AMD Ryzen 5 2600 vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CPU comparison

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.90 GHz. Up to 64 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 was released in Q2/2018.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 was released in Q3/2019.
AMD Ryzen 5 (78) Family AMD Ryzen 5 (78)
AMD Ryzen 2000 (9) CPU group AMD Ryzen 3000 (15)
2 Generation 3
Pinnacle Ridge (Zen+) Architecture Matisse (Zen 2)
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is 3.40 GHz (3.90 GHz) while the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has 6 CPU cores and 12 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is at 3.60 GHz (4.20 GHz).

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6 Cores 6
12 Threads 12
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.40 GHz Frequency 3.60 GHz
3.90 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.20 GHz
3.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.00 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
Technology
Max. displays
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 can use up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 46.9 GB/s. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 51.2 GB/s.

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600
DDR4-2933 Memory DDR4-3200
64 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
46.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
Yes ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache --
16.00 MB L3 Cache 32.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
20 PCIe lanes 20
19.7 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is 65 W, while the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
95 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is manufactured in 12 nm and has 16.00 MB cache. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 32.00 MB cache.

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600
12 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
AM4 (PGA 1331) Socket AM4 (PGA 1331)
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2018 Release date Q3/2019
195 $ Release price 185 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (9 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 9 CPU benchmarks

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
1040 (83%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1250 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
7555 (83%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
9150 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
977 (83%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1183 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
5351 (78%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
6821 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
1233 (80%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1541 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
5387 (79%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
6784 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
374 (79%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
472 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
2736 (77%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
3570 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
104 (74%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
140 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
13230 (74%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
17803 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
292.5 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
235.7 (81%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
424 (87%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
488 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz
3340 (84%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
3990 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
158 (80%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
197 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
1305 (83%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
1578 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
75 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
568 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
3.40 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
9,150 CB R23 MC @ 87 W
105 (100%)

Devices using this processor

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Memory PC Aufrüst-Kit Bundle AMD Ryzen 5 2600
CSL Sprint D10088X (Ryzen 5)
Memory Gaming PC AMD Ryzen 5 2600
One Gaming PC Ryzen 5 3600
Lenono IdeaCentre T540-15AMA G
HP Pavilion Gaming TG01-0201ng schwarz (9HP03EA#ABD)

News and articles for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the AMD Ryzen 5 3600


Comparison of the two processors

The comparison between the two processors AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is also a comparison between two different Ryzen generations. While the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is still based on the optimized Zen cores (Zen +), the more powerful and efficient Zen 2 CPU cores are already at work in the AMD Ryzen 5 3600.

By jumping to the 7 nm manufacturing technology of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600, AMD was able to increase the clock frequencies compared to the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, which was still manufactured in 12 nm. The clock increases are between 200 and 400 MHz, depending on the processor. Together with further optimizations, AMD was able to increase the raw performance per clock (IPC) of the Ryzen 3xxx processors again.

Both the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 have 6 cores and can process up to 12 threads simultaneously or in parallel through activated SMT. Like almost all Ryzen desktop processors, the processors presented here can be overclocked very easily. Both processors do not have an integrated graphics card (iGPU). A dedicated graphics card is therefore required for operation.

While the Zen + (Ryzen 2xxx) processors support RAM up to DDR4-2933, the newer Zen 2 CPU cores can already address DDR4-3200 RAM. By overclocking the RAM, speeds of DDR4-3600 are usually possible without any problems. The older Zen + CPU cores mostly support up to DDR4-3466. AMD has doubled the supported amount of RAM with the Ryzen 3xxx processors from 64 to 128 GB.

The level 3 cache has also doubled, which was a bit of a problem with the Zen + processors. In some applications and especially in PC games, the Ryzen 2xxx desktop processors were not always convincing and were especially inferior to the fast Intel processors. This has changed with Ryzen 3xxx: they can also keep up very well with Intel's Core i5 / i7 / i9 processors in PC games.

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