Review: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 5 5600X

by Tarinder Sandhu on 12 November 2020, 14:01

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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Introduction

The release of AMD's Zen 3-powered Ryzen 5000 Series desktop processors is important as they represent, for the first time in well over a decade, CPUs with no obvious weaknesses compared to rival Intel Core. At least as good in gaming, better for multithreaded applications and using forward-looking PCIe 4.0 to boot, it's easy to recommend Ryzen for your next performance build.

Music to AMD's ears, no doubt, but while our launch-day article focused on the premium Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X, many readers are more interested in the other two 5000 Series chips arriving at more amenable price points. Enter the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 5 5600X.

Desktop AMD Ryzen product range

Model
Cores / Threads
TDP
L3 Cache
Base Clock
Turbo Clock
Process
PCIe
DDR4
Package
Price
AMD Ryzen 9
Ryzen 9 5950X
16 / 32
105W
64MB
3.4GHz
4.9GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$799
Ryzen 9 3950X
16 / 32
105W
64MB
3.5GHz
4.7GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$749
Ryzen 9 5900X
12 / 24
105W
64MB
3.7GHz
4.8GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$549
Ryzen 9 3900XT
12 / 24
105W
64MB
3.8GHz
4.7GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$499
Ryzen 9 3900X
12 / 24
105W
64MB
3.8GHz
4.6GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$499
AMD Ryzen 7
Ryzen 7 5800X
8 / 16
105W
32MB
3.8GHz
4.7GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$449
Ryzen 7 3800XT
8 / 16
105W
32MB
3.9GHz
4.7GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$399
Ryzen 7 3800X
8 / 16
105W
32MB
3.9GHz
4.5GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$399
Ryzen 7 3700X
8 / 16
65W
32MB
3.6GHz
4.4GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$329
Ryzen 7 2700X
8 / 16
105W
16MB
3.7GHz
4.3GHz
12nm
24
Dual 2933
AM4
$329
Ryzen 7 2700
8 / 16
65W
16MB
3.2GHz
4.1GHz
12nm
24
Dual 2933
AM4
$299
Ryzen 7 1800X
8 / 16
95W
16MB
3.6GHz
4.0GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$349
Ryzen 7 1700X
8 / 16
95W
16MB
3.4GHz
3.8GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$309
Ryzen 7 1700
8 / 16
65W
16MB
3.0GHz
3.7GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$299
AMD Ryzen 5
Ryzen 5 5600X
6 / 12
65W
32MB
3.7GHz
4.6GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$299
Ryzen 5 3600XT
6 / 12
95W
32MB
3.8GHz
4.5GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$249
Ryzen 5 3600X
6 / 12
95W
32MB
3.8GHz
4.4GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$249
Ryzen 5 3600
6 / 12
65W
32MB
3.6GHz
4.2GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$199
Ryzen 5 2600X
6 / 12
95W
16MB
3.6GHz
4.2GHz
12nm
24
Dual 2933
AM4
$229
Ryzen 5 2600
6 / 12
65W
16MB
3.4GHz
3.9GHz
12nm
24
Dual 2933
AM4
$199
Ryzen 5 1600X
6 / 12
95W
16MB
3.6GHz
4.0GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$219
Ryzen 5 1600
6 / 12
65W
16MB
3.2GHz
3.6GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$189
Ryzen 5 3400G
4 / 8
65W
4MB
3.7GHz
4.2GHz
12nm
24
Dual 2933
AM4
$149
Ryzen 5 2400G
4 / 8
65W
4MB
3.6GHz
3.9GHz
14nm
16
Dual 2933
AM4
$169
Ryzen 5 1500X
4 / 8
65W
16MB
3.5GHz
3.7GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$174
Ryzen 5 1400
4 / 8
65W
8MB
3.2GHz
3.4GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$169
AMD Ryzen 3
Ryzen 3 3300X
4 / 8
65W
16MB
3.8GHz
4.3GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$120
Ryzen 3 3100
4 / 8
65W
16MB
3.6GHz
3.9GHz
7nm
24
Dual 3200
AM4
$99
Ryzen 3 3200G
4 / 4
65W
4MB
3.6GHz
4.0GHz
14nm
16
Dual 2933
AM4
$99
Ryzen 3 2200G
4 / 4
65W
4MB
3.5GHz
3.7GHz
14nm
16
Dual 2933
AM4
$99
Ryzen 3 1300X
4 / 4
65W
8MB
3.5GHz
3.7GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$129
Ryzen 3 1200
4 / 4
65W
8MB
3.1GHz
3.4GHz
14nm
24
Dual 2666
AM4
$109

If you haven't done so already, it's well worth investing time in reading the architecture that makes Zen 3 so good.

Getting straight to the nub of the matter, Ryzen 7 5800X uses a single CCD die housing the full complement of eight cores and 16 threads. Under the revised layout, each core has access to the full 32MB of L3 cache, helping push performance across the board. The CPU complex is tied to the IOD chip - housing the memory controllers, amongst other things - via Infinity Fabric. Like Zen 2, the two chips communicate at 32-byte read and 16-byte write, per clock cycle. This is why you will see half-speed writes on the memory analysis page.

AMD is aiming for high frequencies with this part. We know this because it retains a 105W TDP, which is the same as the 12- and 16-core models imbued with much greater core horsepower. AMD says it promises a worst-case 3.8GHz frequency and a maximum of 4.7GHz. The all-core speed, important for rendering, sits between the two, most likely at the higher end of the scale.

A couple further points. AMD does not bundle a cooler with this processor, unlike the previous-generation Ryzen 7 3800X, though in fairness, the later 3800XT also eschews in-the-box cooling. Secondly, this eight-core chip arrives at retail for £420, assuming you can find it in stock, whereas the older 3800XT is £350. Lastly, for now, Ryzen 5000 Series goodness is tied to 500 Series chipsets; anyone with a 400 Series board needs to wait until the new year.

Moving on over the Ryzen 5 5600X, AMD includes the Wraith Stealth cooler that is a step down from the Wraith Spire v2 present in the Ryzen 5 3600XT package. Similar to the Ryzen 5 3600 from the restrained 65W TDP perspective, this chip finds itself in an awkward spot in terms of pricing. The $299/£280 asking fee is in a different league to the £215 charged for the R5 3600XT, and is obviously somewhat more than the £240 for the Intel Core i5-10600K. The upshot is Ryzen 5 5600X fits into a kind of silicon no man's land.

Making pricing matters trickier, the processor is the same price as the 8C16T Ryzen 7 3700X with which it shares the 65W TDP. Do you go for an older architecture with more cores, or for a newer one with more IPC? Or do you lay similar cash down on an 8C16T Core i7-10700? Decisions, decisions.

Mainstream Pricing Comparison At Select Points

Price
Intel Core
AMD Ryzen
$550+
-
R9 5950X (16/32)
$500-$550
i9-10900K (10/20)
R9 5900X (12/24)
$450-$500
i9-10850K (10/20)
R9 3900XT (12/24)
$400-$450
i9-10900 (10/20)
R7 5800X (8/16)
$350-$400
i7-10700K (8/16)
R7 3800X (8/16)
$300-$350
i7-10700 (8/16)
R7 3700X (8/16)
$250-$300
i5-10600K (6/12)
R5 5600X (6/12)
$200-$250
i5-10600 (6/12)
R5 3600X (6/12)
$150-$200
i5-10500 (6/12)
R5 3600 (6/12)
$100-$150
i3-10100 (4/8)
R3 3300X (4/8)
$50-$100
PG G-6600 (2/4)
R3 3100 (4/8)

Investigating pricing in $50 bands shows how Ryzens stack up against Core equivalents. Truth be told, there's no bad chip on either side, and while Intel has had bad press of late, 10th Gen Core remains a solid proposition for anything other than a monster rendering build.

It's also worth knowing that Ryzen 5 5600X is not part of the AMD Far Cry 6 promotion and that, at the time of writing, stock remains scarce on the ground for both of these review 5000 Series chips.

Right-o, let's now see if this pair can emulate the more expensive Vermeer champions with respect to excellent gaming performance and solid all-round mettle.