AMD strikes a killer balance in gaming benchmarks
As a six-core,12-thread processor, the $299 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X slots perfectly into the market for midrange gaming-focused CPUs, and brings with it the best balance of core count and cost in the company’s latest launch of Zen 3-based processors. When put up against the so-so Intel Core i5-10600K, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X comes out shining on the other side, presenting serious competition for Intel (albeit at a slightly higher price point than we’re used to from Ryzens). The Ryzen 5 5600X set records in some of our gaming results, as well as being one of the best values in price-to-performance that AMD offers in 2020. It lacks the integrated graphics that some buyers in the midrange might be looking for, but that’s a small ding on an otherwise stellar showing for this Editors‘ Choice pick among gaming CPUs, alongside the also-great budget-model Ryzen 3 3300X. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Specs: The Zen 3 Midrange Pick To start, if you’d like a deeper dive into all the improvements that AMD has made to its newest line of desktop CPUs in the Zen 3 launch, we recommend checking out our comprehensive review of the Ryzen 9 5900X. But as a situational summary, here’s a quick overview of the specs for the Zen 3 midrange desktop stack of Ryzen 5000-series CPUs, as well as a reminder of the previous-generation chips they’re set to replace. On the second tab, you’ll find our comparison to Intel’s closest offerings from its 10th and 9th Generation lines… The $299 six-core/12-thread AMD Ryzen 5 5600X lands in the arena as the company’s lowest-end Zen 3 option, just behind the $449 eight-core/12-thread Ryzen 7 5800X. As with the rest of the Zen 3 launch, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is priced $50 higher than its predecessor was at the time of launch. The sting of $50 worth of price creep doesn’t hurt as much when discussing top-end options like the $749 AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (up from the $699 launch MSRP of the Ryzen 9 3950X, a difference of 7%). But at this cost tier of CPU, the $50 difference between the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and 5600X (a 20% increase) could be the make-or-break marker for a lot of PC builders‘ budgets. That isn’t the only change from Zen 2 to Zen 3, however. Since it is a gaming-focused CPU, the move to a single eight-core core complex (CCX) design in Zen 3 gives the 5600X a leg up over the Ryzen 5 3600X. In the Ryzen 5 3600X, the processor was split between two four-core CCXs, made up of two dual-core core chiplet dies (CCDs) each, with one CCX disabled in the second CCD. Image: AMD Having the cores spread across two CCDs meant that there was increased travel time for any tasks that utilized all six cores at once, which, for example, games like GTA V and titles in the Civilization series are both known for. By that same note, lightly threaded titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rainbow Six: Siege both suffered slightly on the Ryzen 5 3600X and on the follow-up refresh in the Zen 2 stack, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT, due to increased latency. No more, though. Now that all the cores of the Ryzen 5 5600X have been centralized into a single CCX design, AMD’s engineers have reduced the travel time between cores and decreased the latency at the same time. But it’s not all roses for Zen 3 here. Though the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X makes many architectural improvements from Zen 2 that lend themselves especially well to gaming performance, the company still hasn’t included any form of integrated graphics on its midrange entries. It’s at this price tier where options like the Intel Core i5-10600K can double as both the main CPU and GPU for lower-end systems or buyers on a budget, especially if the only games they plan to play are a bit more forgiving on integrated graphics, like Fortnite or CS:GO. Compared with Intel, though, AMD’s track record for socket compatibility is more favorable toward gamers who are trying to watch their budget and still get the most power out of their build as possible. As of this writing, prospective Ryzen 5 5600X owners can use an X570 or B550 AMD board with the Zen 3 chips with a BIOS update, and many X470 and B450 motherboards should get BIOS updates to work with Zen 3 CPUs in early 2021.
