LABS TEST / PROCESSORS
U
nder the hood, the Ryzen 5 3600X
and its cheaper sibling on p43 are
identical. Both of these processors
have two core chiplet dies (CCDs) with four
cores apiece, as well as an I/O die that sports
an improved dual-channel memory controller
and PCI-E 4 root complex. On both CPUs, two
cores are disabled, bringing the total to sixAMD RYZEN 5 3600X /£190 inc VAT
SUPPLIER currys.co.ukcores rather than eight. This also accounts for
the fact that the Ryzen 5 CPU has 1MB less L2
cache than the 8-core Ryzen 7 3700X, as each
core has its own 512KB allocation of L2 cache,
which is therefore lacking on both of AMD’s
3rd-gen Ryzen 6-core CPUs.
However, it has the same 32MB L3 cache
and actually a higher base frequency than
the Ryzen 7 3700X. Plus, when running
multi-threaded tasks, the all-core boost sat
at 4.1GHz rather than 4GHz with the 8-core
CPU. At £190, though, it’s significantly more
expensive than the Ryzen 5 3600, and while
you get the larger, more capable, Wraith Spire
CPU cooler included in the box, the question
is whether the X-edition CPU’s stock speed
frequency advantage gives it enough of an
edge to justify that extra cash.
When it came to overclocking, we didn’t
manage to reach a higher frequency with
the Ryzen 5 3600X than with its cheaper
sibling, with both processors hitting a wall
at 4.25GHz even when raising the vcore
to 1.425V. This means there’s a 150MHz
frequency deficit compared with the
CPU’s peak single-core boost, potentially
leading to slower results in lightly threaded
applications. It also means using that it’s
best to use AMD’s Precision
Boost Overdrive to overclock
the Ryzen 5 3600X than
standard all-core overclocking,
as you’ll see a modest all-core
boost jump, but not lose that
peak boost frequency.
The added stock speed
performance, thanks to higher
boost frequencies, was tangible,
with a system score of 202,642
compared to 185,659 for the
Ryzen 5 3600, with a couple
of hundred points added to the
Cinebench multi-threaded score
and a result of 501 compared to 471
in the single-core test too. It shaved
nearly 15 seconds off the PremierePro export time too, even bettering the Core
i7-9700K here, yet it only drew another 9W
under load than the cheaper Ryzen 5.
Game performance was also slightly higher
than the Ryzen 5 3600 in Far Cry New Dawn,
with 2fps being added to the 99th percentile
minimum frame rate, but no gains in Metro
Exodus. On balance, such numbers don’t
entirely convince us that the higher clock
speed is worth the extra cash.Conclusion
While there are tangible benefits from the
Ryzen 5 3600X’s higher boost frequencies,
we’re not sure the extra cash is warranted
over the Ryzen 5 3600. With very similar
gaming performance and modest gains in our
other benchmarks, as well as no additional
overclocking headroom, the Ryzen 5 3600X
just isn’t that compelling an upgrade. It’s still
a fantastic CPU for the cash, but it’s pipped to
the post by the cheaper 6-core CPU. It also
sits in the shadow of the awesome Ryzen 7
3700X, which is significantly faster across the
board and costs only £70 more.SPEC
Base frequency 3.8GHz
Turbo frequency 4.4GHz
Core Zen 2
Manufacturing process 7nm
Number of cores 6 x physical (12 threads)
IGP None
Simultaneous Multithreading Ye s
Cache 32MB L3 cache, 3MB L2 cache
Memory controller Dual-channel
DDR4, up to 3200MHz
Packaging AMD Socket AM4
Thermal design power (TDP) 95W
Features Precision Boost 2, Precision Boost
Overdrive, FMA3, F16C, SHA, BMI / BMI1 + BMI2,
AVX2, AVX, AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSEVERDICT
A great 6-core CPU, but there are better
options above and below it in this price league.WATER SLIDE
+^ Good multi-threaded^
performance
+^ A match for the^
Core i7-9700K
in some tests
+^ Costs less than £200WATERWORLD-^ Slower in some games
than equivalent
Intel CPUs
-^ Ryzen 5 3600 is nearly
as quick but costs less
-^ Ryzen 7 3700X
costs just £70 more
but is much faster
PERFORMANCE
34 / 50FEATURES
13 / 15OVERALL SCORE
79 %%
VALUE
32 / 35LABS TEST / PROCESSORS
U
nderthehood,theRyzen5 3600X
anditscheapersiblingonp43are
identical.Bothoftheseprocessors
havetwocorechipletdies(CCDs)withfour
coresapiece,aswellasanI/Odiethatsports
animproveddual-channelmemorycontroller
andPCI-E4 rootcomplex.OnbothCPUs,two
coresaredisabled,bringingthetotaltosix
AMDRYZEN5 3600X/£190inc VAT
SUPPLIER currys.co.uk
cores rather than eight. This also accounts for
the fact that the Ryzen 5 CPU has 1MB less L2
cache than the 8-core Ryzen 7 3700X, as each
core has its own 512KB allocation of L2 cache,
which is therefore lacking on both of AMD’s
3rd-gen Ryzen 6-core CPUs.
However, it has the same 32MB L3 cache
and actually a higher base frequency than
the Ryzen 7 3700X. Plus, when running
multi-threaded tasks, the all-core boost sat
at 4.1GHz rather than 4GHz with the 8-core
CPU. At £190, though, it’s significantly more
expensive than the Ryzen 5 3600, and while
you get the larger, more capable, Wraith Spire
CPU cooler included in the box, the question
is whether the X-edition CPU’s stock speed
frequency advantage gives it enough of an
edge to justify that extra cash.
When it came to overclocking, we didn’t
manage to reach a higher frequency with
the Ryzen 5 3600X than with its cheaper
sibling, with both processors hitting a wall
at 4.25GHz even when raising the vcore
to 1.425V. This means there’s a 150MHz
frequency deficit compared with the
CPU’s peak single-core boost, potentially
leading to slower results in lightly threaded
applications. It also means using that it’s
best to use AMD’s Precision
Boost Overdrive to overclock
the Ryzen 5 3600X than
standard all-core overclocking,
as you’ll see a modest all-core
boost jump, but not lose that
peak boost frequency.
The added stock speed
performance, thanks to higher
boost frequencies, was tangible,
with a system score of 202,642
compared to 185,659 for the
Ryzen 5 3600, with a couple
of hundred points added to the
Cinebench multi-threaded score
and a result of 501 compared to 471
in the single-core test too. It shaved
nearly 15 seconds off the PremierePro export time too, even bettering the Core
i7-9700K here, yet it only drew another 9W
under load than the cheaper Ryzen 5.
Game performance was also slightly higher
than the Ryzen 5 3600 in Far Cry New Dawn,
with 2fps being added to the 99th percentile
minimum frame rate, but no gains in Metro
Exodus. On balance, such numbers don’t
entirely convince us that the higher clock
speed is worth the extra cash.Conclusion
While there are tangible benefits from the
Ryzen 5 3600X’s higher boost frequencies,
we’re not sure the extra cash is warranted
over the Ryzen 5 3600. With very similar
gaming performance and modest gains in our
other benchmarks, as well as no additional
overclocking headroom, the Ryzen 5 3600X
just isn’t that compelling an upgrade. It’s still
a fantastic CPU for the cash, but it’s pipped to
the post by the cheaper 6-core CPU. It also
sits in the shadow of the awesome Ryzen 7
3700X, which is significantly faster across the
board and costs only £70 more.SPEC
Base frequency 3.8GHz
Turbo frequency 4.4GHz
Core Zen 2
Manufacturing process 7nm
Number of cores 6 x physical (12 threads)
IGP None
Simultaneous Multithreading Ye s
Cache 32MB L3 cache, 3MB L2 cache
Memory controller Dual-channel
DDR4, up to 3200MHz
Packaging AMD Socket AM4
Thermal design power (TDP) 95W
Features Precision Boost 2, Precision Boost
Overdrive, FMA3, F16C, SHA, BMI / BMI1 + BMI2,
AVX2, AVX, AES, SSE4a, SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSEVERDICT
A great 6-core CPU, but there are better
optionsaboveandbelowit in this price league.WATERSLIDE
+Goodmulti-threaded
performance
+A matchforthe
Corei7-9700K
insometests
+Costs less than £200WATERWORLD- Slower in some games
than equivalent
IntelCPUs - Ryzen 5 3600 is nearly
asquickbutcostsless - Ryzen 7 3700X
costs just £70 more
but is much faster
PERFORMANCE
34 / 50FEATURES
13 / 15OVERALLSCORE
79 %%
VALUE
32 / 35