AMD Ryzen 5 3600X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests AMD Ryzen 5 3600X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and decide which is better for games or normal use for programming, streaming, rendering, video editing, machine learning. Here is all information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as Blender, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, SuperPi, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PassMark, VeraCrypt, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark, MATLAB, Prime95, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, AIDA64, PCMark 10, Gears 5, 7zip, WPrime, RealBench, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X.

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 3600X

55%

Ryzen 5 2600

54%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 5 3600X is 1% better than Ryzen 5 2600. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3600X

54%

Ryzen 5 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 this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, Control, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Half-Life: Alyx, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Forza Horizon 4, Microsoft Flight Simulator, DOTA 2A, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghostrunner, Battlefield V, Hitman 3, NBA 2K20.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	96.0	94.8
Valorant	109.1	107.8
Cyberpunk 2077	61.1	60.4
Apex Legends	102.6	101.3
Call of Duty Warzone	81.9	80.8
Overwatch	88.4	87.3
Red Dead Redemption 2	75.3	74.4
DOOM Eternal	54.6	53.9
Warzone	85.1	84.1
Assassin's Creed	91.7	90.5
Valheim	90.6	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 tested computers not only did they have 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. 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 3600X

47%

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 2600 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 5 3600X as it consumes less power: 95W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. 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

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, programming, 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 efficiency. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, 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 3600X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	204	164
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1647	1310
Cinbench 20 Single-core	501	374
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3751	2736
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1286	1024
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	9588	7220

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Single-Core	2651	2280
Multi-Core	18377	13255

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Single-Core	1341	1104
Multi-Core	7891	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 in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Announcement date	July 07, 2019	April 19, 2018
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	AM4
Core name	Matisse	Pinnacle Ridge
Architecture	Zen 2	Zen+
Generation	3	2
Turbo Frequency	4.4 MHz	3.9 MHz
Frequency	3.8 MHz	3.4 MHz
Cores	6	6
Threads	12	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)	95 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	100-000000022 100-100000022BOX 100-100000022MPK	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 3600X is 10% 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 3600X is better: 29
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is better: 3
Although it should be realized that all the number in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and AMD Ryzen 5 2600 before making a selection which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600X specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen 5 2600 specs and review.