Intel Core i5-9600K Desktop CPU Review

The battle for the hexa-core crown. The Intel Core i5-9600K is the latest Coffee Lake desktop processor that we have in for review. The hexa-core CPU offers almost the same specifications as its predecessor but with a ramped-up clock speed. Read on to find out how the Core i5-9600K fares against its competitors and how it performs in our various benchmarks and tests.

Sebastian Bade (translated by Alex Alderson), Published 01/27/2019 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 ...

Intel Core i5-9600K - six cores and six threads

We have already tested the Intel Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K, but now it is time for us to put the smaller sibling through its paces. The Core i5-9600K is a hexa-core chip based on Intel’s Coffee Lake architecture, which the company introduced in October 2018. The processor has a 3.7 GHz base clock that can Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz, but it does not support Intel Hyper-Threading technology, so it can only execute up to six threads simultaneously. Intel manufacturers the Core i5-9600K and its other Coffee Lake CPUs on the second refinement of its 14 nm FinFET process, which it markets as 14 nm ++. The Core i5-9600K has an unlocked multiplier like other Intel K series processors, which makes the CPU relatively easy to overclock. It is worth keeping in mind that the Core i5-9600K requires a Z390 chipset motherboard and a decent cooler.

The Core i5-9600K should be powerful enough for demanding applications and around 10 to 15% faster than its predecessor, the Core i5-8600K, thanks to architectural improvements and slightly higher clock speeds. The Core i5-9600K integrates an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU that can clock up to 1.15 GHz, like it can on the Core i5-8600K. Hence, the two CPUs should have identical GPU performance and are powerful enough to play older games at reduced graphics levels.

Intel states that the Core i5-9600K has a 95 W thermal design power (TDP), but the processor will consume up to 150 W and beyond if overclocked. Correspondingly, we would recommend using a more powerful cooler if you plan to overclock the Core i5-9600K.

An overview of the 8th and 9th generation Intel Core CPUs

Model - 8th generation	Cores/Threads	Base Clock	Turbo 1/2/4/6/8 Cores (GHz)	L3 Cache	Graphics	TDP	Launch Price
Intel Core i7-8700K	6/12	3.7 GHz	4.7/4.6/4.4/4.3	12 MB	UHD 630	95 W	US$359
Intel Core i5-8600K	6/6	3.6 GHz	4.3/4.2/4.2/4.1	9 MB	UHD 630	95 W	US$257

Model - 9th generation	Cores/Threads	Base Clock	Turbo 1/2/4/6/8 Cores (GHz)	L3 Cache	Graphics	TDP	Launch Price
Intel Core i9-9900K	8/16	3.6 GHz	5.0/5.0/4.8/4.7/4.7	16 MB	UHD 630	95 W	US$488
Intel Core i7-9700K	8/8	3.6 GHz	4.9/4.8/4.7/4.6/4.6	12 MB	UHD 630	95 W	US$374
Intel Core i5-9600K	6/6	3.7 GHz	4.6/4.5/4.4/4.3	9 MB	UHD 630	95 W	US$262

The Test System

Caseking kindly provided us with the AIO, case, and the processor for our test system.

We used the ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming as the basis of our test system and paired it with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM from G-Skill. The RAM clocks at 3,400 MHz and was set as an XMP profile in the BIOS. We left all other BIOS settings untouched until we tried overclocking the CPU. Caseking kindly sent us a Raijintek AIO that has a 360° radiator and also supplied us with an open-frame Raijintek case, to which the company added the Notebookcheck logo, which was a nice touch.

We also equipped our test system with the same GPU that we used for our Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 reviews to provide more consistent results against which we could compare the Core i5-9600K. We have included the power consumption of these components in our power consumption tables in subsequent sections.

We installed Windows 10 on a 240 GB SanDisk Ultra II and equipped our test system with a 480 GB Intel Optane SSD 905P drive. The 905P is an M.2 drive, which utilises the NVMe protocol for fast data transmission.

An overview of our test system

ASUS and Caseking supplied us with the following hardware for our benchmarks and tests:

Intel Core i5-9600K
ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming (BIOS 0506, Default Settings, XMP 1 for DDR4-3400)
G-Skill Sniper X DDR4-3400 2 x 8 GB
Raijintek Orcus 360 (AIO)
Raijintek PEAN Benchtable

We also used the following hardware:

XFX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
LC Power 1,200 W Power Supply
SanDisk Ultra II 240 GB
Intel Optane SSD 905P 480GB

CPU Benchmarks

The Core i5-9600K finished between the two AMD Ryzen 5 APUs in CPU benchmarks, although it scored just 8% less than the Core i7-9700K in the Cinebench R15 single-core benchmark. The Core i5-9600K performs comparatively poorly in multi-core benchmarks though, primarily because it supports fewer threads than our comparison CPUs. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X can execute up to 12 threads compared to the Core i5-9600K’s six, which is why the former scored 16% more in CB R15 Multi.

Performance Rating - Percent
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	51.5 pt
Intel Core i9-9900K ^-1! 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	50.3 pt
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	49.3 pt
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	48.8 pt
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	48.7 pt
Intel Core i9-7900X ^-2! 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	46.6 pt
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X ^-1! 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	45.7 pt
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	45.7 pt
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	42.1 pt
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X ^-1! 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	41.6 pt
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	41.3 pt
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	40.4 pt
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	39.1 pt

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	213 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	208 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	193 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	192.7 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	187 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	178 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	176 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	176 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	173 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	163 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	161 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	159 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	159 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4376 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3110 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	2997 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2628 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	2148 (2133.11^min - 2158.31^max) Points
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2040 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1801 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1551 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1433 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1341 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1323 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1270 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1094 Points

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	27.07 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	23.88 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	23.13 Points
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	21.63 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	21.6 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	18.68 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	17.55 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	16.71 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	15.83 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	14.56 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	13.71 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	13.61 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	10.98 Points
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.44 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.37 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.24 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	2.2 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.11 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.96 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.95 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.9 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.9 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.81 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.78 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.76 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	1.73 Points

Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	444.4 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	375.7 Seconds *
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	353.5 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	350 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	308.3 Seconds *
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	307 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	264 Seconds *
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	219.2 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	181.4 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	163 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	152.7 Seconds *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	110.7 Seconds *

wPrime 2.10
32m
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6.033 s *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.5 s *
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.341 s *
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.203 s *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.141 s *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.62 s *
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.491 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.186 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.156 s *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3.484 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	3.34 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3.032 s *
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	2.91 s *
1024m
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	176.2 s *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	140.9 s *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	133.8 s *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	130.5 s *
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	129.1 s *
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	120.5 s *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	96.6 s *
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	85.6 s *
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	76 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	61.8 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	55.1 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	53.2 s *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	38.49 s *

HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	18 fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	17.5 fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	16.9 fps
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	16.3 fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	15.2 fps
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	13 fps
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	10.8 fps
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9.51 fps
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8.02 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7.79 fps

X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	270 (265^min - 272^max) fps
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	270 (270^min - 271^max) fps
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	250 (250^min - 250^max) fps
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	230 (228^min - 231^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	226.7 fps
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	217 fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	208.5 (207^min - 210^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	207.4 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	205.3 (204.6^min - 207.33^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	202.3 (200.47^min - 203.47^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	202 (198^min - 202^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	195.7 (195.08^min - 196.35^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	189.6 (188.03^min - 193.43^max) fps
Pass 2
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	144.9 (143.48^min - 145.54^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	134.3 (133.84^min - 135.07^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	131 (131^min - 132^max) fps
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	121 fps
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	120.5 (116^min - 121^max) fps
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	116.5 (115^min - 117^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	104.5 fps
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	94.8 (94.7^min - 95^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	89.7 (89.5^min - 89.85^max) fps
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	82.1 (82^min - 82.4^max) fps
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	80.5 fps
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	75 (74.84^min - 75.82^max) fps
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	68.8 (68.3^min - 69^max) fps

WinRAR - Result
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8518 KB/s
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7435 KB/s
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7396 KB/s
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	5918 KB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5903 KB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4779 KB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4669 KB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4599 KB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4548 KB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4517 KB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4440 KB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4261 KB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4150 KB/s

TrueCrypt
AES Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	19.5 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	19 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	16.2 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	12.2 GB/s
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	12.1 GB/s
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	11.5 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	10.6 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9 GB/s
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8.1 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7.5 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.6 GB/s
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.9 GB/s
Twofish Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	2.9 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.9 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.6 GB/s
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	2.1 GB/s
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.9 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.6 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.4 GB/s
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.3 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.2 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1 GB/s
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.629 GB/s
Serpent Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.9 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	1.8 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.8 GB/s
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.6 GB/s
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	1.2 GB/s
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.2 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.899 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.78 GB/s
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.774 GB/s
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.732 GB/s
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.668 GB/s
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.43 GB/s

Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6339 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6043 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5916 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5783 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	5523 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4999 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4953 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4903 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4706 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4681 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4631 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4463 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4304 Points
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	40152 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	36198 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	35922 Points
Intel Core i9-9900K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	34233 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	32029 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	29659 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	28877 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	25919 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	24546 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	23810 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	22776 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	21616 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	20633 Points

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance Physics
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	17834 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	17222 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	16091 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X 3300 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	15260 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	15025 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	15013 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	14247 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	13959 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	12405 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 3000 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	12297 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	12074 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	11938 Points

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R15 multi-core benchmark loop

We also subjected the Core i5-9600K to a Cinebench R15 Multi loop to test how well it maintained its performance under sustained load. As the graphs below demonstrate, our test CPU performed consistently even after around 40 minutes and 60 pass-throughs of the looped benchmark.

The Core i5-9600K consistently clocked at 4.3 GHz across all cores without thermal throttling. The CPU averaged 998 points in our CB R15 Multi loop and peaked at around 1,005 points. Please note that these scores are lower than the one we achieved in our single CB R15 Multi test because we ran HWiNFO during our looped benchmark, which consumed some additional CPU resources.

Intel Core i5-9600K during the benchmark loop

Our test system’s power consumption during the CB R15 benchmark loop

Cinebench R15 multi-core benchmark loop results

Intel Core i5-9600K, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64: Ø998 (983.72-1005.76)

Game Performance

The Core i5-9600K is well suited for use as a gaming CPU. The processor finishes a few percent behind its Coffee Lake siblings in our gaming tests, although it does not throttle like our Core i9-9900K test sample did. Interestingly, the Core i5-9600K outscored the Core i7-8700K, despite the former supporting up to 12 threads, which underlines the degree to which Intel has improved its chips between generations.

Performance Rating - Percent
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) ^-16! Intel Core i9-7900X	100 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	94.9 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	93.5 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	91.5 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	89.7 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	83.9 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	82.7 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	81.9 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 5 2600	81.8 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 7 2700	81.5 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	81.2 pt
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal ^-10! AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	77.6 pt
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	69.7 pt

The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i9-7900X	349 (260^min - 392^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	332.1 (289^min - 377^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	332 (296^min - 363^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	331.9 (307^min - 360^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	318.2 (289^min - 352^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	298.7 (259^min - 354^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	293.6 (258^min - 337^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	285.1 (259^min - 331^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	284.8 (216^min - 294^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	283.7 (248^min - 321^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	258.5 (219^min - 295^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	240.2 (158^min - 270^max) fps
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i9-7900X	97 (80^min - 112^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	80.9 (68^min - 87^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	80.1 (69^min - 87^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	79.4 (70^min - 86^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	79 (68^min - 86^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	78.8 (51^min - 86^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	77.3 (66^min - 83^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	77 (67^min - 84^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	77 (65^min - 83^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	73.3 (62^min - 82^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	73.3 (62^min - 80^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	69.4 (58^min - 76^max) fps

Rise of the Tomb Raider
1024x768 Lowest Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	305.2 (278^min - 339^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	305.1 (289^min - 344^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	291 (276^min - 314^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	287 (271^min - 305^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	281.7 (266^min - 303^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	263.8 (256^min - 274^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	263.7 (256^min - 276^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	262.2 (252^min - 300^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	258.9 (230^min - 274^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	253.2 (243^min - 262^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	244.8 (237^min - 255^max) fps
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	105.7 (90^min - 116^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	101 (85^min - 113^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	100.8 (86^min - 111^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	99 (85^min - 112^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	95.1 (82^min - 106^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	94.7 (78^min - 106^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	94.2 (83^min - 101^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	94 (82^min - 103^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	94 (85^min - 106^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	91.5 (82^min - 103^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	91.3 (79^min - 101^max) fps

Battlefield 1
1280x720 Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	200 (173^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	200 (186^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	200 (197^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	200 (196^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	199.1 (182^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	197.6 (183^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	196.2 (185^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	181.4 (141^min - 194^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	179.8 (166^min - 190^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	173 (161^min - 185^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	158.8 (147^min - 174^max) fps
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	148 (134^min - 173^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	147.7 (137^min - 155^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	146.6 (136^min - 172^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	145.1 (131^min - 167^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	145 (131^min - 159^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	137.8 (120^min - 145^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	136 (123^min - 142^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	135.6 (124^min - 152^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	135.2 (124^min - 148^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	127.1 (116^min - 144^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	125.7 (117^min - 135^max) fps

Assassin´s Creed Origins
1280x720 Very Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	105 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	104 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	95 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	84 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	84 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	81 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	76 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	70 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	68 (34^min - 93^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	67 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	58 fps
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	74 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	70 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	68 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	67 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	67 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	67 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	63 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	59 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	57 (6^min - 93^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	57 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	49 fps

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
1280x720 Lite Quality
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	172.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	164.4 (87^min - 226^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	163 (94^min - 215^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	162.5 (95^min - 219^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	145.6 (94^min - 177^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	144.5 (108^min - 167^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	143 (98^min - 201^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	141.5 (72^min - 177^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	133.6 (88^min - 191^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	133.4 (78^min - 177^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	109.3 (63^min - 133^max) fps
1920x1080 High Quality
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	62.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	62.2 (40^min - 92^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	61.4 (39^min - 99^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	61 (38^min - 93^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	60.4 (35^min - 93^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	59.8 (33^min - 93^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	58.9 (23^min - 92^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	58.5 (23^min - 92^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	58.5 (23^min - 92^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	57.5 (33^min - 89^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	56.7 (20^min - 89^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	55 (19^min - 86^max) fps

Far Cry 5
1280x720 Low Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	167 (136^min - 227^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	155 (117^min - 213^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	146 (117^min - 194^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	144 (114^min - 194^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	125 (99^min - 171^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	122 (97^min - 162^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	118 (90^min - 159^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	114 (89^min - 154^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	108 (86^min - 144^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	100 (82^min - 133^max) fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	96 (77^min - 116^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	71 (59^min - 88^max) fps
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	117 (106^min - 137^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	111 (90^min - 128^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	111 (90^min - 125^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	99 (78^min - 124^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	98 (75^min - 125^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	96 (75^min - 121^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	94 (74^min - 117^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	92 (108^min - 123^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	87 (66^min - 116^max) fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	80 (64^min - 107^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	80 (61^min - 108^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	60 (50^min - 74^max) fps

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
1280x720 Lowest Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	210 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	207 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	188 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	183 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	137 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	127 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	117 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	107 fps
1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	103 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	91 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	91 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	91 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	89 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	88 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	85 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	84 fps

Forza Horizon 4
1280x720 Very Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	258 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	252 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	236 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	234 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	200 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	187 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	155 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	141 fps
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	132 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	131 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	131 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	130 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	125 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	121 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	117 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	112 fps

Assassin´s Creed Odyssey
1280x720 Low Preset
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	120 (52^min - 163^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	101 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	101 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	95 (32^min - 146^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	92 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	87 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	73 (20^min - 101^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	57 (20^min - 87^max) fps
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	67 (30^min - 125^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	60 (31^min - 107^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	53 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	51 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	51 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	50 (25^min - 75^max) fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	48 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	42 (19^min - 68^max) fps

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i9-7900X	38335 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	31711 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	31548 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	31265 Points
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (27881 - 31989, n=14)	30407 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	30395 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	29935 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	29826 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	29285 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	28493 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	28462 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	27881 Points
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	27632 Points
Average of class (-1 - 116361, n=5168)	11548 Points

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700K	157012 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	156190 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	155414 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	144095 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	138448 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	127011 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	120426 Points
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (60794 - 156190, n=16)	120201 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	118153 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	107514 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	107022 Points
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	102781 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	86339 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	66653 Points
Average of class (145 - 380191, n=3981)	44482 Points
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i9-7900X	27582 Points
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	27349 Points
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700K	26515 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	23194 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	23117 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	22874 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	22761 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	22338 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	22302 Points
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (19234 - 23194, n=16)	22136 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	22124 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	21547 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	20808 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	20234 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	19234 Points
Average of class (90 - 88564, n=4357)	9864 Points
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	9635 Points
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) Intel Core i9-7900X	9463 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	7284 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i9-9900K	7221 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	7206 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	7183 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	7129 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	7044 Points
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (6530 - 7284, n=16)	7044 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	7019 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	6824 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	6815 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	6673 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	6530 Points
Average of class (76 - 37809, n=2455)	5777 Points

Unigine Heaven 4.0
Extreme Preset OpenGL
Average of class (1.2 - 472, n=463)	117.6 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (82.8 - 89.6, n=7)	85.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	84.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	84.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	83.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	82.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	82.8 fps
Extreme Preset DX11
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	108.5 fps
Average of class (1.2 - 493, n=642)	108.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	107.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	106.6 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (101.9 - 108.5, n=7)	106.2 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	104.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	101.9 fps

Unigine Valley 1.0
1920x1080 Extreme HD Preset OpenGL AA:x8
Average of class (1.1 - 332, n=467)	82.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	59.3 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	59 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	58.1 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (56.1 - 59.3, n=7)	58.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	56.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	56.1 fps
1920x1080 Extreme HD DirectX AA:x8
Average of class (1.1 - 324, n=501)	88.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	81.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	80.8 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (74.6 - 81.8, n=7)	79.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	78.2 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	77.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	74.6 fps

SPECviewperf 12
1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03)
Average of class (0.97 - 403, n=609)	85.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	82.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	79.3 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (72.4 - 82.5, n=7)	78.9 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	77.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	74.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	72.4 fps
1900x1060 Siemens NX (snx-02)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	206.8 fps
Average of class (0.98 - 677, n=608)	57.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	28.85 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	28.51 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (19.6 - 28.9, n=7)	23.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	23.16 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	22.74 fps
1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	137 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	115.3 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	115.1 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (110.3 - 115.3, n=7)	112.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	110.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	110.8 fps
Average of class (2.63 - 459, n=597)	94.3 fps
1900x1060 Medical (medical-01)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	79.6 fps
Average of class (0.58 - 392, n=593)	52.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	51 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	50.1 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (42.5 - 51, n=7)	47.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	46.31 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	45.66 fps
1900x1060 Maya (maya-04)
Average of class (2.09 - 367, n=608)	108.4 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (74.5 - 105.4, n=7)	89.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	84.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	80.3 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	79.7 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	76.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	74.5 fps
1900x1060 Energy (energy-01)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	19.78 fps
Average of class (0.04 - 112, n=589)	14.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	12.64 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	12.16 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	12.13 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (5.21 - 12.7, n=7)	11.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	5.21 fps
1900x1060 Creo (creo-01)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	75.4 fps
Average of class (0.91 - 250, n=609)	63.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	62.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	60.8 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (52.1 - 62.5, n=7)	57.7 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	53.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	52.1 fps
1900x1060 Catia (catia-04)
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	158.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	157.1 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (150.6 - 162.2, n=7)	155.7 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	151.3 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	150.6 fps
Average of class (4.56 - 605, n=606)	104.3 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	100.3 fps
1900x1060 3ds Max (3dsmax-05)
Average of class (11 - 571, n=389)	190 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	151.9 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (128.9 - 158.9, n=7)	145.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	144.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	136.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	130.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	128.9 fps

SPECviewperf 13
Solidworks (sw-04)
Average of class (3.69 - 373, n=493)	119.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	100.5 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (92.8 - 113, n=7)	100.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	97 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	95.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	92.8 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	82.1 fps
Siemens NX (snx-03)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	370.9 fps
Average of class (1.76 - 901, n=487)	127.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	51.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	51.4 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (37 - 51.5, n=7)	42.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	41.72 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	41.07 fps
Showcase (showcase-02)
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	136.8 fps
Average of class (4.99 - 459, n=482)	116.3 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	115.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	115 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (108.2 - 118, n=7)	112.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	110.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	108.2 fps
Medical (medical-02)
Average of class (1.96 - 479, n=484)	75.9 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	71.4 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (30.9 - 73.8, n=7)	51.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	38.31 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	38.09 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	34.83 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	30.86 fps
Maya (maya-05)
Average of class (15.7 - 881, n=491)	260 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	236.5 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (195.6 - 217, n=7)	204 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	200.7 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	199.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	196.1 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	195.6 fps
Energy (energy-02)
Average of class (0.21 - 310, n=476)	35 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	32.46 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	22.98 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	22.77 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (7.55 - 23.9, n=7)	20 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	15.2 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	7.55 fps
Creo (creo-02)
Average of class (1.68 - 684, n=490)	199.7 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	185.2 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	109.5 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (107.1 - 112, n=7)	109.4 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	109.2 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	108.9 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	107.1 fps
Catia (catia-05)
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	236 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (225 - 251, n=7)	236 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	233.5 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	228.3 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	225.1 fps
Average of class (15.6 - 900, n=487)	196.3 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	161.4 fps
3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
Average of class (10.8 - 575, n=491)	182.6 fps
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	153.4 fps
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (130.4 - 159.6, n=7)	145.7 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	140.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X	140.6 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-9700K	131 fps
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-9600K	130.4 fps

3DMark 03 Standard		181026 points
3DMark 06 Standard Score		39866 points
3DMark Vantage P Result		53830 points
3DMark 11 Performance		22568 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score		210675 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		33328 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score		18253 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score		9567 points
3DMark Time Spy Score		7009 points
Help

... in comparison

Intel Core i5-9600K & the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64

	low	med.	high	ultra	4K
The Witcher 3 (2015)	332	232	131	79	48
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016)	291	198	122	94	51
Battlefield 1 (2016)	200	199	161	145	63
Assassin´s Creed Origins (2017)	95	80	76	68	33
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018)	163	92	61		28
Far Cry 5 (2018)	146	124	116	111	45
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)	183	113	103	88	31
Forza Horizon 4 (2018)	236	171	161	131	68
Assassin´s Creed Odyssey (2018)	95	88	79	60	31

Application Performance

The Core i5-9600K finished in the midfield of our PCMark 10 comparison table behind the Ryzen 5 2600. The Coffee Lake processor performed comparatively better in the older PCMark 8 though with the Ryzen APUs slipping down our comparison table.

Our test Core i5-9600K consistently performed well during our time with the CPU, and we experienced no issues or prolonged wait times. However, you will notice the lack of threads if you run numerous programs simultaneously or if you primarily work in multithreaded applications. We would recommend considering an AMD or Intel processor with a higher core or thread count than the Core i5-9600K if you need a CPU for either of those scenarios, but our review CPU is a great budget gaming processor.

PCMark 10 | PCMark 8

PCMark 10 - Score
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7764 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7451 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7337 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	7285 Points
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7035 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7018 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6797 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6465 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	6432 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6261 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	6150 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5801 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5481 Points

PCMark 8
Work Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5975 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	5325 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5168 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4983 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4891 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	4821 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4750 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4735 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4724 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4633 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4598 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4534 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4520 Points
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	8794 Points
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8604 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8344 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8217 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	8166 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	8110 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8057 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7948 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7859 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7774 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7711 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7626 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7297 Points
Home Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5523 Points
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	5239 Points
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4859 Points
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4740 Points
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	4648 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4483 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4392 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4367 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4359 Points
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4311 Points
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4209 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4170 Points
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3992 Points

PCMark 10 | PCMark 8

Emissions

The Intel Core i5-9600K during a stress test

The Core i5-9600K has a 95 W TDP just like its Coffee Lake siblings. However, power consumption rises significantly when power-saving modes are disabled in the BIOS, which we have covered extensively in our Core i7-9700K and Core i9-9900K reviews. It is also worth noting that Intel bases the Core i5-9600K on the same die as its Coffee Lake siblings, but only six of the die’s eight physical cores are active.

The Core i5-9600K consumes a whopping 134 W less power in a CB R15 Multi benchmark. Meanwhile, the processor consumes 61.8 W at idle, which is on par with its Core i7 counterpart. The same applies when gaming, where power consumption rises to 363.7 W while playing The Witcher 3 at 1080p on Ultra, which is less than 3 W lower than what the considerably more powerful Core i9-9900K consumes. In short, all three Coffee Lake CPUs have roughly the same power consumption when gaming.

We also subjected the Core i5-9600K to a stress test, during which it easily maintained 4.3 GHz across all cores, while core temperatures reached 73 °C. HWiNFO also reported the CPU as consuming 74 W on average, albeit it briefly hit 79 W.

Caseking graciously supplied us with an Advanced Pretested Edition of the Core i5-9600K to compare its performance against the normal version, and the results are impressive. The de-lidded processor can achieve a stable 5.1 GHz across all cores, which is a 500 MHz boost over stock speeds.

Power consumption of our test system

While playing The Witcher 3 (at 1080p on the ultra preset)

Power Consumption
Cinebench R15 Multi (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	378 (375^min - 380^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	272.9 (275^min) Watt *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	263 Watt *
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) (Idle: 63.4 W)	243 Watt *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 74.3 W)	219.2 Watt *
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	203.2 (197^min - 205^max) Watt *
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	202.6 (190^min - 207^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	164.4 (159.3^min - 165.75^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	149.5 Watt *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	143.2 Watt *
Intel Core i7-8700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	134.3 (132^min - 136^max) Watt *
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	134 (132^min - 135^max) Watt *
1920x1080 The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	441 (382^min - 475^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	421 Watt *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	411 Watt *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 74.3 W)	408 Watt *
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	398.2 (345^min - 444^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	396.5 (376^min - 415^max) Watt *
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	378.2 Watt *
Intel Core i9-7900X NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop) (99 fps, Idle: 63.4 W)	373 Watt *
Intel Core i9-9900K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (80 fps)	366.1 Watt *
Intel Core i7-9700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	365.3 (316^min - 388^max) Watt *
Intel Core i5-9600K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	363.7 (403^min) Watt *
Intel Core i7-8700K AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	354.4 (301^min - 378^max) Watt *

* ... smaller is better

Overclocking

The Core i5-9600K has an unlocked multiplier, which means that it is open to some overclocking, with the Z390 motherboard giving us the perfect opportunity to do so. We achieved a stable 4.8 GHz across all cores with our test CPU, but we only managed to do so by increasing the voltage to 1.35 V. Correspondingly, power consumption rose to 96 W at idle, and core temperatures breached the 100 °C mark, at which point the CPU thermal throttled to prevent itself from overheating. Other efforts resulted in a 10% boost to CB R15 Multi benchmarks scores though, which rose to 1,212 points.

Overall, the Core i5-9600K is overclockable, although you may have to reduce the voltage and clock speed to prevent the CPU from thermal throttling as our test sample did. We would also recommend pairing the processor with a cooler that can handle the additional heat generated. The Caseking preselected processors should also achieve higher CB R15 scores too.

Power consumption at idle with the Core i5-9600K running at 4.8 GHz

Power consumption during a Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark with the Core i5-9600K running at 4.8 GHz

The Intel Core i5-9600K running at 4.8 GHz and 1.35 V

The Intel Core i5-9600K running at 4.8 GHz and 1.35 V during a stress test

Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9600K desktop CPU review. Test device courtesy of Caseking.de.

The Intel Core i5-9600K is a good choice for gamers who are looking to put together an Intel system on a budget. The Ryzen 7 2700 remains the cheaper option and packs in two more cores with 10 additional threads, but it also performs around 15% worse in games than its Coffee Lake competitor.

We would not recommend the Core i5-9600K if you need a workhorse CPU though as its lack of Hyper-Threading makes it fall far short in multithreaded applications than AMD and Intel processors with higher thread counts.

The Intel Core i5-9600K is a fast hexa-core CPU that is ideal for gamers on a budget.

We also liked that the CPU consumed considerably less power than the Core i7-9700K. You will need a decent cooler if you plan to overclock the Core i5-9600K as core temperatures can exceed 100 °C. The Core i5-9600K offers almost the same performance as its significantly more expensive sibling, the Intel Core i9-9900K, at high resolutions though, which underlines how impressive the baby Coffee Lake processor is as a gaming CPU.

No reviews found for this CPU (yet).

Editor of the original article: Sebastian Bade - Senior Tech Writer - 540 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2012

I was already interested in technology from an early age, and I was able to study for my dream job as an IT Systems Electronics Engineer. Subsequently, I started 12 years of military service, during which I learned a lot about technology and constantly kept my knowledge up to date with the latest developments. As I like to share my knowledge, I found Notebookcheck was a very good opportunity for this. In addition, I also work a lot with water cooling and network security.

contact me via: Facebook, nbc.basti, Xing

Translator: Alex Alderson - Senior Tech Writer - 10842 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018

Prior to writing and translating for Notebookcheck, I worked for various companies including Apple and Neowin. I have a BA in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, which I have since converted to a Law Degree. Happy to chat on Twitter or Notebookchat.

contact me via: @aldersonaj

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Intel Core i5-9600K Desktop CPU Review

Sebastian Bade, 2019-01-27 (Update: 2019-01-27)