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Ryzen 5 7600X is an interesting one to analyse.
In isolation, the processor looks pretty reasonable; it generally trades blows with its price competitors from AMD’s and Intel’s previous generation parts. But it does so whilst offering a moderately-priced – £320 – route onto the new, feature-rich AM5 platform.
Gaming performance is solid too. Most people who don’t have the latest-and-greatest in GPU hardware will be happy with what the Ryzen 5 7600X offers.
The real issue comes from Intel’s new Core i5-13600K. While this twenty-thread processor is indeed more expensive by around £50-60, it offers productivity performance levels that more than justify the price increase. Even gamers with the GPU horsepower to push high refresh rates are likely to prefer the new Core i5.
Of course, the Ryzen 5 7600X runs on AMD’s new AM5 socket. AM5 is a very feature-rich platform with some superb X-series and B-series motherboard offerings, but it is also a very expensive platform right now, with the cheapest B650 motherboards tending to sell for around £200, or more like £230 for good starting boards.
The Core i5-13600K’s cheapest DDR5 motherboards tend to be only marginally less expensive than AM5. Importantly, though, Intel’s chip should run just fine in even sub-£160 B660 motherboards alongside cheaper DDR4 memory. That’s helpful in offsetting the Core i5 chip’s higher purchase cost compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X, and the former point regarding memory is particularly true if you already have a kit of DDR4 that you’re happy to run for longer.
I can’t say that I am particularly impressed by the Ryzen 5 7600X chip’s stock running conditions in our testing. A high-end X670E test motherboard and 360mm AIO still resulted in over 100W of power draw and temperatures beyond 90C.
These points are fine in isolation, but the Ryzen 5 doesn’t really offer the performance levels to justifiably back them up.
Eco mode and Curve Optimiser overclocking are good ways to run the Ryzen 5 7600X. They both resulted in lower power consumption, greatly reduced temperatures, and very similar performance to the stock configuration.
Perhaps that highlights the niche that AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600X currently serves – small form factor systems where space and cooling capacity are at a significant premium.
Overall, I think the Ryzen 5 7600X has a tough fight in the market to convince users that it is a smarter option than the old chips it is priced against, or the new Core i5-13600K that can often be just as cheap a setup due to more affordable motherboards and DDR4 memory support.
I can certainly see the Ryzen 5 processor’s appeal to somebody who is adamant on going down the DDR5 route and keeping their AM5 motherboard for many years. Buying relevant memory and a decent motherboard from Day 1 proved to be an excellent formula that served early AM4 adopters well.
In essence, AMD’s promised support for the AM5 platform beyond 2025 could indeed be a key selling point for a Ryzen 5 7600X-based system. Especially as Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache processor upgrades are likely coming and should be excellent gaming chips.
I can also see an argument for users wanting the lower-power Ryzen 5 7600X versus the Core i5-13600K. But Intel’s chip does more than enough to justify its higher power draw with significantly better productivity performance.
Overall, I think the lack of truly affordable AM5 motherboards is a real headache for the Ryzen 5 7600X. That, coupled with the competing Intel platform’s ability to run with low-cost DDR4 memory means that I think Ryzen 5 7600X probably needs a price drop to compensate for those other factors.
In the UK, AMD's Ryzen 5 7600X is £319.99 from e-tailers such as Overclockers UK.
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Pros:
- Solid gaming performance in isolation
- Good operation in Eco mode and Curve Optimiser
- Sensible for SFF systems
- Excellent single-thread performance from Zen 4
- Affordable entry point to the upgradable AM5 platform
Cons:
- Stock power consumption and temperatures could be better tuned
- Expensive setup including AM5 and DDR5 versus AM4/LGA1700 and DDR4
- Core i5-13600K is a bit more expensive but much higher productivity performance
- Often a slim upgrade versus previous-gen Intel Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 7 competitors
KitGuru says: There are some valid reasons to opt for the Ryzen 5 7600X, but right now we feel that the chip needs a price reduction or more affordable motherboard availability.
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