EPYC 7301 vs i5-6600K

Place in the ranking	1420	805
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.71	1.95
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Intel Core i5 (Desktop)	AMD EPYC
Power efficiency	4.14	5.26
Architecture codename	Skylake (2015−2016)	Naples (2017−2018)
Release date	5 August 2015 (9 years ago)	29 June 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$242	$825

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

EPYC 7301 has 175% better value for money than i5-6600K.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	4 (Quad-Core)	16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads	4	32
Base clock speed	3.5 GHz	2.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	2.7 GHz
Bus type	DMI 3.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	35	22
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	96K (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 cache	6 MB (shared)	64 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	122 mm²	192 mm²
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	64 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	4,800 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1 (Uniprocessor)	2 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1151	TR4
Power consumption (TDP)	91 Watt	170 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	no data
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-

Security technologies

Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
MPX	+	-
Identity Protection	+	-
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	+
VT-d	+	no data
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3, DDR4	DDR4 Eight-channel
Maximum memory size	64 GB	2 TiB
Max memory channels	2	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.134 GB/s	170.671 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 530	no data
Max video memory	64 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.15 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
DVI	+	no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz	no data
Max resolution over eDP	4096x2304@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096x2304@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over VGA	N/A	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	no data
OpenGL	4.5	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	16	128

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i5-6600K 3.98

EPYC 7301 9.44
+137%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i5-6600K 6322

EPYC 7301 14991
+137%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.98	9.44
Recency	5 August 2015	29 June 2017
Physical cores	4	16
Threads	4	32
Power consumption (TDP)	91 Watt	170 Watt

i5-6600K has 86.8% lower power consumption.

EPYC 7301, on the other hand, has a 137.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and 300% more physical cores and 700% more threads.

The EPYC 7301 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-6600K in performance tests.

Note that Core i5-6600K is a desktop processor while EPYC 7301 is a server/workstation one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-6600K and EPYC 7301, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.