AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   Let's say you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, streaming, video editing, machine learning, rendering. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or various benchmarks. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like AIDA64, Prime95, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blender, UserBenchmark, Furmark, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, 7zip, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PassMark, RealBench, 3DMark, VeraCrypt, WPrime, Gears 5, SuperPi, Handbrake.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500X.

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 3500X

54%

Ryzen 5 2600

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3500X

53%

Ryzen 5 2600

53%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Horizon Zero Dawn, Hitman 3, Control, League of Legends (LOL), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Battlefield V, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Ghostrunner, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	94.1	94.8
Valorant	106.9	107.8
Cyberpunk 2077	59.9	60.4
Apex Legends	100.5	101.3
Call of Duty Warzone	80.2	80.8
Overwatch	86.6	87.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.8	74.4
DOOM Eternal	53.5	53.9
Warzone	83.4	84.1
Assassin's Creed	89.8	90.5
Valheim	88.7	89.5

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 comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 3500X

65%

Ryzen 5 2600

56%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 3500X is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 2600 as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. 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 run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	188	164
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1129	1310
Cinbench 20 Single-core	464	374
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2652	2736
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1126	1024
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7797	7220

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Single-Core	2562	2280
Multi-Core	13476	13255

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Single-Core	1272	1104
Multi-Core	5963	6712

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Announcement date	September 24, 2019	April 19, 2018
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	AM4
Core name	Matisse	Pinnacle Ridge
Architecture	Zen 2	Zen+
Generation	3	2
Turbo Frequency	4.1 MHz	3.9 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	3.4 MHz
Cores	6	6
Threads	6	12
Bus rate		4 Ã— 8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	7 nm	12 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	3600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4
Max. Memory
Memory Frequency	3200	2933
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache	384KB	576KB
L2 cache	3MB	3MB
L3 cache	32MB	16MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000158 100-100000158CBX 100-100000158MPK	YD2600BBM6IAF YD2600BBAFBOX YD2600BBAFMPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 5 3500X is 5% better than Ryzen 5 2600 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 3500X is better: 15
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is better: 17
Although it should be understood that all the data in the article above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and AMD Ryzen 5 2600 before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 2600 specs and review.