Is the Ryzen 5 5600X still worth it in 2024?
Updated: Mar 26, 2024 3:52 pm
WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
In our AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review, we discover many things, the most noteworthy amongst those things is that this CPU is still a fantastic budget option for any gamer looking to carve through semi-modern games and keep well under a tighter budget.
The Ryzen 5 5600X launched all the way back in November 2020, even back then it was regarded as the best CPU option from Team Red if you wanted to put together a capable inexpensive system, but how well does it hold up today? Is the 5600X still worth it in 2024?
Pros
Set to out-perform the 10600K
Great value for money
Unlocked overclocking
Cons
Slightly more expensive than what we’re used to from AMDs midrange offering
Requires CPU cooler
If you don’t have time to read the full literary masterpiece we have created for you, we think that the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is still incredibly viable today, it performs well in a lot of modern titles, and the platform as a whole, AM4, still has a lot to offer. You can pick up the 5600X for around $140 if you are lucky, even less if you buy second-hand. Pair that with another budget GPU, like the RX 6600XT, and you’re off to the races.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X specifications
Before we get into the performance of the CPU, it’s important to outline the specifications, to see what we’re working with.
The specifications for the Ryzen 5 5600X are as follows:
Cores: 6
Threads: 12
Base clock speed: 3.7GHz
Boost clock speed: 4.6GHz
L2 Cache: 3MB
L3 Cache: 32MB
TDP: 65W
Socket: AM4
When you look at the specifications of the Ryzen 5 5600X on paper, you can still see them somewhat holding up today. While it doesn’t have any of the advanced features of modern AMD CPUs, like a capable iGPU or 3D V-cache, we can still see it has a lot to offer. But how does this translate into performance?
Ryzen 5 5600X performance
We tested the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X in several different scenarios, both synthetic and real world. We did this to understand how well the CPU will perform in simulation/workload and gaming situations.
The rig we used to test the Ryzen 5 5600X consisted of the following components:
Ryzen 5 5600X
ASUS ROG RYUJIN ii 360 CPU cooler
Aorus master X570
Netac Shadow DDR4 @ 3600MHz
ASUS Strix RTX 4070 Ti Super
With these components, the Ryzen 5 5600X faced no compatibility issues, just like how the AM4 platform is widely known for its plug-and-play compatibility. Let’s get into the performance.
here is a graphic of how well the Ryzen 5 5600X performed in our testing:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review: Specifications and gaming performance benchmarks.
Synthetic performance
We tested the 5600X in a few synthetic workloads, to gain an understanding of how it does when faced with workstation scenarios. We ran it through CPU-Z, Cinebench, and Geekbench 6, just to be sure we had some thorough results.
In CPU-Z, the Ryzen 5 5600X scored an impressive 642 points in the single-core benchmarks, and 4,881 in the multi-core. This is about on par with the Core i5-12400F. Not bad considering the 5600X is technically a generation behind.
In Cinebench, everyone’s favorite table and chair simulator, we saw the 5600X manage 1,527 points on the single core, and 10,981 points on the multi-core, which is impressive that we still have 4-year-old CPUs hitting 5 digits. It’s about on par again with the 12400F.
In Geekbench, the true test of a broad range of CPU capabilities, we saw the Ryzen 5 5600X score 1,653 on the single-core test and 8,583 on the multi-core test.
Gaming performance
We tested the Ryzen 5 5600X in 5 games, BF V, Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, CS2, and GTA V. Just to ensure we covered various games. We have FPS shooters, open-world story games, and more casual shooters. All of the games we tested were done in 1080p and on low settings, to make sure we weren’t GPU bound.
In Battlefield V, we saw the 5600X achieve an average FPS of 175, the gameplay was smooth. You don’t see too much of this benefit when playing online, as all the servers are 60Hz, but you can see these numbers shine in single-player.
In Cyberpunk 2077, the 5600X managed an average FPS of 147, not bad considering how this game still eats PC hardware for breakfast. The gameplay once again was mostly smooth, but we witnessed a few stutters here and there.
Elden Ring isn’t very difficult to run well, so run well it did on the 5600X, coming in with a healthy 143 FPS average. It’s worth noting, that Elden Ring has to be modded to unlock its frame rate, and this could potentially have an impact on performance.
CS2 saw the 5600X does very well considering the new graphical and physics upgrades it brings, the 5600X managed to pull a 322FPS average on a Dust 2 deathmatch against bots. Which is more than enough FPS for competitive play.
Finally, in GTA V, we’re hitting the limits of the game, GTA V tends to top out at the 186 FPS mark no matter what you do to it. So, naturally, we saw this happen with the 5600X.
All in all, the performance of the 5600X is incredibly impressive, so how much do you have to spend to get one of these things brand new?
Ryzen 5 5600X price
A boxed AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor displayed in front of computer component packaging for review.
It turns out that you can pick up a brand new 5600X for around $140, or less if you get one on sale or secondhand. That puts the 5600X in a fantastic value position if you’re considering building a PC on a tight budget. To be fair, the Ryzen 5 5600X only retailed at $299 so it was already an extremely valuable pick.
You can pair this CPU with other capable budget GPUs, like a 600 series GPU from AMD, or an RTX 60 series from AMD and you have yourself a formidable pairing all of a sudden. Just make sure you snag yourself an X570 motherboard, to keep things as future-proof as possible.
Is AM4 still viable in 2024?
While best AM4 motherboards may be on the older side of the time scale, it still has plenty to offer. If you opt for an up-to-date X570 motherboard, you still get USB3 connectivity, all the PCIe 4 bandwidth you could probably ever use, and robust power delivery systems capable of supplying clean power to your new Ryzen CPU.
AM4 may be old, but it’s held up its end for generations. Whilst Intel was out swapping its motherboard sockets every 5 minutes, AMD truly harnessed the power of AM4 and built a platform that was made to last, and last it shall for at least another 3 years – by our reckoning.
I’m still running an AM4 motherboard in my rig that I’ve had for around 7 years now, and not once has it ever faltered. That’s a personal testament right there.
Final word
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a fantastic CPU to this day, it was released as a budget beat back in 2020, and it continues to be one. The 5600X can power through games at an incredible pace, and still offer more than enough processing power to see you through some light workstation applications.
If you can pick a 5600X up for $140 or less, it is an absolute steal and a must-have for those looking to build a powerful AMD system on a tighter budget.
