Intel Core i5-7600K vs AMD Ryzen 7 5800X vs AMD Ryzen 7 5700X

Intel Core i5-7600K

The Intel Core i5-7600K is a fast quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the top model of the consumer Kaby-Lake-H Core i5 series at the time of the announcement. The i5 does not support HyperThreading (4 threads only) and runs from 3.8 (base speed) up to 4.2 GHz. As a K-model, the i5-7600K offers an open multiplicator for overclocking.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance of the i5-7600K is about 10 percent above the predecessor Core i5-6600K, thanks to clock speed increases and long hold Turbo Boost clocks. Matching clock speed, there is no speed improvement from Skylake. The old top model Core i7-4790K however is still slightly faster.

More information with gaming benchmarks and power measurements can be found in our AMD Ryzen 7 versus Intel CPUs review (upcoming).

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1150 MHz. The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were announced in January, should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency slightly. Intel still specifies the TDP with 91 Watts, which is a lot more than the 45 Watts of the mobile Kaby-Lake-H CPUs.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core desktop processor with Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), which allows it to process 16 threads simultaneously. With its launch on 08.10.2020, it is the fastest 8-core processor from AMD. The second fastest 8-core processor will be the AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT, followed by the more economical AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, also with 8 cores and 16 threads.

The Ryzen 7 5800X clocks with a base clock of 3.8 GHz and reaches up to 4.7 GHz on one core in turbo mode. When all 8 cores are utilized, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, like the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, achieves up to 4.5 GHz.

At first glance, the internal structure of the processor has not changed fundamentally. The CCX structure has changed somewhat compared to Zen2, because now a CCX consists of up to 8-CPU cores. So each individual core can access the complete L3 cache (32 MByte). Furthermore the CCX modules are connected to each other via the same I/O die, which we already know from Zen2. According to AMD, the Infinity-Fabric should now reach clock rates of up to 2Ghz, which in turn allows a RAM clock of 4.000 MHz without performance loss.

Performance

The average 5800X in our database is in the same league as the Core i9-10900K and also the Core i7-12700F, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

In games, AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X can convince with its significantly improved IPC and even put Intel in its place. With the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, gamers are well prepared for the future as simultaneous streaming is no problem with the new Ryzen 7 5800X. Semi-professional content creators, who need even more power, can choose a Ryzen 9 5900X or the Ryzen 9 5950X on the shelf.

Power consumption

The Ryzen 7 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 105 W. This applies as long as the CPU runs at stock clock speeds.

Ryzen 7 5800X is built with TSMC's 7 nm process; as rumors have it, the I/O die is manufactured separately on the 12 nm Global Foundries process.

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X