Comparison of AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 processors. Choosing the best

In 2017, AMD introduced Ryzen 5, a new generation of processors of the so-called top-middle class. That is, they seem to be high-performance, but not as much as, for example, Threadripper — the flagship chips of the same company. As a result, AMD Ryzen 5 is most appropriately considered as a competitor to Intel Core i5 processors, which also belong to the top-middle class.

But it’s worth noting that both AMD Ryzen 5 and Intel Core i5 are chip families, not individual models. That is, they are updated every year — and at least several chips are produced annually, united by these trademarks.

In particular, as of March 2019, when we compiled this material, there are two families of AMD Ryzen 5. The first was introduced in 2017 and the 1600X became the most productive chip in that period. In 2018, the series was updated, the 2600X became the flagship chip.

Competitors are not far behind either. The first Intel Core i5 was introduced back in 2009. Since then, as of now, nine generations of “stones” have already come out! But for comparison, let’s choose the actual chips. For 2017 it is 7600K, and for 2018 it is 8600K.

AMD Ryzen 5 at a Glance

AMD Ryzen 5, if we talk only about top models, is six-core chips with multi-threading support. That is, they are capable of processing up to 12 computational threads simultaneously. The base clock frequency in both generations is 3.6 GHz, and the maximum is 4.2 GHz for the more recent one.

In addition, they are equipped with 16 MB of L3 cache and have a TPD of 95 watts. The chips are oriented to work with DDR4 RAM. In general, these are the usual high-end configurations, but not top-end ones.

Some models are also equipped with an integrated video card of the Radeon Vega series, which, in principle, is quite productive — but only if high-frequency RAM is used. The integrated «graphics» of both models can be compared with the discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030, providing sufficient frame rate for many games.

Intel Core i5 — a brief overview

As mentioned above, it makes sense to compare only similar generations of «stones». In particular, we are talking about the Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake families, and the 7600K and 8600K models, respectively.

None of them support multithreading. The Core i5 7600K is quad-core, while the 8600K is six-core. The clock frequency of the first is 3.8 GHz, and the second is 3.6 GHz. In «turbo» mode, they are capable of overclocking up to 4.2-4.3 GHz. The 7600K has 6 MB of L3 cache, while the 8600K has 9 MB.

In any case, both chips are equipped with an integrated graphics card — Intel UHD Graphics 620 for the older one and UHD 630 for the newer one. True, its performance is quite average. Both models also support DDR4 RAM.

In general, it looks like the Core i5 is losing to Ryzen 5. The competitor from AMD will have more cores, and there is multithreading, and as much as 16 megabytes of cache memory. But not everything is so clear.

Comparison of AMD Ryzen 5 1600X and Intel Core i5-7600K processors

Let’s start with the «stones» of the 2017 sample. Moreover, both of these chips are still relevant in budget gaming configurations — they no longer cost $ 250-300, like a couple of years ago, you can buy for a hundred and a half, and the performance is enough for «tanks» with 125 FPS.

For comparison, these two processors were chosen not only for the reason that they are the flagships of the first revision in their series. You can also overclock them! The Intel Core i5 7600K has an unlocked multiplier (which is indicated by the letter «K» in the name of the family), so that with a suitable motherboard and a good cooling system, it may well work at 4.5 GHz.

The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X is also overclockable, as are most other AMD components. The maximum clock frequency that can be achieved from it without the risk of burning everything to hell is 4.0 GHz. The growth is so-so, of course, but in a couple of years it will be quite good.

And now to comparison.

Thus, the Ryzen 5 1600X performs better in tasks where multi-threaded computing is required. This is also confirmed by benchmarks. But applications that are not adapted for multithreading (including the long-suffering Photoshop), the performance of this processor is acceptable.

The Intel Core i5 7600K wins in multiprocessor and complex usage. However, it is worth considering that in some cases (for example, when working with rendering), it is worth taking its competitor. But for games or just everyday use, it’s perfect.

Comparison of AMD Ryzen 5 2600X and Intel Core i5-8600K processors

In the year that has passed since the release of the previous generation, little has changed. Unless Intel stopped being greedy, and therefore the top version of the Core i5 family — the 8600K model — has six cores installed at once. Multithreading, however, as usual, was not delivered to them.

All in all, the Intel Core i5 8600K is a non-threaded, hexa-core processor with a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and turbo up to 4.3 GHz on a single core, integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 and an unlocked multiplier, so it can be overclocked on a compatible motherboard .

Its competitor — AMD Ryzen 5 2600X — is also six-core, but with multi-threading support (two threads per core, up to 12 computing threads in total), a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and turbo mode up to 4.2 GHz on a single core. An integrated Radeon Vega graphics card is also available in some configurations. In general, they took it and copied it from Intel, only with multithreading and almost twice as much L3 cache.

Since there is no fundamental difference between the generations of 2017 and 2018, the comparison shows approximately the same result.

In general, the results are the same as a year ago. AMD performs better when you need to do a lot of calculations, perform mathematical operations, serve as the basis for the work of cryptographic algorithms and artificial intelligence. This is achieved through multithreading. The processor has 12 virtual cores!

Intel is not inferior in many ways. It performs well in games, in single-threaded calculations and in general performance. So it is suitable for both gaming and home computers.

Conclusion

Intel Core i5 and AMD Ryzen 5 are processors of the same class, as evidenced by their technical specifications and performance. They are suitable for creating a budget gaming computer, and for multimedia systems, and for office “calculating machines”. The difference between the processors, as tests show, is quite insignificant.

Therefore, you should choose based on your wishes and budget. If you don’t have a lot of money, but you want performance, you can take AMD. With an unlimited budget and the desire to create a gaming computer, an i5 is also suitable, which can then be replaced with an i7 and enjoy maximum speed.