AMD's AM4 platform may be nearing the end of its life, but that's not stopping the company from releasing fine-tuned new processors for it. Launching this month is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which is AMD's first CPU with 3D V-Cache technology and a likely harbinger of future chip designs. A number of slightly less glamorous chips are also hitting the street, such as the Ryzen 7 5700X that aims to offer more value than the older 5800X. The same idea goes for the new Ryzen 5 5600, whose $199.99 price undercuts the slightly beefier Ryzen 5 5600X by $100. But with market pressures pushing down the price of the 5600X, and the 5600 featuring a slightly lower clock speed, this new processor is more of an alternative choice than a clearly better one. But given the original is a great pick, this one is solid, too.
Design: One Megabyte Short of an X
Like all other AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, the Ryzen 5 5600 features a core based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, built on TSMC's 7-nanometer FinFET process. The Ryzen 5 5600 contains a total of six CPU cores with simultaneous multiprocessing technology (SMT) that lets it operate on a total of 12 threads at a time to achieve greater overall utilization and performance.
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This makes the Ryzen 5 5600 nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 5600X released in 2020, but there are a few notable differences. The Ryzen 5 5600X has a base clock of 3.7GHz and can run at a maximum speed or boost clock of 4.6GHz. The new 5600 drops those frequencies to 3.5GHz and 4.4GHz respectively. This change is relatively minor and shouldn't make the Ryzen 5 5600 feel too different in day-to-day tasks, but its slightly lower performance is clearly observable in benchmark tests. (Much more about that below.)
In creating the Ryzen 5 5600, AMD also trimmed the chip's Level 3 cache a bit. Crafting microprocessors is an imperfect process, and a minor defect can cause part of a chip to not function properly even if the rest of the silicon works fine. It would be wasteful and costly to toss out these slightly flawed chips, which is why virtually every manufacturer presses imperfect processors into service as lower-end products.
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This is what's happened with the Ryzen 5 5600, which was likely destined to be a Ryzen 5 5600X but failed to pass quality-control tests due to a slight RAM issue, which was resolved by disabling a portion of the L3 cache. This resulted in the 5600 having just 31MB of L3 cache compared to the 5600X's 32MB.
This change is intriguing, as AMD doesn't typically alter the cache size of its CPUs. Typically, when the company bins parts as lower-tier products, they disable cores and reduce clock speed but keep cache sizes untouched. It's difficult to tell how much real-world impact this tweak will have, but it's likely to be negligible. Combined with the drop in clock speed, however, it'll probably make the Ryzen 5 5600 slightly slower than the 5600X overall.
Test Setup and Benchmarking
We installed the Ryzen 5 5600 in our MSI MEG X570S Ace test bed along with 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,000MHz. AMD ships the Ryzen 5 5600 with a Wraith Stealth cooler, but we didn't use it, opting for a 240mm water cooler for consistency with other CPU benchmarks.
(Photo: Chris Stobing)
Besides the Ryzen 5 5600X, the Ryzen 5 5600's primary competitor is Intel's Core i5-12500. The Intel CPU is priced virtually identically to the AMD chip at $202 to the Ryzen's $199.99.
Unfortunately, we haven't yet tested a Core i5-12500, which makes determining the new AMD processor's competitiveness against Intel's 12th Generation "Alder Lake" CPUs a little cloudier for now. We have tested the Core i5-12600K, but that is a radically different processor from the Core i5-12500—the 12600K has 10 cores in total, six performance (P-Cores) and four efficiency (E-cores). The Core i5-12500 has only the six P-Cores, in something of a more classic Core i5 design.
For a very rough idea of the Core i5-12500's performance, you can guesstimate it as landing between the Core i5-12600K and the older Core i5-11600K. As for the Ryzen 5 5600X, as we said it should outpace the new Ryzen 5 5600 by at least a small margin. The $100 difference in MSRP would seem to put the two AMD chips far enough apart to coexist, but online retailers are currently selling the Ryzen 5 5600X for $220 to $230, considerably under its list price.
With a midrange processor like the Ryzen 5 5600, test results can at times be underwhelming. This is one of those times. High-end processors can fight it out for the performance crown, but AMD and Intel need to make their cases why we should buy other CPUs based on their overall value. This, of course, is best determined by comparing a processor's performance and cost to surrounding chips.
For the Ryzen 5 5600, the results from our CPU tests were decidedly middle-of-the-road. The new chip neither soundly outperformed nor lost badly to the various similarly priced chips in our chart. It handily beat less powerful parts like the AMD Ryzen 3 3100, the Ryzen 5 5500, and the Ryzen 5 5600G, as well as the old 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10105 and Core i5-10600K. It went toe to toe with Intel's Core i5-11600K in many of our charts, but all the other high-end CPUs clearly beat the new Ryzen in most tests.
Don't take these results to mean that the Ryzen 5 5600 is a bad chip; it performed adequately in all our tests considering its price point. It's hard to fault the chip based on these numbers, but it's hard to recommend it over a Core i5-11600K or Core i5-12500 for around the same price when those CPUs have the on-chip graphics the AMD lacks. (Unless, of course, you already have a compatible AMD AM4 motherboard and GPU you can use, which might save you a bunch and/or get you better graphics performance.)
Next up, our gaming tests with discrete card, performed with our GeForce RTX 3080 Ti at Founders Edition clocks...
The Ryzen 5 5600's performance in our gaming tests resembled its results in our processing benchmarks—it did reasonably well overall, but didn't stand out against similarly priced CPUs. The new AMD pulled ahead in our Rainbow Six Siege 1080p test against Intel's Core i5-11600K, but in the other game tests the two processors were in a dead heat. Everything else in the list proved pretty either faster and higher-priced or slower and cheaper. The only exceptions are AMD's Ryzens with integrated graphics, which are similarly priced and notably slower, but those aren't really intended for use with a graphics card. The on-chip graphics are largely the point of those.
Verdict: Sweet Six-Core Scores
Overall, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a decent processor for PC builders or AM4 upgraders who own a graphics card, but it's difficult to say much more about it given its lack of integrated graphics and the small delta between its $199.99 launch price and current street prices for the Ryzen 5 5600X. Its performance is good enough, but it fails to achieve a noticeable advantage over the many competing CPUs in this price range.
Without a clear win in pricing or benchmarks, the best you can do when picking between the Ryzen 5 5600 and, say, the Core i5-11600K is to just go with whichever platform makes more sense: Do you already own a motherboard for one or the other? The other factor is on-chip graphics, or the 5600's lack thereof. Most like-priced Intel Core i5 parts (barring the special "F" models) have integrated graphics for basic display output without a video card.
(Photo: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
If you're not building a gaming PC, we'd give the edge to Intel's Core i5-11600K, as it has an integrated graphics chip that's perfectly suitable for non-gaming applications. For a gaming rig, however, the Ryzen 5 5600 is a workable if not a standout solution. It all comes down to the platform (and possible GPU) you already own, and whether the price falls below its MSRP, given how close its own 5600X kin crowds it.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600
4.0
(Opens in a new window)
See It$125.99 at Amazon(Opens in a new window)MSRP $199.99
Pros
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Alluring $199 price point
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Competitive with Intel 11th Generation Core i5 processors
Cons
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Like all non-"G" series Ryzens, no integrated graphics
The Bottom Line
AMD's six-core Ryzen 5 5600 performs well enough for its price and is a solid midrange productivity and gaming CPU. Just mind the lack of integrated graphics and the street price of its own sterling sibling, the Ryzen 5 5600X.
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FAQs
Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 good for gaming? ›
AMD launched its non-X Ryzen 5000 CPUs pretty late into the cycle. Many will argue that it was a delayed response to the budget Alder Lake offerings, and it probably was. Regardless, the Ryzen 5 5600, with its $199 price tag (now $150), is a solid option for gamers with 60Hz displays.
Is the Ryzen 5 5600 good enough? ›The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is an excellent mid-range desktop processor that handles all everyday tasks and even games very well. For an affordable price, it delivers enough performance to please many users.
Is Ryzen 5 5600X a good CPU? ›The Ryzen 5 5600X takes the mid-range by storm with six cores and twelve threads powered by the Zen 3 architecture fabbed on the 7nm process. That potent combination equates to a ~19% improvement in instruction per cycle (IPC) throughput, making the 5600X an easy choice for our list of Best CPUs.
Is Ryzen 5 5600 better than i5? ›The Core i5 does enjoy a slight performance advantage in this title, beating the R5 5600 by up to an 11% margin at 1080p, seen when using the RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3080 12GB. The margin for the average frame rate was reduced to just 3% with the 3070, but the Intel CPU was 12% faster when looking at the 1% lows.
What is the Ryzen 5 5600 equivalent to? ›The Ryzen 5 5600X and the Core i5-11600K are close with six cores and twelve threads (and each of those cores has comparable performance), but the 5600X gets the nod here due to its bundled cooler and native support for DDR4-3200 memory.
Is Ryzen 5 better than i5? ›The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is less future-proof than the Intel Core i5 12600K, but it offers enough power for a mid-range desktop. With 6 cores and 12 threads, you can multitask smoothly. It has the same clock speed as the 12600K. The largest advantage is the energy consumption.
What is the difference between Ryzen 5 5600X and 5600? ›This makes the Ryzen 5 5600 nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 5600X released in 2020, but there are a few notable differences. The Ryzen 5 5600X has a base clock of 3.7GHz and can run at a maximum speed or boost clock of 4.6GHz. The new 5600 drops those frequencies to 3.5GHz and 4.4GHz respectively.
How much RAM can a Ryzen 5 5600 handle? ›The Ryzen 5 5600X can support up to 128GB of RAM, however, you should look into the specs of the motherboard you are using as not all AM4 boards made for the 5000 series CPUs support up to 128GB.
Is Ryzen 5 really that good? ›Verdict. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the best value gaming processor currently available, offering a similar gaming performance to rival chips that cost twice as much. Support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 also help to increase the performance ceiling of your PC, futureproofing it for years to come.
Is Ryzen 5 5600X high end? ›The Ryzen 5 5600X is a great mid-range CPU and although this is hardly 'cutting-edge' now, the 4.6GHz clock speed helps the six cores and 12 threads along in both games and workstation applications.
Can Ryzen 5 5600X run all games? ›
It works alongside the graphics card to power your PC games. This AMD CPU has 6 cores, 12 threads and runs at a clock speed of 3.7 GHz. PCGameBenchmark rates processors by how many of the top 1,000 PC games the chip can run. This AMD CPU can run 1000 of the top 1000 games - so we give it a 100% rating.
Which Intel processor is better than Ryzen 5 5600X? ›Its performance is superior to the Ryzen 5 5600X, and paired up with the right GPU it will absolutely dominate modern games. The Core i5-12600K will deliver more raw power than the Ryzen 5 5600X, but it's likely going to cost more with the new motherboard and cooler factored in.
Which generation of Ryzen 5 is best? ›For most people, we recommend the Ryzen 5 5500 thanks to the excellent value for money it presents.
Is Ryzen 5 slower than i5? ›Regarding raw performance, the AMD Ryzen 5 and the Intel Core i5 are powerful processors. However, the Ryzen 5 has an edge in this department. It has more cores and threads than the i5, which can handle more tasks simultaneously. It also has a higher base clock speed, meaning it can quickly complete those tasks.
Which is better Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel i5 12400? ›The Core i5-12400 is 13.5% faster than the Ryzen 5 5600G in single-threaded work (10% faster after tuning the 5600G), and a whopping 24% and 27% faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X and 3600, respectively.
Which is better Ryzen 5 or Intel i5 12 generation? ›Summing up, the Intel i5-12600K has more cores than the Ryzen 5 7600K that should help it give it the edge the multi-core workloads. However, the Ryzen offers higher boost clock speeds, and so seemingly offers better performance for single-core workloads such as gaming.
Which is better Ryzen 5 or Intel i5 for gaming? ›Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
That being said the AMD Ryzen 5 series is still the undisputed champion when it comes to offering power efficiency. The AMD Ryzen CPU completely dominates Intel CPUs in this department. Even with the latest Intel i5 CPU, they required more power compared to the Ryzen 5 series.
2) Ryzen 5 5600X ($199)
This is AMD's most affordable CPU suitable for gaming and streaming. It does not require much power and comes with a CPU cooler in the box which will be able to handle the heat. This is also overclockable, so if you ever need more power, it is readily available.
To sum up: Intel still leads the market for CPUs, offering the best balance between price and performance. Because of their unrivaled single-thread clock speeds, gamers will certainly want to go for an Intel CPU. AMD is increasingly competitive, and their new Ryzen 9 chip is the most powerful consumer-grade CPU.
Which is better Core or Ryzen? ›Intel Core i7 vs AMD Ryzen 7(High-end)
The i7 processors have fewer cores and threads than the Ryzen 7 but faster clock speed. This is especially beneficial if you use a single application frequently, such as a game. The AMD Ryzen 7 performs better when multitasking, such as when editing video.
Is the Ryzen 5 5600X future proof? ›
For gaming the higher IPC and clock speed of the Ryzen 5 5600X will likely still be more useful for gaming over the next few years, but the 2 extra cores of the Ryzen 7 3800 XT will be better for multitasking (e.g. for streaming) or for things that benefit from extra cores such as video editing.
When did the Ryzen 5 5600 come out? ›- 32 MB of L3 cache is excellent for performance.
- 6 cores allow for good performance.
- 3.5 GHz base frequency.
- 4.4 GHz single-core max boost frequency is excellent for performance (requires a high-end cooler)
- Max stock DDR4 speed of 3200 MHz can be good for performance.
Wolfenstein Youngblood is AMD's best result, though as the Ryzen 5 5600X outpaces the Core i5-10600K convincingly at stock speed and Intel still can't come close once overclocked here either.
Does Ryzen 5 5600 have graphics? ›Yes, the Ryzen 5 5600G does have integrated graphics. It includes AMD Radeon Graphics with 7 GPU cores, offering up to 2.3 TFLOPS of performance. This makes it suitable for casual gaming, as well as general computing tasks such as video editing and 3D modelling.
How much power does Ryzen 5 5600 need? ›Ryzen 5 5600X Power Consumption, Thermals. Notably, AMD's decision to stick with the AM4 socket still constrains its maximum power consumption to 142W, which means that it could not increase power consumption for the new flagship models.
How much FPS can a Ryzen 5 5600 run? ›The 1600 is limited to around 140 fps whereas the 5600 can put up beyond 200 fps, making it 73% faster when paired with the 6950 XT. With the 6600 XT we're looking at a 29% performance boost at 1080p. Good gains, though it is worth noting that even for high-refresh rate gaming the Ryzen 5 1600 was usable in this title.
Is Ryzen 5 low end? ›AMD Ryzen 5 5500
The Ryzen 5 5500 is a low-end AMD CPU that has six cores, 12 threads, and 16MB of L3 cache, half that of its higher-end but more expensive counterpart, the Ryzen 5 5600.
The only disadvantage of a Ryzen processor is that it doesn't have an integrated graphics card. This means you will need to buy a separate GPU if you want one, which can be expensive and unnecessary for some people.
Is Ryzen 5 good for work from home? ›For CPU-intensive tasks (like video editing, web development, or handling large excel files), the minimum is Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5. And recommended is Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 7 and above. But if you want the best of the best, you can opt for the powerful Intel i9, Ryzen 9, or Apple M1 Max or Pro.
How old is the Ryzen 5 5600X? ›
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a desktop processor with 6 SMT-enabled (12 threads) and based on the Zen 3 architecture. Launched in November 2020, it is the fastest 6-core Ryzen desktop processor.
Is the 5600X outdated? ›It's still essentially the most up to date AMD mid-range processor, if you need a processor now there's not a lot of reason not to buy it.
Can Ryzen 5 5600X handle 4k? ›The Ryzen 5 5600x is a fairly strong CPU, and the 3080 A very strong GPU. You should have no issue at 1440p ultra, or even 4k ultra in most titles.
Is the Ryzen 5 5600X good for gaming in 2022? ›The Ryzen 5 5600X is a great mid-range CPU and although this is hardly 'cutting-edge' now, the 4.6GHz clock speed helps the six cores and 12 threads along in both games and workstation applications.
Is Ryzen 5 5600X enough for Windows 11? ›As per the link below the AMD Ryzen:tm: 5 5600 is compatible with Windows 11: https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-5...
Does Ryzen 5 5600X need graphics card? ›Unlike the Ryzen 5 5600G chip, however, the new Ryzen 5 5600 and the Ryzen 5 5600X don't have integrated graphics. This means you'll have to buy a dedicated graphics card to use these processors for a PC build.
Is Ryzen 5 better than Intel 11th Gen? ›Winner: Intel
The Core i5-11400 comes with integrated graphics, so it wins by default if you don't plan on using a discrete GPU.
Ryzen 5 (pronounced Rye-Zen Five) is a family of mid-range performance 64-bit quad and hexa-cores x86 microprocessors introduced by AMD in March of 2017.
Which is the fastest Ryzen 5 processor? ›The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is hands down one of the finest processors we've ever laid our hands on, thanks to its compelling price and performance, something that isn't always easy to find in the components marketplace.
Is the Ryzen 5 5500 good for gaming? ›Fast six-core CPUs are still a good price/performance sweet spot for gaming and casual-to-semi-professional content creation. Ryzen 5 5500 in particular is a good value, offering 90 percent to 95 percent of the 5600's performance for 80 percent of the money.
What competes with a Ryzen 5 5600X? ›
The 12400 is incredibly competitive against the Ryzen 5 models in threaded workloads, even beating the potent Ryzen 5 5600X by 2.3% at standard settings and 6.7% after tuning both chips.
Is Ryzen 5 5600X entry level? ›Well, with AMD's latest entry-level processor (yeah, the Ryzen 5 5600X is entry-level now as Ryzen 3 is basically gone), I'm not even considering upgrading to a Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9. The Ryzen 5 5600X comes in at $299 (MSRP, not scalper price) and handles nearly any task you throw at it.
Is the Ryzen 5 5600X good for 4k gaming? ›The Ryzen 5 5600x is a fairly strong CPU, and the 3080 A very strong GPU. You should have no issue at 1440p ultra, or even 4k ultra in most titles.