Intel Core i5-6600K vs Intel Core i5-6500

Processor comparisons 04-02-2023

   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i5-6600K vs Intel Core i5-6500 and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, machine learning, streaming, rendering. Here you can find useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis 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 Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, SuperPi, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, PCMark 10, Furmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 3DMark, AIDA64, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, RealBench, Prime95, MATLAB, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, Gears 5, PassMark, Blender.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6500 or Intel Core i5-6600K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-6600K

51%

Core i5-6500

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-6600K

52%

Core i5-6500

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. 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, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Control, DOTA 2A, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hitman 3, Battlefield V, League of Legends (LOL), NBA 2K20, Metro Exodus, Ghostrunner, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	92.9	91.4
Valorant	105.5	103.9
Cyberpunk 2077	59.1	58.2
Apex Legends	99.2	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	79.1	77.9
Overwatch	85.5	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.8	71.7
DOOM Eternal	52.8	51.9
Warzone	82.3	81.0
Assassin's Creed	88.6	87.3
Valheim	87.6	86.2

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

Core i5-6600K

51%

Core i5-6500

51%

Software benchmarks

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU turns on all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i5-6600K	Intel Core i5-6500
Cinbench 15 Single-core	166	153
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	600	565
Cinbench 20 Single-core	395	354
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1572	1299
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1041	842
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3965	2928

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

	Intel Core i5-6600K	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	2356	2149
Multi-Core	6286	5644

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

	Intel Core i5-6600K	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	1399	1004
Multi-Core	4766	3346

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The newer the processor, 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. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i5-6600K	Intel Core i5-6500
Announcement date	September 26, 2015	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151	LGA 1151
Core name	Skylake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	6	6
Turbo Frequency	3.9 MHz	3.6 MHz
Frequency	3.5 MHz	3.2 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1760 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	91 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	64 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	34.1 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	6 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	Expansion Options

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-6600K is 8% better than Core i5-6500 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 Intel Core i5-6600K is better: 25
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6500 is better: 2
However, it should be realized that all the data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i5-6600K and Intel Core i5-6500 before making a choice which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i5-6600K - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i5-6600K specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6500 specs and review.