Real CPU performance in the users' computers for the first time

Little has been reached by the users recently of the ever increasing processor services. The benchmark provider Passmark even reported that the average value is currently falling in the year.

Notebooks slow down

Laptops are particularly affected, the average CPU performance of which has dropped by 3.4 percent compared to the previous year. According to the Passmark, the average value for notebook CPUs was 14,632 points a year ago – it resulted from 101,316 devices tested. Now this value has dropped to 14,130 points – at 25,541 samples. Desktop CPUs are also affected: Here the average score fell from 26,436 in 2024 to 26,311 in 2025. Although this is only a slight decrease of 0.5 percent, it is still a remarkable development, since a steady increase is usually expected .

It is also particularly striking that the peak of the processors almost stagnates. In the past three years there have been hardly any significant performance increases in the top CPUs for desktops and laptops. In 2023 there was still a massive leap in performance when AMD set a new record with the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX. In the laptop area, too, the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D ensured an enormous increase in performance of almost 70 percent. However, a similar development has failed since then. Intel’s latest Core Ultra 275HX only brought a modest increase in performance of 6.8 percent in the mobile sector.

Both AMD and Intel and Qualcomm recently presented new processors that should bring an increase in performance according to marketing material. However, many enthusiasts perceived the AMD Ryzen 9000 series (without X3D models) and the Intel Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200s series. There was no performance plus in productive applications.

Trend too cheap

Passmark itself speculates that, among other things, the decline in performance could be due to the fact that users are increasingly relying on cheaper and less powerful hardware. Another theory is that Windows 11 leads to lower benchmark values compared to Windows 10-a reduced performance has already been observed several times in gaming applications. It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue in the course of 2025. It is possible that with the further spread of new hardware, the average performance values will increase again. The coming months will show whether it is a temporary appearance or a fundamental change in the development of processor performance.