 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $1,399 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656: number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 6 (Hexa-Core) | 20 (Icosa-Core) |
| Performance-cores | no data | 20 |
| Threads | 12 | 40 |
| Base clock speed | 2 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.5 GHz | 4.8 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 0 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 480 KB | 112 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 6 MB | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 72 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 4 nm | Intel 3 nm |
| Die size | no data | 2x 598 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 74 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | no data | 1 |
| Socket | FP8 | FCLGA4710 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 28 Watt | 210 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | USB 4, XDNA 2 NPU (50 TOPS), Secure Processor, SMT, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX512, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, CPB, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SME | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| SGX | no data | - |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR5 | DDR5(6400MT/s) |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 4 TB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 8 |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | AMD Radeon 840M ( - 2800 MHz) | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 and Xeon 656.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 128 |
Synthetic benchmarks
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 10.87 | 37.90 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 20 |
| Threads | 12 | 40 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 28 Watt | 210 Watt |
Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 has 650% lower power consumption.
Xeon 656, on the other hand, has a 249% higher aggregate performance score, and 233% more physical cores and 233% more threads.
The Intel Xeon 656 is our recommended choice as it beats the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 in performance tests.
Be aware that Ryzen AI 5 PRO 435 is a notebook processor while Xeon 656 is a server/workstation one.
Other comparisons
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