AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Review

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the best value gaming processor currently available, offering a similar gaming performance to rival chips that cost twice as much. Support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 also help to increase the performance ceiling of your PC, futureproofing it for years to come. The only major issue is that multi-core performance is underwhelming, while the imminent arrival of Intel Raptor Lake means it’s best holding off on a purchase for now.

Introduction

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the runt of the litter for the new Ryzen 7000 desktop processor series. But write it off at your own peril, as it offers a virtually identical gaming performance to other Ryzen chips that cost almost twice as much. 

Based on the new Zen 4 architecture, this chip not only boasts an impressive generational performance uplift but also supports DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 SSDs to ensure your system is futureproofed for years to come. 

And while it may be lacking in the core department with just 6 to its name, it makes up for that with a super-fast max boost speed of 5.2Ghz. But is that enough for it to feature in our Best CPU and Best Gaming CPU round-ups? Here’s my review. 

Specs

• Powered by new Zen 4 architecture
• Capable of hitting 5.3GHz clock speed
• Provides support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a member of the new Ryzen 7000 family, and so makes use of the cutting edge Zen 4 architecture. 

Thanks to TSMC’s new 5nm process node, AMD has been able to cram a whopping 6.57 billion transistors onto the CPU. That’s a hefty upgrade on the 4.15 billion transistors of the preceding Zen 3 architecture, indicating a significant generational increase in performance. 

Zen 4 is also the very first AMD architecture to support DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, allowing you to benefit from the latest and greatest RAM and SSDs. Upgrading all of these components at once should result in a significant performance increase for your entire system, although it will end up costing you a lot. And since the new Ryzen processor requires an AM5 socket, you’ll be forced to upgrade your motherboard too. 

The bright side of this is that your PC will be future-proofed for the foreseeable future, so you won’t need to spend a lot of money on it for a number of years – unless you also want to upgrade your graphics card, of course. 

AMD has decided against increasing the number of cores and threads of the preceding AMD Ryzen 5 5600X chip, so you’re getting 6 cores and 12 threads once again. That should be plenty for most games, although it feels inadequate if you’re planning to give your PC heavy workloads such as 4K video editing and 3D animation – you’re better off with a Ryzen 9 7900X for such instances.

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is all about gaming performance instead, with AMD finally breaking the 5GHz barrier and achieving a max boost speed of 5.3GHz. Remarkably, that’s an even higher speed than what the Intel Core i9-12900K is capable of before overclocking, despite the Ryzen being significantly more affordable.

The spec sheet undoubtedly looks impressive, but it’s also worth remembering that the new Intel Raptor Lake range is set to launch in a matter of months. Intel has already revealed that its flagship Raptor Lake chip will be capable of speeds up to 6GHz, so it may be worth holding off on a processor purchase until then.

The new Ryzen chip also comes with RDNA 2 integrated graphics architecture, which means you don’t need a graphics card to get your system up and running. However, graphics performance is basic at best and lacks the power to run AAA games. You’re wasting the talents of the Ryzen 5 7600X if you don’t pair it with a powerful discrete graphics card, but it’s still good to know your system can still operate if your graphics card unexpectedly malfunctions. 

Test setup 

So how does the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X actually perform? In order to answer this question, I’ve had to ensure a fair testing process so I can compare benchmark results with other desktop processors, from both AMD and Intel. 

In order to do this, I conducted benchmarks on the Trusted Reviews test rig and used the exact same components where possible. You can check out the build I used below:

• AMD Motherboard: Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
• Intel Motherboard: ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi (12th Gen)
• RAM: Gskill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 CL30 2x16GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
• Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB 360mm liquid cooler
• OS: Windows 11

I also used industry-standard software, as well as in-game benchmarks, to evaluate performance. I made sure to use a mix of games, both new and old, to test the processor with a variety of workloads. Keep reading on for all of the results. 

Performance 

• Superb gaming performance
• Similar gaming results as Ryzen 9
• Subpar multi-core performance

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X may be the cheapest desktop processor in the new Ryzen 7000 Series, but it’s certainly no slouch. It excels at gaming, delivering virtually identical results as the more expensive AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. 

It’s also better than the previous mid-range champion, the Intel Core i5-12600K. The Ryzen 5 build was capable of hitting 91fps in Horizon Zero Dawn and 138fps in Dirt Rally when set to a 1080p resolution – that resulted in a 4fps and 10fps advantage for AMD.

That’s obviously a very minor performance difference, but it’s important to remember that the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X has a more affordable launch price of just $299/£319.99. As a result, it’s arguably the best value gaming processor currently on the market.

Want an all-round processor capable of heavy duty content creation too? Then this Ryzen chip probably isn’t for you, falling behind the Intel i5 in all of the multi-core benchmarks. But don’t take my word for it. Check out all of the benchmark results below. 

PCMark 10

PCMark 10 is the first benchmark test I used. It’s a holistic benchmark, and so determines the performance of your entire PC rather than just the CPU performance.

In this test, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X came in third place, beaten only by the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Core i9-12900K which both cost a few hundred dollars more. This is the first indicator that the Ryzen 5 is more powerful than the Intel Core i5-12600K, which is a huge win for AMD.

Geekbench 5

Geekbench 5 differs from PCMark 10, as it focuses purely on CPU performance while also testing the single-core and multi-core speeds separately. This paints a clearer picture of what kind of performance a processor is capable of. 

Curiously, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X posted the second best single-core performance of the entire group, second only to its sibling the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. This means it achieved a better score than the Intel Core i9-12900K, which will no doubt impress gamers. 

The multi-core performance wasn’t so impressive though, falling down to a fourth place position, behind even the Intel Core i5-12600K. This isn’t a huge surprise since the Ryzen chip only has 6 cores and 12 threads, but further emphasises that it’s not the best option for content creation and the like.

Cinebench R23

Cinebench R23 is a very similar test to Geekbench 5 in that it also separates out the single-core and multi-core performance. However, it puts the processor under more stress to determine how it can handle heavy workloads such as rendering.

Here, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X slipped behind the Intel Core i9-12900K, but still saw a very respectable performance. 

But just as Geekbench demonstrated, the Ryzen 5 wasn’t very effective. It once again came in 4th place for my group test, and only marginally beat the Ryzen 7 5800X from the preceding generation. As a result, I wouldn’t recommend the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X if you’re planning on editing video or creating 3D models on the regular. 

Horizon Zero Dawn

Onto the gaming benchmarks, and this is where the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X really starts to shine. Horizon Zero Dawn is first up, demonstrating how a processor can handle large open-world environments. 

The Ryzen 5 posted excellent results for every resolution, achieving higher frame rates than both the i5 and i9 Intel chips. Since these Intel processors used to be the best gaming CPUs before today, this is an incredibly impressive feat from AMD.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X saw better results, but by slim bargains. There was only a 3fps difference in Full HD, and a 1fps lead for Quad HD and 4K. Since the Ryzen 5 is considerably cheaper, I reckon it’s the better option for gamers. 

Dirt Rally

Dirt Rally is an old game, launching back in 2015. This makes it a great test to show how a CPU can handle low-intensive games. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X performed well, once again coming in second position at every resolution. 

The 1080p results were the most interesting, with the Ryzen 5 beating the Intel i9 by 10fps. However, it fell behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X by a whopping 20fps, which shows that its bigger sibling is still the more powerful chip when it comes to gaming. 

Hike up the resolution to Quad HD or 4K, and there’s only 1fps separating the Ryzen 5 from the Ryzen 9. So if you care about resolution more than high frames, then the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X still offers the best value. 

Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3 was also included to represent moden first-person shooters. It turned out to be the outlier in our testing, and a good example to show how many different variables (such as drivers) can affect gaming performance. 

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X saw fantastic results when playing Borderlands 3 in 4K and Quad HD, but slipped behind the both Intel chips when it came to Full HD performance. I’m not sure why this is the case, but it could be down to the simple fact that the Intel processors are better optimised with the current drivers. 

It’s also peculiar that Ryzen 5 performed better than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. It just goes to show that having the most powerful chip on paper doesn’t always guarantee the best performance. 

Total War: Warhammer 3

Total War: Warhammer 3 is the most modern game on our list, and also seemingly the most demanding. Rather than testing this game at different resolutions, I instead split the benchmarks between battle and the campaign map. 

When set to a 4K resolution, the AMD Ryzen 5 performed just as well as any other chip in the group test. However, it did struggle a little with the campaign map with the Intel Core i9-12900K seeing a marginally superior performance. 

The Ryzen 5 still managed to beat the Intel Core i5-12600K, proving it’s still the best value gaming processor currently available. 

Civilization VI

The Civilization VI test differs from the previous in-game benchmarks, as it doesn’t measure frame rate performance, but the time it takes for the AI to make its calculations instead. A lower number (in seconds) indicates shorter waiting times, which the performance of a processor has a big impact on. 

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X was quicker than both Intel CPUs in this test, and was only marginally slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. 

Of course, the Ryzen 5 is only half a second quicker than the Intel Core i5, so you probably won’t notice the difference in real time. But it nevertheless demonstrates that the Ryzen 5 is a better gaming processor than the Intel Core i5-12600K.

Power consumption and heat 

• Fantastic power efficiency
• Requires a high-end cooler

It’s not just performance power that matters when determining which processor to buy. Power consumption and heat are also important factors, so I’ve made sure to put these to the test too. 

When the computer was idle, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X consumed even more power than the Intel Core i9-12900K. That’s a little concerning, but you’re able to skirt around this issue if you’re diligent with turning off your PC when not in use. 

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X saw a substantially more impressive result in my peak power draw test. When running the multi-core Cinebench R23 test, the Ryzen 5 saw a peak power draw of 168.5W – that’s half the power of the Intel Core i9-12900K. The Ryzen 5 even consumed less power than the Intel Core i5-12600K, which is a boon for those worried about their energy bill. It also probably means you won’t have to upgrade your PSU.

But while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is impressively power efficient, it does generate a lot of heat. Both of its idle and peak (recorded via PCMark 10) temperatures were noticeably higher than the Intel Core i5-12600K. 

This means you’ll want to purchase a great cooling system to ensure you maximise the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, especially if you want to overclock the processor. 

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Final Thoughts

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the best value gaming processor I’ve ever tested, offering an even better gaming performance than the excellent Intel Core i5-12500K. Energy efficiency is also superb, while support for features such as DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 will future proof your PC for years to come. 

There is one big issue with the Ryzen 5, and that’s the multi-core performance. With just 6 cores and 12 threads, it’s outpaced by the Intel i5. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Core i9-12900K processors are also substantially better options for such workloads. 

It’s also important to remember that Intel’s next generation chips, Intel Raptor Lake, are set to launch before the end of the year. With that in mind, it may be worth waiting a couple of months before buying a desktop processor. 

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