Intel Core i5 11600K vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

Just like the previous generations, Intel released another series on the 14nm process but this time Intel has promised faster performance through various architectural changes.

Currently, there will be two main competitors for sub $300 price and those are the i5 11600K and Ryzen 5600X from AMD. These chips are targeted at gamers who want to achieve the best gaming performance without spending too much.

So, comparing the differences between i5 11600K and Ryzen 5600X with the differences between the i5 10600K and Ryzen 5600X, what should you expect?

Here are some differences in both the chips which should give you an idea of what you should be looking for.

Architecture

This time Intel used some of AMDs approaches and released their 11th gen CPUs with the new core architecture that claims to make the IPC improvement by 19%. If you remember it’s similar to the upgrade from Ryzen 3000 to 5000 series CPUs, where AMD redesigned the core to provide up to 19% better performance in IPC.

Intel i5 11600K is based on the Rocket architecture and the Ryzen 5600X on Zen 3. While both can’t be compared directly, the Ryzen 5600X is surely powerful in some areas such as power efficiency due to being made on the 7nm process.

Specs differences

The i5 11600K features 6 cores and 12 threads just like the i5 10600K and these are the exact number of cores/threads you will find on the Ryzen 5600X. Core base/boost clock speeds of 11600K are, however, higher than the Ryzen 5600X standing at 3.9/4.9GHz versus 3.7/4.6GHz on the latter.

Performance, however, doesn’t depend completely on these two but Intel does have an upper hand here theoretically. The cache memory of Ryzen 5600X is much higher than the i5 11600K where the former brings 32MB of L3 Cache and the latter features only 12MB of L3 cache.

The interesting thing here is that Ryzen 5600X allows the use of all the cache immediately to all the cores unlike the Ryzen 3000 processors and this helps the processor in increasing the performance in the real world.

Another important difference between the two is the TDP. Thanks to the 7nm process, Ryzen 5600X is able to operate at the max TDP of 65W out of the box but Intel i5 11600K requires 125W. Good thing is that both the processors are overclockable and need specific chipsets in order to do that.

Integrated Graphics

Unfortunately, Ryzen 5600X doesn’t have inbuilt graphics which makes it compulsory to buy a dedicated graphics card with the chip. For many, Ryzen 5600X acts as a gaming CPU and they buy a graphics card anyways but i5 11600K provides a better opportunity for gamers and non-gamers as well.

Unlike the previous-gen CPUs, i5 11600K is equipped with faster-integrated graphics that is Intel UHD Graphics 750 which is supposedly 50% faster than the previous Intel integrated graphics. That is quite true when you see the benchmarks done by GamersNexus.

While the FPS boost in every game is not as big as in GTA V, it is surely much higher than the UHD 630.

Memory Support

Out of the box, the Intel 11th gen CPUs can support up to 3200MHz of RAM, however, the RAM modules can be overclocked much more than that to achieve higher performance numbers with the help of a motherboard that supports higher clock speeds.

Ryzen processors take better advantage of higher memory clock speeds and tests have shown that memories for Ryzen 5 5600X having clock speeds of 3600 or 3733MHz are the best choice.

Motherboard compatibility

Intel did not release a whole new socket this time, making the previous-gen LGA 1200 socket compatible with the new 11th gen CPUs. That means you can even use the previous LGA 1200 socket motherboards with the Z490 chipset for these new CPUs but again the compatibility will depend according to some reports and you will be better off with the newer boards like Z590 motherboards.

Ryzen 5600X on the other hand is compatible with X470, X570, B450 as well as B550 motherboards.

Gaming/Productivity and Conclusion

Intel is again back in the game and gives a tough competition to the Ryzen 5600X. Although both are equivalent in most games, the i5 11600K beats Ryzen 5600X in a few games which makes it a better choice. In productivity, the case is similar where both clash with each other providing equal scores but the i5 11600K gets ahead of 5600X by a little margin in some of the applications.

Considering the price of both the processors, the i5 11600K is $30 cheaper and provides better performance overall but with the exception of higher power consumption. It can be easily said that no matter which CPU you buy, you won’t regret your decision.