AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the AMD Ryzen 5 3500X vs AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600 tests and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, machine learning, video editing, streaming, rendering. Here you can find 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 video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, Gears 5, Prime95, WPrime, Blender, 3DMark, Blender, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, AIDA64, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 7zip, Handbrake, SuperPi, PassMark, MATLAB, GeekBench 6, 5.2, RealBench.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 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 PRO 2600

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3500X

53%

Ryzen 5 PRO 2600

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. 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 summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Hitman 3, Metro Exodus, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Control, League of Legends (LOL), DOTA 2A, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Ghostrunner, Monster Hunter World, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Forza Horizon 4, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, Half-Life: Alyx.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	94.1	94.0
Valorant	106.9	106.8
Cyberpunk 2077	59.9	59.8
Apex Legends	100.5	100.4
Call of Duty Warzone	80.2	80.1
Overwatch	86.6	86.5
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.8	73.7
DOOM Eternal	53.5	53.4
Warzone	83.4	83.3
Assassin's Creed	89.8	89.7
Valheim	88.7	88.6

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, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 5 3500X

65%

Ryzen 5 PRO 2600

54%

To make a final decision 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 PRO 2600 as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 65W. 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	188	172
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1129	1347
Cinbench 20 Single-core	464	442
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2652	2976
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1126	1145
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7797	7928

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600
Single-Core	2562	2281
Multi-Core	13476	13702

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600
Single-Core	1272	1059
Multi-Core	5963	5863

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. 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 benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 3500X	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600
Announcement date	September 24, 2019	April 01, 2018
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	AM4
Core name	Matisse	Pinnacle Ridge
Architecture	Zen 2	Zen 2
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
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	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000158 100-100000158CBX 100-100000158MPK	YD260BBBM6IAF YD260BBBAFMPK

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 PRO 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: 25
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600 is better: 7
Although it should be realized that all the number in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600 before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3500X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600 specs and review.