With the official release of Intel's 5th Gen Comet Lake-S processors, the Intel Core i10600 5K vs. AMD Ryzen 3600 5 debate was inevitable. While Intel's best processors are still considered the industry gold standard, AMD is slowly increasing its market share at Intel's expense, and in some ways even surpassing them. In the mid-range processor class, there's no denying that the Ryzen 3600 5 isn't quite as "fast" as the Intel Core i9600-5K processor in terms of clock speeds. But with Hyper-Threading technology, higher IPC (instruction clock) performance, and a lower price, the Ryzen 5 has become a popular choice among non-OEM and budget-conscious consumers. However, with the release of the Intel Core i10600-5K, Intel managed to reassert its decades-long dominance of the computer, or does the Ryzen XNUMX continue to hold its own against the latest offering from the giant 'industry?
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(Image credit: future)
Price and availability.
The launch price of the Intel Core i5-10600K is set at €262 (about $230, AU$400), which roughly matches the price of Intel's previous generation Core i5 chips. The Ryzen 5 3600, on the other hand, costs a lot less with a starting price of $160 (about $150, AU$245). Now that the Comet Lake-S has officially launched, Intel's 5th-gen Core i5 processors could see a price drop that would make them more in line with AMD's offering, though the Core i9600-200K still comes in around $245/ €308 / AU$9600. Even with this price reduction, the six-core, six-thread 5K still compares to the six-core, 3600-thread Ryzen 12 5. How does the Ryzen 3600 XNUMX compare to Intel's latest offering?
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(Image credit: future)
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(Image credit: future)
Features
Hyperthreading is the biggest change to the Core i5 10600K compared to its predecessor. The 10600K is a 12-core, 4,1-thread processor with a base clock speed of up to 4,8 GHz, which can be boosted to a maximum single-core turbo frequency of 630 GHz. it can be overclocked and includes an integrated Intel UHD 125 graphics processor. Its Thermal Design Power (TDP) is 30 W, 16 W more than its predecessor. It supports 3.0 PCIe 128 lanes, up to 4GB of non-ECC dual ECC DDR2933-3 RAM, and has a 12MB L5 cache size. Meanwhile, the AMD Ryzen 3600 6 also has 12 cores and 3.6 threads, but with a lower base clock speed of 4.2 GHz. Its maximum turbo speed is 5 GHz. It can also be overclocked but does not come with an integrated GPU. Its TDP is much lower than that of Intel Core i10600-65K processors, at 20W, it supports 4.0 PCIe 128 lanes, and up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR3200-5 ECC RAM. However, the Intel Core i10600-1200K requires the latest Intel LGA 5 chipset, so if you're using an Intel Core i9600-10600K and want to upgrade to 5K, you'll have to buy a whole new motherboard to get it. The AMD Ryzen 3600 4 uses the same AMXNUMX socket as its predecessor, some squeezing the last bit of life out of older cards.
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(Image credit: Intel)
We were unable to test or compare Intel's latest chips, which means we have to reverse what Intel has reported for the Core i7 and i9 processors in terms of performance. According to Intel, Comet Lake desktop processors will deliver up to 33% higher frames per second (FPS) when playing Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord compared to its predecessor, with up to 10% higher FPS in Player Unknown: Fields. of battle and 13% more FPS in Monster Hunter World. How far this translates to the Core i5 is impossible to discern, so these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt until we've had a chance to test the Core i5-10600K ourselves. If these numbers are at least in the same rough stage for the 10600K, then we can expect an improvement over the 9600K, even if it's modest. So how does this compare to the Ryzen 5 3600? Since it's a very popular processor for gamers, gaming performance will be a crucial battleground for both chipmakers.
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(Image credit: LaComparacion)
Intel Core i5 10600K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600: Who Will Be the Gaming CPU Champion?
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 could match the gaming performance of 5th Gen Intel Core i5 chips at a significantly lower price, so what's the chance Intel's latest Comet Lake midrange processor can bring back the gamers in the lap of Intel? It's hard to say without comparing the chip ourselves, but there are several major hurdles facing Intel in this fight. While the Core i10600-4K has 5K-capable integrated graphics, expecting high-performance gaming with an integrated GPU is crazy. Most gaming consumers will be looking to use a more powerful discrete GPU for their rigs, so one of Intel's main advantages over the AMD Ryzen 3600 5 is somewhat theoretical. Also, the Ryzen 3600 9 matched the performance of the Core i9900 10K almost frame-for-frame, so the 33% to 5% FPS improvements Intel promises for Comet Lake processors are likely factored in. aside when the Ryzen 3600 120 already generates almost 101 FPS in Middle-earth: Shadow of War and 5 FPS in Warhammer: Total War II. Assuming the Intel Core i10600 9K performs as well as the Intel Core i100, is the difference between 120 FPS and 10600 FPS worth the additional investment required to upgrade to the Intel 1200K? Remember, you'll also need to buy a new LGA 20 motherboard. On the high end, these kinds of performance differences might make sense, but for a budget gamer, that extra 5 FPS seems awfully expensive, especially when your game is already awesome, and that's assuming Intel can provide this kind of performance at the Core i5 level, which isn't certain yet. At this point, it still looks like the AMD Ryzen 3600 XNUMX will remain the processor of choice for mid-range gaming rigs, so Intel has some work to do to reassert its once monolithic position.