PassMark, a preferred and dependable benchmarking software program, in contrast to UserBenchmark, has shared some attention-grabbing information relating to the efficiency of Home windows PCs in 2025. On its official X deal with, the agency shared information that exhibits a big downtick in common CPU efficiency pattern.

When sharing this outcome, PassMark is a bit baffled by the determine as one thing like this has not occurred earlier than, resulting in hypothesis of what could be the motive, together with the transfer from Home windows 10 to 11 maybe resulting in decrease efficiency, or the addition of extra potential bloatware within the newest techniques.

For these questioning how PassMark obtains these numbers from its PerformanceTest baseline scores which are uploaded by customers operating the benchmark, the corporate explains:

This graph exhibiting yr on yr efficiency is made up of hundreds of PerformanceTest benchmark outcomes and is up to date bi-weekly (i.e. each two weeks). The chart consists of knowledge from PerformanceTest V5 to the V11. PerformanceTest V8 (launched 2012) was the primary model to gather single thread efficiency.

.. This graph counts the baselines submitted to us throughout these time interval and due to this fact is consultant of CPUs examined throughout this time.

Regardless of Microsoft’s greatest efforts to persuade that Home windows 11 is quicker than Home windows 10, even citing considerably foolish paid research, Neowin didn’t discover any notable enhancements on 11 vs 10, neither on an in-place improve nor a clear set up. In actual fact, Home windows 10 usually got here out on prime.

We additionally repeated the identical train just lately for Home windows 11 24H2 vs 23H2 to see the type of progress Microsoft is making.

By digging extra into the small print, PassMark observed that almost all of individuals are not going past eight cores and appear to be content material with that stage of efficiency.

To be truthful to customers, most video games nonetheless fail to make the most of past 16 processor threads and the rising recognition of high-resolution gaming additionally implies that the CPU is much less of a bottleneck.

On the non-gaming facet, much more software program these days is reliant on {hardware} acceleration that the GPU can present which once more implies that greater core depend CPUs most likely do not take advantage of sense.