Ryzen 5 5600X vs Ryzen 7 5800X

We pit the two AMD CPUs against each another comparing specifications, price and performance.

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AMD has released many fantastic CPUs and the two on our list today are no exception. These CPUs are fairly different on paper and also in terms of use case, but both of them are flagships in their respective Ryzen series. How do they compare? 

Now read: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X good for gaming?

Pitting the 5600X vs 5800x might seem unfair on the surface as one is clearly more powerful than the other (Ryzen 5 v Ryzen 7). However, they’re both great choices for any PC, at different price points. Let’s deduce the best Ryzen 5000 series CPU of the two and investigate further with some technical comparisons.  

Both of these CPUs make excellent gaming processors, but which is better? the 5600X or the 5800X? We’re going to break down and delve into each and every specification the two CPUs have. Then we’re going to take a comparative look at each.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

Pros

Set to out-perform the 10600K

Great value for money

Unlocked overclocking

Cons

Slightly more expensive than what we’re used to from AMDs midrange offering

Requires CPU cooler

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AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

Pros

Very good gaming performance

AM4 compatible

Excellent value for money

Unlocked overclocking

Cons

More expensive than Intel alternative

Requires CPU cooler

Shop on Amazon

CHECK PRICE

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5600X vs 5800X: specifications 

When comparing two or more PC components it’s important to outline the on-paper specifications in order to get a deeper understanding of each component and how they stack up against one another. Some examples of CPU specifications would be core count, core speed and cache size. We will compare the specifications of both the Ryzen 5 5600X and the Ryzen 7 5800X below. 

5600X 

The Ryzen 5 5600X is the top-of-the-line Ryzen 5 CPU and has been powering mid-level gaming machines since its release on November 5 2020. This CPU is a top performer, smashing its predecessor the Ryzen 5 3600X in bang for buck and performance. 

The specifications of the Ryzen 5 5600X are as follows: 

5800X 

The Ryzen 7 5800X is the top-of-the-line Ryzen 7 CPU currently on the market and was also released on November 5, 2020. This CPU can be bought for a good price as we approach the AMD Zen 4 release date, making it one of the best top-end price-to-performance CPUs available.

The specifications of the Ryzen 7 5800X are as follows: 

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5600X vs 5800X: specification comparison 

Here we will analyze the on-paper specifications of the Ryzen 5 5600X and the Ryzen 7 5800X and pit them head-to-head. This will help you make an informed decision and give you a good idea of what to look out for when shopping for your next CPU. 

Core count 

The Ryzen 5 5600X has two fewer cores than the Ryzen 7 5800X. 

Higher core counts mean that your CPU will be more proficient at multitasking natively, however, it does all depend on whether or not the software you are using permits multi-core utilization. Most applications these days do, but older applications may not have the same support. Even some games designed today use between one and four cores, but for general and multitasking purposes, it’s always better to have more cores at your disposal. 

Thread count 

The Ryzen 5 5600X has four fewer threads than the Ryzen 7 5800X. 

Both of the CPUs support SMT (Simultaneous Multithreading) This is AMD’s version of what’s called Hhyperthreading in Intel CPUs. SMT is a technology that allows each CPU core to execute two instructions at the same time, with the second instruction being the ‘thread’. This basically doubles the number of logical processors your PC has.

You can find out more about SMT in our ‘what does SMT mean’ article. 

Again, as with cores, it’s better to have more threads. More cores and threads allow your CPU to execute more instructions simultaneously, making it very proficient at multitasking and a great choice for content creators and 3D artists. All these cores and threads would be put to good use in a render or to encode a heavy application. 

Core speeds

The Ryzen 7 5800X has the fastest base and boost clock speeds, coming in with a base speed of 3.9GHz and a boost speed of 4.7GHz. The Ryzen 5 5600X has a base speed of 3.7GHz and a boost speed of 4.6GHz. 

Core speed is the measurement of how many instruction cycles a CPU can perform every second. These instruction cycles consist of three actions – fetch, decode and execute, and these are the fundamental principles a CPU operates on. 

Not all core speed is created equally, however, and if you would like to know more about IPC and how it differs from core speeds, you can find a simple explanation in our 5800X vs 5900X article. For this comparison, more speed is better. 

Cache

The Ryzen 7 5800X has a higher cache capacity to accommodate for the larger number of cores and threads. 

Cache serves as an extension of your PC’s memory and is constructed close to CPU cores for blisteringly fast access speeds. Cache in today’s CPUs is made up of three levels and are arranged in numerical order. 

The cache levels and order is as follows: 

Level one cache is closest to the CPU’s and has blazingly fast access speeds compared to the other two cache levels, but also the smallest capacity. This is reserved for only the most vital data that is most frequently accessed by the CPU.

Level two cache is a solid median, with a capacity between level one and level three cache and a median speed, reserved for the less vital data, but it is still integral and ideal that the CPU has fast access to level two cache. 

Level three cache is where most of your frequently accessed data is stored, such as programs and execution paths. This has the largest capacity in comparison to the other two levels but is also much slower. 

More cache is better because you can have more frequent data stored on the larger cache capacity, making for much faster access and execution speeds on the programs you use the most. 

TDP

The Ryzen 5 5600X has a lower TDP of 65W whilst the Ryzen 7 5800X has a TDP of 105W 

TDP or thermal design power is the maximum amount of thermal energy a component can output at any given time, under normal manufacturer-defined operating conditions.  

Usually, we would say a lower TDP would be better and that is true to an extent, but more powerful CPUs require more energy and then eventually convert that larger energy requirement into heat. 

You can easily upscale a cooler to fit the TDP of your CPU – if you have a beefy CPU it’s going to output more thermal energy under load. As long as you have a cooler that can dissipate more than the CPU’s maximum thermal output you are fine. It is advisable to leave a little thermal headroom too as overclocking even slightly can drastically increase the TDP of a component. 

You should think about overclocking if your components support it, even if it’s way down the line, as overclocking can help older CPUs compete better with the current ones on the market. This means you can increase your PC’s performance even if you’re on a tight budget. 

Socket 

Both of the CPUs on our list fit the AM4 socket. 

Your CPU’s socket can be thought of as like a shape, where the CPU will only fit in a motherboard with a corresponding socket – much like a triangle will only fit into a triangular hole. 

AMD has kept AM4 alive for about five years now and although it’s very reliable, robust, and well-refined, it’s starting to show its age. Its technical limitations become more apparent as new AM5 details hit the web. This is one of the reasons AM5 is moving to LGA (land grid array) over the current PGA (pin grid array).

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Ryzen 5 5600X vs Ryzen 7 5800X: Results 

It’s easy to pick up a deal or two on some of the older CPUs, since the Ryzen 7000 series launched in September 2022. It’s always best to pick something that fits within your budget, and if you don’t do any heavy video editing, don’t work on any render-heavy applications, and only do light gaming then you should be looking at the Ryzen 5 5600X. 

If you’re the opposite, a heavy gamer, you work on large render or workstation style projects then you are better off with the superior performance and the resources of the Ryzen 7 5800X.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

Pros

Set to out-perform the 10600K

Great value for money

Unlocked overclocking

Cons

Slightly more expensive than what we’re used to from AMDs midrange offering

Requires CPU cooler

Shop on Amazon

CHECK PRICE

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

Pros

Very good gaming performance

AM4 compatible

Excellent value for money

Unlocked overclocking

Cons

More expensive than Intel alternative

Requires CPU cooler

Shop on Amazon

CHECK PRICE

The 5800X does have two more cores and four more threads, and a 100MHz higher boost clock. These specifications on paper, make it a better CPU, both in terms of power and speed. Obviously, the 5800X is going to be a significant margin more expensive. So you have to weigh the higher cost against whether or not you’re going to utilize the full potential of your PC and its components.

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Final word 

Overall, we favor the more powerful Ryzen 7 5800X. As with anything, it’s better to have and not need, than to need and not have. The extra two cores and four threads can really work wonders if you’re multitasking or using render or core-heavy applications.

The higher cache capacity means faster access to more data and a larger extension of system memory is advantageous to processing speeds. The higher TDP can be mitigated by a half-decent air cooler but we’d always recommend an AIO. 

It’s always best to build your PC around your budget and don’t pick up any parts you can’t afford. We might favor the Ryzen 7 5800X, but that doesn’t make the Ryzen 5 5600X a bad choice – it’s a fantastic little CPU ready to suit the needs of any budget-orientated gamer. This was our article on the Ryzen 5 5600X vs Ryzen 7 5800X.