Intel Core i5 10600K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600: The mid-range CPU rumble continues
With the official launch of Intel’s 10th-generation Comet Lake-S processors, the Intel Core i5 10600K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600 debate was inevitable. While the best processors from Intel are still considered the gold standard for the industry, AMD is slowly increasing its market share at Intel’s expense – and in some ways even surpassing them.
In the mid-range processor class, it’s undeniable that the Ryzen 5 3600 isn’t as « fast » as the competing Intel Core i5-9600K in terms of clock speed. But with hyper-threading technology, higher IPC (instructions per clock) performance and a lower price point, the Ryzen 5 has become a popular choice among non-OEM and budget-conscious consumers.
With the release of the Intel Core i5-10600K, however, has Intel successfully reasserted its decades-long computing dominance, or does the Ryzen 5 continue to hold its own against the industry behemoth latest offering?
Intel Core i5-10600K launch price is set at $262 (around £230, AU$400), which is pretty much in line with the pricing for Intel’s previous generation Core i5 chips. The Ryzen 5 3600, meanwhile, costs significantly less with a starting price of $160 (around £150, AU$245).
Now that the Comet Lake-S has officially launched, Intel’s 9th generation Core i5 processors may see a price drop that put them more in line with AMD’s offering, though the Core i5-9600K still comes in around $200/£245/AU$308.
Even with that price drop though, the six-core, six-thread 9600K still comes up short against the six-core,12-thread Ryzen 5 3600. How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to Intel’s latest offering though?
The biggest change for the Core i5 10600K over its predecessor is hyperthreading. The 10600K is a six-core,12-thread processor with a listed base clock speed of up to 4.1GHz, boostable to a maximum single-core turbo frequency of 4.
