Intel Core i5-9600K vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-9600K CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X - 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 Intel Core i5-9600K has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.60 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-9600K was released in Q4/2018.

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.40 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X was released in Q3/2019.
Intel Core i5 (328) Family AMD Ryzen 5 (78)
Intel Core i 9000 (34) CPU group AMD Ryzen 3000 (15)
9 Generation 3
Coffee Lake S Refresh Architecture Matisse (Zen 2)
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Intel Core i5-8600K Predecessor AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Intel Core i5-10600K Successor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-9600K has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 6 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i5-9600K is 3.70 GHz (4.60 GHz) while the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has 6 CPU cores and 12 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is at 3.80 GHz (4.40 GHz).

Intel Core i5-9600K Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6 Cores 6
6 Threads 12
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.70 GHz Frequency 3.80 GHz
4.60 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.40 GHz
4.30 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.20 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.

Intel Core i5-9600K Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 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.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU no iGPU
0.35 GHz GPU frequency --
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
9.5 GPU Generation --
14 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
24 Compute units --
192 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 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.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-9600K can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 42.7 GB/s. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 51.2 GB/s.

Intel Core i5-9600K Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
DDR4-2666 Memory DDR4-3200
128 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
42.7 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache --
9.00 MB L3 Cache 32.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
16 PCIe lanes 20
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i5-9600K is 95 W, while the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has a TDP of 95 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i5-9600K Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
95 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-9600K is manufactured in 14 nm and has 9.00 MB cache. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 32.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i5-9600K Characteristic AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
14 nm Technology 7 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
LGA 1151-2 Socket AM4 (PGA 1331)
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q4/2018 Release date Q3/2019
260 $ Release price 215 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 7 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 9 CPU benchmarks

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
73 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
69 (95%)

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
355 (76%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
468 (100%)

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
1276 (98%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
1301 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
7301 (75%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
9704 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
1244 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
1245 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
5643 (81%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
6992 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
1561 (97%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
1605 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
6244 (92%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
6822 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
481 (96%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
501 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
2624 (70%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
3751 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
10791 (59%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
18267 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
318.4 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
233.9 (73%)

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
522 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
503 (96%)

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 3.70 GHz
2882 (71%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
4083 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.60 GHz
204 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.40 GHz
204 (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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
1165 (71%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
1647 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.15 GHz
442 (100%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i5-9600K
6C 6T @ 4.30 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
6C 12T @ 4.20 GHz
142 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Multimedia Office PC Intel Core i5 9600K
Memory PC Intel PC Core i5-9600K
NEXOC Gaming Notebook Laptop 15.6 Zoll mit i5-9600K
dercomputerladen PC mit Ryzen 5 3600X
Memory Gaming PC mit Ryzen 5 3600X

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