Ryzen 5 5600X vs i9-9900K

Aggregate performance score

Core i9-9900K
2018
8 cores / 16 threads, 95 Watt
11.93
Ryzen 5 5600X
2020
6 cores / 12 threads, 65 Watt
14.30
+19.9%

Ryzen 5 5600X outperforms Core i9-9900K by a significant 20% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking673530
Place by popularitynot in top-10017
Cost-effectiveness evaluation7.7325.48
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i9 (Desktop)AMD Ryzen 5
Power efficiency11.4520.06
Architecture codenameCoffee Lake-R (2018−2019)Vermeer (Zen 3) (2020−2022)
Release date8 October 2018 (6 years ago)8 October 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$488$299

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 5 5600X has 230% better value for money than i9-9900K.

Detailed specifications

Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X 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 cores8 (Octa-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads1612
Base clock speed3.6 GHz3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed5 GHz4.6 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0no data
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/sno data
Multiplierno data37
L1 cache512 KB384 KB
L2 cache2 MB3 MB
L3 cache16 MB (shared)32 MB
Chip lithography14 nm7 nm, 12 nm
Die size178 mm22x 80.7 + 125 (I/O) mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C95 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C95 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketLGA-1151AM4
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2MMX (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
TSX+-
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
SIPP+-
Precision Boost 2no data+

Security technologies

Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data
Secure Key+no data
MPX+-
Identity Protection+-
SGXYes with Intel® MEno data
OS Guard+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X 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 i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth44.668 GB/s51.196 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 630-
Max video memory64 GB-
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video+-
Clear Video HD+-
Graphics max frequency1.2 GHz-
InTru 3D+-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3-

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+-
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2304@24Hz-
Max resolution over eDP4096 x 2304@60Hz-
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096 x 2304@60Hz-

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX12-
OpenGL4.5-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X.

PCIe version3.04.0
PCI Express lanes16no data

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.

i9-9900K 11.93
Ryzen 5 5600X 14.30
+19.9%

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.

i9-9900K 18260
Ryzen 5 5600X 21888
+19.9%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

i9-9900K 1701
Ryzen 5 5600X 2114
+24.3%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

i9-9900K 8045
Ryzen 5 5600X 8693
+8.1%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i9-9900K 7933
+22.8%
Ryzen 5 5600X 6462

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i9-9900K 48779
+24%
Ryzen 5 5600X 39331

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i9-9900K 14282
Ryzen 5 5600X 14576
+2.1%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i9-9900K 3.58
+8.7%
Ryzen 5 5600X 3.89

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i9-9900K 21
Ryzen 5 5600X 22
+1.7%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i9-9900K 1979
+0.6%
Ryzen 5 5600X 1968

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i9-9900K 212
Ryzen 5 5600X 254
+19.8%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i9-9900K 2.38
Ryzen 5 5600X 2.95
+23.9%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i9-9900K 11.1
+3.7%
Ryzen 5 5600X 10.7

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i9-9900K 114
Ryzen 5 5600X 117
+2.4%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i9-9900K 261
Ryzen 5 5600X 320
+22.8%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i9-9900K 7633
Ryzen 5 5600X 13282
+74%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i9-9900K 8845
Ryzen 5 5600X 8980
+1.5%

Blender(-)

i9-9900K 224
Ryzen 5 5600X 260
+16.3%

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i9-9900K 1300
Ryzen 5 5600X 1657
+27.5%

7-Zip Single

i9-9900K 5411
Ryzen 5 5600X 6594
+21.9%

7-Zip

i9-9900K 48207
Ryzen 5 5600X 56607
+17.4%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 11.93 14.30
Recency 8 October 2018 8 October 2020
Physical cores 8 6
Threads 16 12
Chip lithography 14 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

i9-9900K has 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads.

Ryzen 5 5600X, on the other hand, has a 19.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Ryzen 5 5600X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-9900K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-9900K and Ryzen 5 5600X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i9-9900K
Core i9-9900K
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Ryzen 5 5600X

Similar processor comparisons

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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