Intel Core i5-13600K multi-core performance tramples the Ryzen 5 7600X in valid Geekbench entry

Intel is reportedly announcing the 13th gen Raptor Lake processors this month. The CPUs which can potentially include the Core i9-13900K, the Core i7-13700K, and the Core i5-13600K supposedly offer massive multi-core enhancements as well as respectable single-core increases over the 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs. Now, a Core i5-13600K has visited Geekbench, resulting in valid single-threaded and multi-threaded benchmarks.

Before we dive into the performance of the Core i5-13600K, it is pertinent to mention that the chip was running on an ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming 4/D5 with 32 GB of unspecified memory. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of roughly 5.1 GHz, the processor obtained a single-core score of 1,909 and a multi-core score of 16,064.

First, the Core i5-13600K in question reportedly matches the Core i9-12900K in single-core performance based on our median Geekbench 5 result for the Alder Lake CPU. However, the Raptor Lake chip is 10% slower than the Alder Lake part in the multi-threaded benchmark. This is to be expected since the Core i9-12900K is a 16-core/24-thread chip while the Core i5-13600K has 10 cores/20 threads.

Per the latest Geekbench entry, the Core i5-13600K manages to beat both the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 9 5950X with a single-core lead of 14% and 15% over the respective AMD processors. Surprisingly, the Raptor Lake CPU performs just as well as the Ryzen 9 5950X, a 16-core/32-thread processor, in the multi-core test while pummeling the Ryzen 7 5800X with a 43% gain.

Now the question is, how much improvement does the Core i5-13600K pack over its predecessor, the Core i5-12600K? Based on our average Geekbench 5 single-core and multi-core results for the Alder Lake mid-ranger, the Core i5-13600K is supposedly only 5% faster in single-threaded workloads. That said, the multi-threaded performance of the Raptor Lake processor trumps the Core i5-12600K by a healthy margin of 26%.

Recently, a Geekbench 5 entry for the Core i7-13700KF surfaced that showed the chip was an alleged 12% better in single-core and 32.5% speedier in multi-core workloads than the Core i7-12700K. Per the Geekbench 5 scores of the Core i7-13700KF, the Core i5-13600K lags behind its bigger brother by 8% in single-score and by 13% in multi-core tests.

While we are pitting the Core i5-13600K against different CPUs, we would be remiss not to include the chip’s Zen 4 rival in our comparisons. Per a Geekbench entry for the Ryzen 5 7600X that appeared last week, the Core i5-13600K is apparently 12% slower in single-core workloads with a score of 1,909. However, the roles are reversed in the multi-core benchmark where the Core i5-13600K is an astounding 41% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X with scores of 16,064 and 11,369 respectively. The multi-core improvements of the Raptor Lake CPU over the Zen 4 chip are likely the result of a much better core count in favor of the Intel processor (6 vs 14 cores).

Long story short, the Core i5-13600K is shaping up to be a multi-core beast, as it is only 10% slower than the 16-core Core i9-12900K and allegedly beats the socks off the Ryzen 5 7600X. That said, these are preliminary results of an unreleased chip, so we have to reserve our final judgments until the retail samples are available and independent testing can be done on the processors. Until then, take these results with a grain of salt.

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