AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Processor Review

Today, we’ll be taking a look at the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, and we’ll be comparing the performance analysis between this processor and two others, including … the Ryzen 7 3700X and an Intel Core i9-10900K.

The Ryzen 5 5600X Processor is based on AMD’s latest Vermeer core (Zen 3 architecture), and it’s targeted at mainstream users, and gamers who want the best performance over price. It features 6-cores/12-threads and operates on a base frequency of 3.7 GHz with a max boost speed of 4.6 GHz. It also supports PCIE 4.0 and comes with 3MB of L2 cache and a massive 32MB of L3 cache. And what’s amazing about this processor is the incredibly low TDP of only 65W (power consumption), making it one of the most energy efficient gaming processor available on the market. *applause*

What I like about the entire range of AMD’s latest 5000 series processors, is the fact that you don’t have to buy a new AMD 500-series motherboard to use it (unlike Intel with its Z390/LGA1151/9th gen to Z490/LGA1200/10th gen). You can literally drop it any previous generation of the 400-series chipset motherboards (and there’s rumors that the 300-series chipset could work also with it) …It’s what’s known as a ‘drop-in‘ upgrade, and I love it. Thank you AMD!

There’s been reports that the Ryzen 5 5600X can actually outperform an Intel Core i9-10900K in Cinebench single core tests. But for multi-core tests, the Intel Core i9-10900K with its 10 cores/12 threads still leads the way as it’s quite formidable processor.

Let’s find out what the new Ryzen 5000 series is all about. Here’s a little info taken from AMD’s website.

When you have the world’s most advanced processor architecture² for gamers and content creators, the possibilities are endless. Whether you are playing the latest games, designing the next skyscraper, or crunching data, you need a powerful processor that can handle it all—and more. Hands down, the AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series desktop processors set the bar for gamers and artists alike.

AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series processors power the next generation of demanding games, providing one of a kind immersive experiences and dominate any multithreaded task like 3D and video rendering³, and software compiling.

With great processing power comes the bleeding-edge technologies to support. All AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series processors come with a full suite of technologies designed to elevate your PC’s processing power including Precision Boost 2, Precision Boost Overdrive⁴ and PCIe® 4.0.

Debuting in AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series desktop processors, the “Zen 3” architecture is a ground-up redesign of the legendary “Zen” family. Equipped with end-to-end design enhancements, “Zen 3” embodies AMD’s relentless focus on single-core performance, energy efficiency, and reduced latencies. It’s at the core of the best gaming processors in the world¹.

Higher Instructions Per Clock (IPC)

You can visit AMD’s website for more information about the Ryzen … here.

Related articles

• AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G (Renoir) Processor Review
• Gigabyte B550M DS3H Motherboard Review
• ASRock B550 Extreme4 Motherboard Reviewed at Funky Kit
• ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax Motherboard Reviewed at Funky Kit
• ASRock B550 Steel Legend Motherboard Review
• ASRock B550 PG Velocita Motherboard Review
• Gigabyte AMD B550 AORUS Pro Motherboard Review
• AMD Ryzen 5 3400G Performance Analysis on X570 Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Performance Analysis on B450 Chipset

Here’s a list of components used for our test rig. I know, I know … I used a GeForce RTX 2080 for our tests, but hey it’s what I’ve got right now. I could be changing it to a Radeon RX 6800 or RX 6800 XT in the near future.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Processor

The processor comes with the usual retail packaging. Inside the box, you’ll find a nice Ryzen 5 sticker, installation instruction, including important information about your motherboard BIOS, and of course the included Wraith CPU cooling fan.

ASRock Phantom Gaming B550-ITX/ax Motherboard

We used an ASRock Phantom Gaming B550-ITX/ax motherboard during our tests, which is more than capable. You can check out the full review here.

Specifications

• Gaming Armor
  Power
  – Hi-Density Power Connectors (24 pin and 8 pin)
  Memory
  – 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots
  VGA Card
  – 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE1)
  Internet
  – Intel^® 2.5G LAN
  Audio
  – Nahimic Audio
• Unique Feature
  ASRock USB 3.2 Gen2
  – ASRock Front Panel USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Header (10 Gb/s)
  – ASRock USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s)
  – ASRock USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s)
  ASRock Super Alloy
  – Premium 90A Power Choke
  – 90A Dr.MOS
  – Premium Memory Alloy Choke (Reduces 70% core loss compared to iron powder choke)
  – Nichicon 12K Black Caps (100% Japan made high quality conductive polymer capacitors)
  – I/O Armor
  – Matte Black PCB
  – High Density Glass Fabric PCB
  – 8 Layer PCB
  – 2oz Copper PCB
  Intel^® 2.5G LAN
  Intel^® 802.11ax WiFi
  ASRock Steel Slot Gen4
  ASRock Full Coverage M.2 Heatsink
  ASRock Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4x4)
  ASRock Full Spike Protection (for all USB, Audio, LAN Ports)
  ASRock Live Update & APP Shop
• CPU
  – Supports 3^rd Gen AMD AM4 Ryzen™ / future AMD Ryzen™ Processors*
  – Digi Power design
  – 8 Power Phase design

  *Not compatible with AMD Ryzen™ 5 3400G and Ryzen™ 3 3200G.
• Chipset
  – AMD B550
• Memory
  – Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology
  – 2 x DDR4 DIMM Slots
  – AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Matisse) support DDR4 5100+(OC) / 5000(OC) / 4933(OC) / 4866(OC) / 4800(OC) / 4733(OC) / 4666(OC) / 4600(OC) / 4533(OC) / 4466(OC) / 4400(OC) / 4333(OC) / 4266(OC) / 4200(OC) / 4133(OC) / 4000(OC) / 3866(OC) / 3800(OC) / 3733(OC) / 3600(OC) / 3466(OC) / 3200 / 2933 / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*
  – AMD Next Generation Ryzen series APUs support DDR4 5400+(OC) / 5300(OC) / 5200(OC) / 5100(OC) / 5000(OC) / 4933(OC) / 4866(OC) / 4800(OC) / 4733(OC) / 4666(OC) / 4600(OC) / 4533(OC) / 4466(OC) / 4400(OC) / 4333(OC) / 4266(OC) / 4200(OC) / 4133(OC) / 4000(OC) / 3866(OC) / 3800(OC) / 3733(OC) / 3600(OC) / 3466(OC) / 3200 / 2933 / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory
  – Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB**
  – Supports Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
  – 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots

  *Ryzen Series CPUs (Matisse):
  Ryzen Series CPUs:
  SR: Single rank DIMM, 1Rx4 or 1Rx8 on DIMM module label
  DR: Dual rank DIMM, 2Rx4 or 2Rx8 on DIMM module label**Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows^® 32-bit OS. For Windows^® 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation.
• BIOS
  – 256Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support
  – Supports “Plug and Play”
  – ACPI 5.1 compliance wake up events
  – Supports jumperfree
  – SMBIOS 2.3 support
  – CPU, CPU VDDCR_SOC, DRAM, VPPM, Chipset 1.05V, 2.50V, +1.8V, VDDP Voltage Multi-adjustment
• Graphics
  – Integrated AMD Radeon Vega Series Graphics in Ryzen Series APU*
  – DirectX 12, Pixel Shader 5.0
  – Shared memory default 2GB. Max Shared memory supports up to 16GB.**
  – Dual graphics output: support HDMI and DisplayPort 1.4 ports by independent display controllers
  – Supports HDMI 2.1 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096×2160) @ 60Hz
  – Supports DisplayPort 1.4 with max. resolution up to 5K (5120×2880)@120Hz
  – Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI 2.1 Port (Compliant HDMI monitor is required)
  – Supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) with HDMI 2.1
  – Supports HDCP 2.3 with HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 Ports
  – Supports 4K Ultra HD (UHD) playback with HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 Ports
  – Supports Microsoft^® PlayReady

  *Actual support may vary by CPU

  **The Max shared memory 16GB requires 32GB system memory installed.

• Audio
  – 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec)
  – Premium Blu-ray Audio support
  – Supports Surge Protection
  – 120dB SNR DAC with Differential Amplifier
  – Pure Power-In
  – Direct Drive Technology
  – PCB Isolate Shielding
  – Impedance Sensing on Rear Out port
  – Individual PCB Layers for R/L Audio Channel
  – 15μ Gold Audio Connector
  – Nahimic Audio
• LAN
  – 2.5 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000/2500 Mb/s
  – GigaLAN Intel^® I225V
  – Supports Wake-On-LAN
  – Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
  – Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
  – Supports PXE
• Wireless LAN
  – Intel^® 802.11ax WiFi Module
  – Supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ax
  – Supports Dual-Band (2.4/5 GHz)
  – Supports WiFi6 802.11ax (2.4Gbps)
  – 2 antennas to support 2 (Transmit) x 2 (Receive) diversity technology
  – Supports Bluetooth 5.1 + High speed class II
  – Supports MU-MIMO
• Slots
  AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Matisse)
  – 1 x PCI Express x16 Slot (PCIE1: Gen4x16 mode)*
  AMD Ryzen series APUs
  – 1 x PCI Express x16 Slot (PCIE1: Gen3x16 mode)*- 1 x Vertical M.2 Socket (Key E) with the bundled WiFi-802.11ax module (on the rear I/O)
  – 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE1)

  *Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
• Storage
  – 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
  – 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) (with Matisse) or Gen3x4 (32 Gb/s)*
  – 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket, supports M Key type 2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)*

  *Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks
  Supports ASRock U.2 Kit (M2_1)
• Connector
  – 1 x RGB LED Header*
  – 1 x Addressable LED Header
  * Supports in total up to 5V/3A, 15W LED Strip
  – 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)
  * The CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum 1A (12W) fan power.
  – 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
  – 1 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
  * The Chassis/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power.
  * CPU_FAN2/WP and CHA_FAN1/WP can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use.
  – 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
  – 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
  – 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
  – 1 x USB 2.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2 Header (Supports ESD Protection)

  *Supports in total up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip
• Rear Panel I/O
  – 2 x Antenna Ports
  – 1 x HDMI Port
  – 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
  – 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
  – 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
  – HD Audio Jacks: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
• Software and UEFI
  Software
  – ASRock Motherboard Utility (Phantom Gaming Tuning)
  – ASRock Polychrome SYNC
  – ASRock Key Master
  – ASRock XFast LAN
  UEFI
  – ASRock Full HD UEFI
  – ASRock Instant Flash

  *These utilities can be downloaded from ASRock Live Update & APP Shop.
• Support CD
  – Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), Google Chrome Browser and Toolbar
• Accessories
  – Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
  – 2 x SATA Data Cables
  – 1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna
  – 1 x Screw for M.2 Socket
• Hardware Monitor
  – Temperature Sensing: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans
  – Fan Tachometer: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans
  – Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU temperature): CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans
  – Fan Multi-Speed Control: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans
  – Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, CPU Vcore
• Form Factor
  – Mini-ITX Form Factor: 6.7-in x 6.7-in, 17.0 cm x 17.0 cm
  – 8 Layer PCB

More information can be found on ASRock’s website.

BIOS

We needed a BIOS update for the motherboard, since the board was purchased before the processor was launched. And after a quick BIOS update, as you can see the ASRock Phantom Gaming B550-ITX/ax motherboard instantly recognizes the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor.

Not sure what it is, but something about the BIOS page makes me smile. Maybe it’s the 6-cores or 32MB of L3 cache, or it could be just the fact that it’s a Ryzen 5 5600X! 😀

Of course, to get the best out of the system, we enabled XMP profiles in the BIOS to run the memory in dual channel mode at DDR4-3200 speeds.

CPU-Z

AIDA64 CPU/Chipset

Windows Device Manager

GeekBench 5

Geekbench is a cross-platform processor benchmark, with a scoring system that separates single-core and multi-core performance, and workloads that simulate real-world scenarios. The software benchmark is available for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS.

Test rigs

For our tests, we used a total 3 test systems … the 1st system is comprised of an ASRock Phantom Gaming B550-ITX motherboard with a Ryzen 5 5600X, while the 2nd second system is powered by a Ryzen 7 3700X siting on an ASRock X570 Creator motherboard. And finally, the 3rd system features the Intel Core i9-10900K processor along with an ASRock Z490 Steel Legend motherboard. All three systems includes a PCIE M.2 SSD and 16GB of DDR4-3200 ram in dual channel mode.

All tests were conducted at default clock speeds at a resolution of 1920×1080. High or Ultra settings enabled where possible.

Benchmark Comparison

We want to compare the performance difference between the following systems …

• Ryzen 5 5600X (with B550 motherboard) – 1st Column
• Ryzen 7 3700X (with X570 motherboard) – 2nd Column
• Intel Core i9-10900K (with Z490 motherboard) – 3rd Column

I’ll let the numbers do all the talking …

PassMark 9

Fast, easy to use, PC speed testing and benchmarking. PassMark PerformanceTest allows you to objectively benchmark a PC using a variety of different speed tests and compare the results to other computers.

PCMark 10

PCMark 10 is the latest in our series of industry standard PC benchmarks. Updated for Windows 10 with new and improved workloads, PCMark 10 is also faster and easier to use. PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With express, extended, and custom run options to suit your needs, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office and an ideal choice for organizations that buy PCs in high volumes.

3DMark – Port Royal

3DMark Port Royal is the world’s first dedicated real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers. You can use Port Royal to test and compare the real-time ray tracing performance of any graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX Raytracing. As well as benchmarking performance, 3DMark Port Royal provides a realistic and practical example of what to expect from ray tracing in upcoming games.

Time Spy

3DMark Time Spy is a new DirectX 12 benchmark test for Windows 10 gaming PCs. Time Spy is one of the first DirectX 12 apps to be built “the right way” from the ground up to fully realize the performance gains that the new API offers. With its pure DirectX 12 engine, which supports new API features like asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading, Time Spy is the ideal test for benchmarking the latest graphics cards.

Firestrike

Fire Strike is a showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for today’s high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today.

Cinebench R15

CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software Cinema 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more. CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics performance across various systems and platforms (Windows and OS X).

Single Core

Multi Core

AIDA64 CPU Queen

AIDA64 CPU Photoworxx

AIDA64 Memory Test

HyperPi 1M 

A simple-to-configure and portable software program that helps you calculate the pi value for a given number of digits and perform overclocking operations on multi-core machines.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware software to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. 

Load Temperatures

Full load temperatures reached a high of 76 degrees Celsius, which is quite impressive to say the least, considering the processor is running at max boost speed of 4.6 GHz. This by the way, is all thanks to the super low TDP of only 65W!

Verdict and Conclusion

If there’s one processor you need to buy for your gaming PC, then go get yourself an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. This is one helluva processor, both in terms of price and performance. And with a price tag of only USD $299, it’s easily going to make its way to become the bargain of the century … no joke!

Mmm, let’s see why I came to this conclusion … Need I say more?

• 6 cores / 12 threads
• Base Clock: 3.7 GHz
• Max Boost: 4.6 GHz
• L3 Cache: 32MB
• 7nm FinFET
• PCIE 4.0 Support
• TDP: 65W
• Wraith Stealth CPU cooler INCLUDED!
• Drop-in upgrade for previous-gen 400-series motherboards (and possibly 300-series motherboard too)
• Price: USD $299!

One of the most exciting news this week, is a rumor that depicts AMDS’s Ryzen 5000 processors allegedly working on older 300-series motherboards. If this is true, it could be a real game changer for thousands of users still using motherboards with the 300-series chipsets. Let’s hope there’s some truth in it, I would love to see mass adoption of AMD’s latest 5000-series processors for all gamers.

There’s a saying … ‘action speaks louder than words‘, and this so true with the Ryzen 5 5600X. During our benchmarks, Ryzen 5 5600X produced an impressive score of 7,954 on PCMark 10 with a Cinebench score of 1,821. For Passmark 9, we got a very good score of 6,835, while GeekBench 5 scores for single and multi-core, we got a score of 1,560 and 7,966, respectively. All-in-all, the Ryzen Ryzen 5 5600X is quite a beast to say the least!

If you look at the above list of pros, there’s no denying the Ryzen 5 5600X has a lot going for it. Retailing at around USD $299, the price over performance is truly outstanding. I don’t think there’s any Intel processor out there that can beat it in this price range.

Final Words

AMD has again answered its critics and delivered one of the best gaming processor we’ve seen to date. The Ryzen 5 5600X features all of AMD’s latest technologies, while offering excellent value, amazing performance and seamless compatibility with both the 500-series and 400-series motherboards.

Related articles

• AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G (Renoir) Processor Review
• Gigabyte B550M DS3H Motherboard Review
• ASRock B550 Extreme4 Motherboard Reviewed at Funky Kit
• ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax Motherboard Reviewed at Funky Kit
• ASRock B550 Steel Legend Motherboard Review
• ASRock B550 PG Velocita Motherboard Review
• Gigabyte AMD B550 AORUS Pro Motherboard Review
• AMD Ryzen 5 3400G Performance Analysis on X570 Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Performance Analysis on B450 Chipset