AMD Ryzen 5 5600X vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600G: Which Ryzen CPU to Choose?
Let’s compare two of the most popular budget AMD Ryzen CPUs today. The first one is Ryzen’s very popular 5600X and the second one is 5600G. Because of the naming scheme, you may conclude that these both are going to be almost similar to each other. But, there are a lot of differences to see. The key difference between the both is that 5600G comes with an integrated Radeon Graphics Engine while 5600X has no integrated graphics.
There are also some differences in base/boost clock speed and cache size. The 5600X supports PCIe 4.0 while 5600G supports PCIe 3.0 only. So, there are some main differences and we are going to reveal various other things here in this article.
In terms of performance, the Ryzen 5 5600X is generally considered to be slightly faster than the Ryzen 5 5600G, due to its higher clock speeds and better overall performance in multi-threaded workloads.
However, the Ryzen 5 5600G has the advantage of having an integrated graphics processor, which means it can be used for basic gaming and other graphics-intensive tasks without the need for a separate graphics card.
The Ryzen 5 5600G may be a better choice if you don’t plan on using a separate graphics card and want to save money on a dedicated graphics card.
We are going to see benchmark scores later on. So, without any further delays, let’s get started.
Theoretical Specifications (Comparison)
| Specification | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 5 5600G |
| CPU Generation | 4th Generation | 4th Generation |
| Cores/Threads | 6/12 | 6/12 |
| Base Clock/Boost Clock | 3.7/4.6 GHz | 3.9/4.4 GHz |
| Cache (L1/L2/L3) | -/3MB/32MB | -/3MB/16MB |
| Overclocking | Available | Available |
| PCle Version | PCle 4.0 | PCle 3.0 |
| Memory Support | DDR4 (up to 3200 MHz) | Up to DDR4 3200 MHz |
| Cooling Solution | Wraith Stealth | Wraith Stealth |
| Integrated Graphics Card | No | Radeon RX Vega 7 |
| Price | Check Amazon | Check Amazon |
Synthetic Benchmark Scores (Comparison)
| Parameter | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 5 5600G |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Mark Score | 21,971 | 19,834 |
| Single-Core Score (Geekbench) | 1,612 | 1,466 |
| Multi-Core Score (GeekBench) | 8,147 | 7,287 |
| Single-Thread Rating (PassMark) | 3,355 | 3,175 |
The 5600X is offering you better performance in both single-core and multi-core parameters. However, the difference isn’t very huge because they both have almost similar specifications.
Cinebench Scores (Comparison)
| Cinebench Benchmark | Ryzen 5 5600X | Ryzen 5 5600G |
|---|---|---|
| Cinebench R23 (Single Core) | 1,593 | 1,504 |
| Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) | 10,988 | 11,077 |
| Cinebench R20 (Single Core) | 599 | 574 |
| Cinebench R20 (Multi Core) | 4,569 | 4,479 |
Again, the Cinebench scores are almost similar, with the 5600X having slightly better performance.
Which CPU is good for gaming? 5800X or 5800G
The single-core performance of both of these processors is almost the same, and there is not a significant difference in the multi-core performance. But, because of 5600X’s higher boost clock speed and bigger cache, it is capable of performing better in all the games.
See the gaming benchmark comparison video to confirm what I am saying.
You should keep in mind that the 5600G comes with a pretty powerful integrated GPU i.e. Radeon RX Vega 7. Even with this GPU, you can play almost all games on low settings and achieve good FPS. So, if you don’t want to play very high-end games on high FPS, 5600G can let you do that without any external graphics card.
However, 5600X is going to help you save a little amount but you must use a graphics card with it. Also, if you want the best gaming performance, you can see that the 5600X is going to give you around 20% better results. The GPU bottleneck will be lower and FPS will surely be higher.
Which CPU is good for productivity? 5600X or 5600G
The Ryzen 5 5600x is going to offer you better results in terms of productivity. Even if you play games and want to stream along with it, 5600X will provide you with better performance.
Because the multi-core performance, and clock speed are better with the 5600X, it will surely be a better option for any kind of productivity work. This includes the usage of video editing, 3D modeling, programming, gaming, music production software, etc.
A larger amount of cache will also contribute to 5600X’s performance when you want to multitask on your system. So, the best pick here will be the 5600X.
Memory
In terms of memory specifications, both of these processors have the same memory controller, with support for DDR4-3200 memory. They also have the same maximum memory capacity of 128GB, which means they can both be used with up to 128GB of DDR4 memory.
In terms of memory performance, both of these processors should offer similar performance when using DDR4-3200 memory, although the 5600X may potentially offer slightly better performance due to its higher clock speeds. However, the actual performance difference will depend on the specific workload and the efficiency of the system as a whole.
Cache Difference
A bigger cache always means better performance under heavy workloads and multi-tasking.
If you look at 5600X’s Cache configurations, it has 3MB L2 Cache and 32MB L3 Cache. On the other hand, 5600G has 3MB L2 Cache and 16MB L3 Cache.
So, here again, the 5600X is beating the 5600G in Cache size. But, a higher L3 Cache doesn’t matter than the L2 cache which is similar in both. But, still, more space for data is always better anywhere.
Price
Which one to buy? 5600G vs 5600X
If you are planning to buy a graphics card along with one of these CPUs, there is no point in going for the 5600G. In that case, you should save some money and pick 5600X.
However, 5600G is good when you haven’t enough budget for a graphics card or you do not do any graphics-intensive tasks such as gaming. With 5600G, you will have to compromise a little on performance but you will get CPU+GPU within the same budget.
If you plan to upgrade in the future, you can go for a graphics card even with the 5600X.
But, if you have enough budget available for a graphics card as well, the 5600X will offer you a good performance and will be cheap.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
