AMD Ryzen 5 1600 vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600X

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision by looking at the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600X tests and understand which is better for games or simple use for rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning, video editing. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests like Gears 5, Blender, Furmark, AIDA64, 3DMark, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, WPrime, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 7zip, Dolphin Emulator, DaVinci Resolve Studio, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, PCMark 10, Blender, PassMark, SuperPi, UserBenchmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Death Stranding
Borderlands 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Apex Legends
Last Man Standing
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Cyberpunk 2077
Valheim
Overwatch
Valorant
Grand Theft Auto V
DOOM: Eternal
Fallout 76
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rainbow Six Siege
Fortnite
Watch Dogs Legion
Halo Infinite

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or AMD Ryzen 5 1600.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 5 1600

53%

Ryzen 5 2600X

54%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 5 2600X is 1% better than Ryzen 5 1600. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 1600

53%

Ryzen 5 2600X

53%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Metro Exodus, Forza Horizon 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), Ghostrunner, Horizon Zero Dawn, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, NBA 2K20, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Control, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	93.8	94.6
Valorant	106.6	107.5
Cyberpunk 2077	59.7	60.2
Apex Legends	100.2	101.1
Call of Duty Warzone	79.9	80.6
Overwatch	86.3	87.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.6	74.2
DOOM Eternal	53.3	53.8
Warzone	83.1	83.9
Assassin's Creed	89.5	90.3
Valheim	88.5	89.3

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparing not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 5 1600

47%

Ryzen 5 2600X

39%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 1600 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 2600X as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 95W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, streaming, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum efficiency. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 1600	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	147	176
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1094	1380
Cinbench 20 Single-core	357	421
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2501	3048
Cinbench 23 Single-core	900	1074
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	6230	7514

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 1600	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Single-Core	2063	2438
Multi-Core	12340	14033

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 1600	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Single-Core	932	1127
Multi-Core	5690	6497

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 1600	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Announcement date	April 11, 2017	April 19, 2018
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	AM4
Core name	Summit Ridge	Pinnacle Ridge
Architecture	Zen	Zen
Generation	2	2
Turbo Frequency	3.6 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	6	6
Threads	12	12
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	12 nm
Transistors count	2800 millions	3600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency	2667	2933
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache	576KB	576KB
L2 cache	3MB	3MB
L3 cache	16MB	16MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	YD1600BBM6IAE YD1600BBAEBOX YD1600BBAEMPK	YD260XBCM6IAF YD260XBCAFBOX YD260XBCAFMPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 2600X is 11% better than Ryzen 5 1600 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 1600 is better: 1
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 2600X is better: 27
However, it should be understood that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and AMD Ryzen 5 2600X before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 1600 specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 2600X specs and review.