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Following on from our i9-11900K review earlier today, Intel's mid-range i5-11600K is the next Rocket Lake chip to pass through our labs. This 6-core and 12-thread processor is priced at £270 here in the UK, taking the fight directly to AMD's highly regarded Ryzen 5 5600X. Can it do enough to oust the Ryzen 5 as the current hexa-core king?
i5-11600K specification:
- Socket: 1200
- Base Frequency: 3.90GHz
- Intel Smart Cache: 12M
- Cores / Threads: 6/12
- Memory speed support: 2933-3600MHz
- Intel Single Core Turbo frequency: 4.9GHz
- Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 Single core frequency: NA
- Intel Thermal Velocity Boost single / all core turbo frequency: NA
- Intel ALL core turbo frequency: 4.6GHz
- Max PCI-Express Lanes: 20
- PCI Gen 4.0 Support: YES
- Onboard Graphics: YES Intel UHD Graphics 750
- Integrated memory controller: Yes – Dual Channel
- TDP: 125W
- Intel SIPP: YES
- Intel vPro Technology: YES
- ISM: YES
- Intel Optane memory: YES
- Warranty: 3yr
When you look at the basic specification of Core i5-11600K it looks very similar to the previous generation Core i5-10600K.
Indeed you might even think that Intel has tweaked the CPU just a tiny bit and that little of significance has changed under the hood.
In fact a huge amount has changed as Rocket Lake packs in new Cypress Cove cores, new Xe integrated graphics and a new AI feature called Deep Learning Boost.
To our way of thinking the big news is that Rocket Lake supports 20 lanes of PCI Express Gen 4 (16 lanes for graphics and 4 lanes for the Primary M.2) where Comet Lake supported a mere 16 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3.
Test Setup
We used four test systems to benchmark a selection of CPUs for this review. The only significant difference between the systems is that the test platform for 10th Gen Intel CPUs uses a PCIe Gen 3 SSD where the others have a Gen 4 Sabrent drive.
Intel Core i9-11900K test system:
CPU: Intel Core i9-11900K
Memory: 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4-3600MHz Dual Channel
Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero WiFi BIOS 0610
CPU cooler: MSI MPG Core Liquid K360
Graphics: Sapphire RX 6800 XT 16GB
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Platinum 1300W
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Intel Core i5-11600K test system:
CPU: Intel Core i5-11600K
Memory: 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4-3600MHz Dual Channel
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master BIOS f5a
CPU cooler: MSI MPG Core Liquid K360
Graphics: Sapphire RX 6800 XT 16GB
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Platinum 1300W
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Intel 10th Gen test system:
CPUs: Intel Core i9-10900KF, Core i7-10700KF, Core i5-10600K
Memory: 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4-3600MHz Dual Channel
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WiFi BIOS 1.70
CPU cooler: MSI MPG Core Liquid K360
Graphics: Sapphire RX 6800 XT 16GB
Storage: WD Blue M.2 NVMe
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Platinum 1300W
OS: Windows 10 Pro
AMD Ryzen test system:
CPUs: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 5 5600X
Memory: 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4-3600MHz Dual Channel
Motherboard: Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus BIOS 3602
CPU cooler: MSI MPG Core Liquid K360
Graphics: Sapphire RX 6800 XT 16GB
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 M.2 NVMe
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Platinum 1300W
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Cinebench R15 and R23 Testing
Cinebench R15 and R23 Overview
Core i5-11600K comfortably beats Core i5-10600K. Look closely at the single core test results and it becomes clear the Rocket Lake does indeed pack something new and interesting under the heat spreader.
3D Mark, 7-Zip and Handbrake
3D Mark, 7-Zip and Handbrake Overview
In these tests Core i5-11600K makes big improvements over the older model however it still lags a distance behind the Ryzen 5 5600X from AMD.
Blender and AIDA64
Blender and AIDA64 Overview
In Blender we see Core i5-11600K once again beat Core i5-10600K however the AIDA64 memory tests are more interesting. Just look at the way that Rocket Lake leaps up the charts in an impressive manner.
Game tests at 1440p and 1080p
Game tests at 1440p and 1080p Overview
Let's get Watch Dogs Legion out of the way as this game is clearly dependent on the GPU, rather than the CPU. While the Core i5-11600K is squarely at the bottom of the charts, you will see only a handful of fps cover all the CPUs. Far Cry 5 New Dawn and Deus Ex are much more interesting as the new Core i5 shows it is a genuinely good gaming CPU
Power and Heat
Power and Heat Overview
Rocket Lake performs well in our power draw chart however it still suffers when compared to AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. It is crystal clear this problem can be laid at the door of Intel being stuck on 14nm but that is no solace to the customer who can see Intel demanding more power than AMD while delivering less performance. On the bright side it is clear that Intel's packaging is working well as Core i5-11600K runs icy cool, even when it is under sustained load.
Intel's Core i5-10600K has delivered decent gaming performance and the new Core i5-11600K leaps forward by about ten percent.
In addition the new 11th Gen family of CPUs add support for PCI Express Gen 4 so if you have been thinking about the benefits of a new SSD, well this may be the prompt you need to make that particular decision. While we have not yet tested the performance of sub-Z590 motherboards we would be most surprised if H570 and B560 did not support Core i5-11600K just as well as a more expensive Z590 model.
It is clear from our testing that AMD Ryzen 5 5600X beats the Core i5 in almost every department so the natural choice is to select an AMD B550 motherboard and plug in the Ryzen 5. We can assure you the end result will perform impressively well.
The thing is that Ryzen 5 is relatively expensive and B550 motherboards aren't especially cheap so the Core i5-11600K looks like quite a bargain at £249, and if you buy the F version without a graphics core you save a further £30. Whoever would have thought that Intel has become the budget option for PC builders.
The i5-11600K is in stock at Overclockers UK, priced at £248.99 HERE.
Pros:
- Very good value for money.
- Supports PCIe Gen. 4.
- Runs nice and cool.
Cons:
- Draws significantly more power than Ryzen 5.
- Intel does not include a cooler.
- Requires a 400 or 500 series motherboard.
KitGuru says: Power draw is undeniably high, but the i5-11600K is much more attractive than its i9 sibling.
