The AM4 platform from AMD refuses to die. Even though AMD said that they would discontinue AM4-based CPUs after the launch of AM5 platform, we are still getting a refresh of Ryzen 5000 Series in the form of 5800XT and 5900XT. But going back a few years, the Ryzen 5 5600X and the Ryzen 7 5800X were a banger hit from AMD in their Zen 3 microarchitecture series. Featuring 6 and 8 high performance and efficient Zen 3 cores respectively, the Ryzen 5600X and 5800X CPUs are still one of the best in the market for “budget” gaming and productivity PC builds. As a refresher, we would like to make a comprehensive 5600X vs 5800X comparison so that you can easily choose a CPU if you are looking for an affordable and powerful PC.
In this guide, we will go through the basic specs’ comparison of the Ryzen 5 5600X and the Ryzen 7 5800X. Then, we will see some real-world performance numbers in terms of gaming as well as other CPU intensive tasks.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
The Ryzen 5 5600X is an entry level CPU in the AMD 5000 Series with the suffix “X”. It was launched in November, 2020, alongside its bigger (and powerful) counterparts such as the Ryzen 7 5800X, Ryzen 9 5900X, and the biggie of all, the Ryzen 9 5950X.
Featuring 6 of the powerful Zen 3 Cores (with support for hyperthreading), the Ryzen 5 5600X uses the same AM4 socket as the previous gen Zen 2 based Ryzen 3000 and Ryzen 4000 series of processors. Speaking of the new Zen 3 architecture, it shows an impressive 19% improvement in IPC (Instructions Per Clock) compared to the previous gen Zen 2 cores.
The base clock of 5600X is 3,700 MHz (3.7 GHz) while it can boost up to 4,600 MHz (4.6 GHz). Due to the improved IPC of the Zen 3 Cores, AMD went with a lower 65W TDP (when compared with the previous gen 3600X which has 95W TDP). Thankfully, the Wraith Stealth Cooler that comes in the retail box is more than sufficient to keep the CPU cool for all sorts of applications.
Similar to the previous Ryzen 3000 Series CPUs, even the Ryzen 5600X doesn’t have an integrated graphics. So, you have to invest in a decent discrete GPU to start using your 5600X. At the launch, the MSRP of the Ryzen 5 5600X was $299 but at the time of this revised review, the price has fallen to $158.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
We can consider the Ryzen 7 5800X as the “mid-level” CPU of the Ryzen 5000 Series as it sits between the 5600X and the bigger Ryzen 9 5900X. It features a couple more of those Zen 3 cores than the 5600X, making it an 8 Core, 16 Thread CPU.
Apart from the higher core (and obviously thread) count, the internal memory (or Cache) configuration of both the 5600X and 5800X are identical. They both have 64 KB per core L1 Cache, 512 KB per core L2 Cache, and 32 MB of L3 Cache.
The difference though lies in the clock speed and power. The Ryzen 7 5800X has a base clock of 3,800 MHz (3.8 GHz) and it can boost up to 4,700 MHz (4.6GHz). This is 100 MHz more than the 5600X. Coming to the power, the TDP of 5800X is 105W. With a proper cooler (which you have to purchase separately as one doesn’t come in the box), you can get good performance out of the 5800X.
Both the 5800X and the smaller 5600X support DDR4 dual channel memory up to 3,200 MT/s. Similar to the 5600X, the 5800X also doesn’t have any integrated graphics.
The launch price of the Ryzen 7 5800X was $449 but the revised price now is around $180.
5600X vs 5800X: Specifications Comparison
| Parameter | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Socket Type | AM4 | |
| Architecture | Zen 3 | |
| Code Name | Vermeer | |
| No. of CPU Cores | 6 | 8 |
| No. of Threads | 12 | 16 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 3.7 GHz | 3.8 GHz |
| Max. Boost Clock | 4.6 GHz | 4.7 GHz |
| Unlocked for Overclocking | Yes | |
| L1 Cache | 384 KB (64 KB per Core) | 512 KB (64 KB per Core) |
| L2 Cache | 3 MB (512 KB per Core) | 4 MB (512 KB per Core) |
| L3 Cache | 32 MB | |
| Default TDP | 65W | 105W |
| Processor Technology | TSMC 7nm FinFET | |
| CPU Cooler | Wraith Stealth Cooler | None |
| Max. Operating Temp | 95°C | 90°C |
| PCIe Version | 4.0 | |
| PCIe Lanes | 24 | |
| Memory Type (Channel) | DDR4-3200 (2) | |
| Integrated Graphics | None | |
5600X vs 5800X: Performance Comparison
Let us now compare the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU against the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. Before we begin, here is a quick look at our test systems.
| CPUs | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | |
| Motherboard | Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4 32GB (2 × 16GB) 3600MT/s CL16 |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 970 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe |
| CPU Cooler | Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Elite Liquid CPU Cooler |
| Power Supply | Seasonic PRIME 1300 Platinum |
| Graphic Card | MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB |
| Software | Windows 11 21H2 |
| Nvidia 526.47 |
Application Benchmarks
Cinebench R23 Multi-Core (Higher is Better)
Let us start with the most popular benchmark tool, the Cinebench R23. After the 10-minute multicore loop test, we got a score of just over 15500 points for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. But the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X could only score 11800 points.
If we compare this in terms of percentage, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X has almost 32% better performance than the Ryzen 5 5600X (those extra cores and threads are definitely coming into play here).
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 11812 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 15509 |
Cinebench R23 Single-Core (Higher is Better)
Coming to the single core performance in the Cinebench R23, the story continues where the Ryzen 7 5800X scores just over 1600 points while the Ryzen 5 5600X could only get 1499. We are talking about a 7% performance difference.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 1499 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 1601 |
PassMark’s CPUMARK 10.1 Multi-Threaded/Overall (Higher is Better)
Next, we have another popular benchmark tool from PassMark, the CPU Mark. The following results show the overall or multi-threaded CPU Mark Score of all the processors in this test.
The story is similar to the Cinebench Multi-threading test. Here the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X scores just over 30000 points while the Ryzen 5 5600X scores just under 23900 points. The performance gap between these two CPUs is roughly 26% in favor of the 5800X.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 23856 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 30205 |
PassMark’s CPUMARK 10.2 Single-Threaded (Higher is Better)
Coming to the single threaded performance in CPU Mark, the results are not surprising as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X has a 3% lead over the Ryzen 5 5600X. This was similar to the single core results we got in the Cinebench test.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 3549 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 3650 |
Adobe Photoshop 2020 Puget System Benchmark (Higher is Better)
The Adobe suite has a couple of important tools that many creators and artists’ use. We will start with the Adobe Photoshop 2020. It has a built-in Puget System Standard Benchmark.
If you look at the overall scores, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X scored just over 1000 while the Ryzen 7 5800X got over 1150.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 1009 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 1157 |
Adobe Premier Pro 2020 Puget System Benchmark (Higher is Better)
Next application in the Adobe suite is the Premier Pro 2020. Even in this test the results are quite similar. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X scores just shy of 880 points. This is over 120 points more than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 749 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 878 |
7-Zip File Manager Compression (Higher is Better)
One of the popular and widely used open-source applications is the 7-Zip File Manager. It helps in archiving files. For this test, we are performing the built-in benchmark feature. Here is the result in million instructions per second (MIPS) for compressing using a standards 32 MB dictionary size and 10 passes.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X could complete the task with over 88.9K MIPS. Sadly, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X could complete with just under 72.2K MIPS.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 72198 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 88998 |
7-Zip File Manager Decompression (Higher is Better)
In decompression, the results are very similar where the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X completed the task with over 116K MIPS while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X could manage just under 86.5K MIPS.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 86489 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 116105 |
Corona 1.3 Render Time (Lower is Better)
The next “application” benchmark is the Corona 1.3, which is a high-quality shading engine for production rendering. Let us now see the rendering time of these two AMD CPUs.
The Ryzen 5 5600X took 115 seconds to finish the render. With a 39% better rendering time, the Ryzen 7 5800X could finish the render in only 83 seconds.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 115 sec |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 83 sec |
Chromium Code Compilation Time (Lower is Better)
If you are a developer working on a lot of code compilations, your PC must have a superior multi-threaded performance. So, we tested the code compilation performance by taking the open-source Chromium project code.
The performance of AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is much better than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X thanks to its additional cores (and threads). The former finished the compilation in just over 93 minutes whereas the latter managed to do it in just under 120 minutes.
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 119 min 12 sec |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 93 min 28 sec |
Gaming Benchmarks
Now, let us check out some gaming performance. We tested some popular titles at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 (1080p) as anything beyond, the GPU will dominate the performance. We are running all the games in DirectX 12 with Ray Tracing and DLSS off.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080
- DirectX 12
- Game Setting: High
The first game we tested is the Shadow of the Tomb Raider. While the higher core count of the 5800X resulted in better performance in a lot of applications, the story is different in case of gaming. Both the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 5 5600X had a similar performance in this game, with the former boosting just a couple of FPS more than the latter.
| CPU | Average FPS | 1% Low FPS (Min FPS) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 180 | 113 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 178 | 109 |
Far Cry 6
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080
- DirectX 12
- Game Setting: Ultra
- DirectX Raytracing: Off
The next game is Far Cry 6. Here, the performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is slightly better than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. Here are the rounded off average frames and also 1% low fps.
| CPU | Average FPS | 1% Low FPS (Min FPS) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 125 | 88 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 115 | 75 |
F1 2020
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080
- DirectX 12
- Game Setting: Ultra
Next, we have another popular title, F1 2020. The story is the same, where both the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 5 5600X could pump over 272 FPS on average.
| CPU | Average FPS | 1% Low FPS (Min FPS) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 272 | 225 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 272 | 222 |
Clock Speed
We ran the AIDA64 Stress Test for 10 minutes and here are the maximum frequency and average frequency of all cores.
| CPU | Maximum Frequency | All-Core Average Frequency |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 4.65 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 4.85 GHz | 4.58 GHz |
CPU Temperature
During the same AIDA64 Stress Test, we monitored the CPU Temperatures with Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Elite Liquid CPU Cooler. Here are the CPU temps for your reference. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X ran slightly hotter than all the Ryzen 7 5800X in this test (by just 1°C).
| CPU | Max Temp | Average Temp |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 82°C | 80°C |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 81°C | 79°C |
Power Consumption
During the Blender render, we measured the CPU Package Power Draw using the HWiNFO tool. The following table consists of the peak CPU Package Power Draw as reported by HWiNFO.
| CPU | Peak CPU Power |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 116 Watts |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 161 Watts |
Final Verdict
At the time of this revised review, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X retails for $158 while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X retails for $180. Like the price difference, the performance difference also isn’t that huge.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, with its higher core count, easily outperforms the Ryzen 5 5600X in almost all the multi-threaded applications. Even in the single threaded benchmarking, it has slight edge over the 5600X.
Coming to gaming, the story is quite different though. The Ryzen 5 5600X has almost identical performance to that of the Ryzen 7 5800X in all the games we tested. The difference, if present, was only a couple of FPS.
If gaming is your only priority, then the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a much better choice. It is one of the best gaming CPUs in the market right now. Even though the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X performs similarly or marginally better than the 5600X, considering the price, lower power consumption, and the inclusion of the Wraith Stealth Cooler, the 5600X is a much better choice.
However, if productivity is your main cup of tea, then the Ryzen 7 5800X is the obvious choice. You can double it down as a gaming system as well.
