The AMD Ryzen 5 1600X was a very impressive processor when it first launched. Now, AMD has just introduced its successor – the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X. How fast is it? What exactly does it offer over its predecessor? Find out in our review of this new 2nd Gen Ryzen processor!
AMD Pinnacle Ridge
Codenamed Pinnacle Ridge, the 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen processors are based on an improved Zen microarchitecture, what AMD calls the AMD Zen+ microarchitecture. In addition, they’re fabricated on the 12 nm LP process technology.
AMD categorise them as part of the AMD Ryzen 2000 Series. This may be a little confusing since the AMD Raven Ridge APUs are also in the same series, even though they are based on the first-generation Ryzen processors, and fabricated on the original 14 nm process.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Specifications Compared
| Specifications | Ryzen 7 2700X | Ryzen 7 2700 | Ryzen 5 2600X | Ryzen 5 2600 | Ryzen 5 2400G | Ryzen 3 2200G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code Name | Pinnacle Ridge | Pinnacle Ridge | Pinnacle Ridge | Pinnacle Ridge | Raven Ridge | Raven Ridge |
| Socket | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 | AM4 |
| Process Technology | 12 nm FinFET | 12 nm FinFET | 12 nm FinFET | 12 nm FinFET | 14 nm FinFET | 14 nm FinFET |
| Cores / Threads | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 | 6 / 12 | 6 / 12 | 4 / 8 | 4 / 4 |
| Base Clock | 3.7 GHz | 3.2 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.4 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 3.50 GHz |
| Boost Clock | 4.3 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 3.90 GHz | 3.70 GHz |
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB | 3 MB | 3 MB | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| L3 Cache | 16 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | 16 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Integrated GPU | None | None | None | None | Radeon RX Vega 11 | Radeon Vega 8 |
| PCIe Lanes | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| Max. DDR4 Speed | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 |
| TDP | 105 W | 65 W | 95 W | 65 W | 65 W | 65 W |
| Bundled Cooler | Wraith Prism | Wraith Spire (LED) | Wraith Spire | Wraith Stealth | Wraith Stealth | Wraith Stealth |
| Launch Price | US$ 329 | US$ 299 | US$ 229 | US$ 199 | US$ 169 | US$ 99 |
Unboxing The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) comes bundled with an AMD Wraith Spire cooler, albeit without an LED ring. Let’s unbox it, and see what we find inside!
Here is what you will find inside the box :
- The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X CPU and case badge
- The AMD Wraith Spire cooler
- An AMD CPU installation guide, and certificate of authenticity
Next Page > AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Key Features, Price + Availability
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The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Processor Up Close!
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) processor is the top-of-the-line Ryzen 5 model. It has six Ryzen processor cores, with a 3.6 GHz base clock, and a 4.2 GHz boost clock. It supports SMT (simultaneous multi-threading), and can therefore handle 12 threads simultaneously.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) directly replaces the Ryzen 5 1600X, with the same core clock but a 200 MHz higher boost clock.
AMD Zen+ Microarchitecture
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is based on the improved AMD Zen+ microarchitecture, which delivers slightly better performance, and lower cache and memory latencies :
- 3% more 1T IPC (instructions per second)
- 13% lower L1 cache latency
- 34% lower L2 cache latency
- 16% lower L3 cache latency
- 11% lower memory latency
- Official support for JEDEC DDR4-2933
12 nm Process Technology
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is fabricated using the 12 nm LP (Leading Performance) process technology from GlobalFoundries. While the die size and transistor count remain the same, the smaller transistors allow :
[adrotate group=”2″]- top clock speed increased by 250 MHz
- “all core” now overclock around 4.2 GHz
- CPU voltage is reduced by about 50 mV at all clock speeds
- up to 11% lower power consumption, compared to 14 nm
- up to 16% better performance per watt, compared to 14 nm
Precision Boost 2
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) supports the improved Precision Boost 2, whose more graceful and linear boost algorithm allows them to “boost more cores, more often, on more workloads“. It can change frequencies in very fine granularity of just 25 MHz.
This will allow the Pinnacle Ridge processors to perform better with apps and games that spawn many lightweight threads, as opposed to apps with persistent loads (e.g. video editing and 3D rendering).
Precision Boost Overdrive
AMD will introduce Precision Boost Overdrive in the future. The motherboard will be able to communicate its actual capabilities to the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) processor, allowing for better boost profiles and a relaxed vcore limiter with better motherboards.
Extended Frequency Range 2 (XFR 2)
XFR 2 boosts the 2nd Gen Ryzen processor’s performance by 4-7%, depending on the performance of the installed CPU cooler.
Next Page > More AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Features, Price + Availability
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Soldered IHS
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) processor features soldered heatspreaders, using premium indium alloy solder. This allows die temperatures to be reduced by 10°C.
AMD StoreMI
AMD StoreMI Technology is an OEM version of the Enmotus FuzeDrive Basic. It combines all of your storage drives into a single virtual storage drive. It can even add up to 2 GB of DDR4 memory as a very fast cache to the combined drive.
The software than automatically assigns frequently used data blocks to the fastest storage devices, optimising your storage devices to deliver the best performance possible.
AMD X470 Chipset
AMD introduced the new X470 chipset to offer better overclocking for the 2nd Gen Ryzen processors. Here is our Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) running on the X470 AORUS Gaming 7 WiFi (Price Check) motherboard.
However, this does not mean you will actually need to buy an AMD X470 motherboard. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) processor will work with all existing AMD 300-series motherboards, with one caveat – the motherboard must be upgraded with the latest BIOS update to support the 2nd Gen Ryzen processors.
AMD Wraith Spire
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) comes with a bundled cooler – the AMD Wraith Spire. This is the basically the AMD Wraith Stealth cooler with a taller heatsink and a copper base. It uses the same 5-blade fan, with a maximum noise level of 32 dBA. It does not come with an RGB LED ring.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Price + Availability
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X is priced at US$ 229 / RM 899. Here are some purchase links for your convenience :
It is available for pre-orders starting 13 April 2018 (9 AM EDT), with on-shelf availability on 19 April 2018.
Next Page > Benchmarking AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, 3D Rendering Performance
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Benchmarking The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
In this review, we will take a look at the work and gaming performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, comparing it to 6 other processors :
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (Price Check)
- Intel Core i7-8700K (Price Check)
- AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check)
- AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check)
- AMD Ryzen 5 2400G (Price Check)
- AMD Ryzen 3 2200G (Price Check)
Here is a quick comparison of their key specifications
| Cores / Threads |
Base Clock | Boost Clock | L2 Cache | L3 Cache | Memory | |
| AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | 8 / 16 | 3.7 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4 MB | 16 MB | DDR4-2933 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | 8 / 16 | 3.6 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4 MB | 16 MB | DDR4-2666 |
| Intel Core i7-8700K | 6 / 12 | 3.7 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 1.5 MB | 12 MB | DDR4-2666 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 6 / 12 | 3.6 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 3 MB | 16 MB | DDR4-2933 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | 6 / 12 | 3.6 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3 MB | 16 MB | DDR4-2666 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2400G | 4 / 8 | 3.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 2 MB | 4 MB | DDR4-2933 |
| AMD Ryzen 3 2200G | 4 / 4 | 3.5 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 2 MB | 4 MB | DDR4-2933 |
Here are the specifications of the Intel and AMD testbeds we used.
| Intel Testbed | AMD Testbeds | |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F-Gaming | GIGABYTE X470 AORUS Gaming-7 WiFi ASRock AB350 Gaming K4 |
| Memory Speed | Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (4 GB x 2) |
G.SKILL Sniper X DDR4-3400 (4 GB x 2) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (4 GB x 2) |
| Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (GeForce 391.35) |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (GeForce 391.35) |
| Storage | Western Digital Black² | Western Digital Black² |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) | Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) |
Note : The motherboard BIOSes were all updated, and so was Windows 10, to ensure that all Spectre and Meltdown mitigations are in effect.
3D Rendering Speed – CINEBENCH R15
CINEBENCH R15 is a real-world 3D rendering benchmark based on the MAXON Cinema 4D animation software. This is a great way to accurately determine the actual performance of a processor in 3D content creation.
CINEBENCH R15 Single Core
This Single Core test is not reflective of real world performance, but it is useful to find out the performance of the individual core.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) only has a 200 MHz (5%) boost clock advantage over the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check) and Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check) processors, but you can see that it is 9.2% faster than both first-generation Ryzen processors.
What this means is that the internal improvements made to the 2nd Gen Ryzen processors almost double the boost clock advantage in this test. Otherwise, it would have scored only 160 cb.
CINEBENCH R15 Multi Core
The Multi-Core test shows the processor’s real-world 3D rendering performance.
With all 6 cores firing, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is almost 10% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check). This performance advantage can be attributed to XFR 2 and the internal improvements in the Zen+ microarchitecture.
[adrotate group=”1″]Multi-Threading Boost
This is not a CINEBENCH benchmark result. The Multi-Threading Boost is our calculation of the performance boost that the processor’s Multi-Threading capability provides. It is based on the MP Ratio and the number of physical cores.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) has the highest MT boost, with a slight 2% advantage over the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
Next Page > Video Transcoding Speed + Radial Blur Speed
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Video Transcoding Speed – HandBrake
HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoding utility. Video transcoding basically converts a video file from one resolution / format to another. As you can imagine, it’s very compute-intensive. In our test, we converted a 4K video of 1.3 GB in size into a 1080p video (HQ1080p30).
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) did well in this test, with 13% better performance than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check). We know that cache and memory performance helps a fair bit in this test, so a significant amount of that performance improvements must be due to the lower cache and memory latencies.
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Radial Blur Speed – Photoshop CC 14
The radial blur filter adds the perception of motion to a picture. This is a compute-intensive operation that benefits from multiple processing cores. This radial blur test was performed on a single 13.5 megapixel photo, with a filesize of 4,910,867 bytes.
The CPU cache plays a very important part in this test as well. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) was 15% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check)! It was now almost as fast as the Intel Core i7-8700K!
Next Page > AOTS + Warhammer Gaming Performance
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Ashes of the Singularity
In the RTS game, Ashes of the Singularity, the single core CPU performance has a significant effect on the actual frame rate. We tested the cards using the Normal setting preset.
1080p Gaming Resolution
Thanks to its improved single-core performance, the Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) edged past the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and was 3% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) was 3.5% faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and 7% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
2160p Gaming Resolution
Surprisingly, its performance improved with the higher resolution. It was now 4.4% faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and 9.5% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
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Total War: Warhammer
Like Ashes of the Singularity, the single core performance is crucial in Total War: Warhammer.
1080p Gaming Resolution
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) did surprisingly well in this resolution, beating even the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (Price Check)!
It was 7.4% faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and 8% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
1440p Gaming Resolution
At the higher 1440p resolution, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) was neck-to-neck with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (Price Check).
It was now 6.4% faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and 5% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
2160p Gaming Resolution
At 2160p, the Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) was just 2% faster than both the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check) and Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check) processors.
Next Page > For Honor Gaming Performance, Our Verdict & Award
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For Honor
We tested For Honor using the Medium settings.
1080p Gaming Resolution
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) did incredibly well at this resolution. In fact, it came within 2% of the Intel Core i7-8700K!
It was 13% faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), and 6.6% faster than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
1440p Gaming Resolution
The higher 1440p resolution “levelled” the playing field. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) was now slightly slower than the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), but also slightly than the Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check).
2160p Gaming Resolution
At the 2160p resolution, For Honor was graphics-limited. The CPU played only a minimal role in the frame rate. The fastest processor – the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check) only delivered a 5% higher frame rate than the slowest processor – AMD Ryzen 5 2400G.
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Our Verdict On The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is not only faster than its predecessor, the AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check)., it is also cheaper and offers more value.
Priced at just US$ 229 / RM 899, the Ryzen 5 2600X is $20 cheaper, and now comes with an AMD Wraith Spire cooler! This is going to significantly impact the appeal of the 8th Generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Coffee Lake.
But make no mistake – the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is an evolutionary refinement of the AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (Price Check). It is faster and more power-efficient, no doubt, but not significantly so. The Ryzen Effect forced Intel to buck the hell up, but AMD is under no pressure to do the same.
What does this mean for you?
- If you currently own a first-generation AMD Ryzen 5 processor, it would not make much sense to upgrade to the Ryzen 5 2600X.
- If you currently own a first-generation AMD Ryzen 3 processor, the Ryzen 5 2600X is a good upgrade option, offering a significant boost in performance.
- If you are using an older / slower processor (pre-Ryzen, 6th Gen Intel Core or earlier), the Ryzen 5 2600X would make a great upgrade option, with great value for your money.
What AMD brought to the table with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (Price Check) is not shock and awe, but refinement and even more value for your money. By our books, that’s worthy of our Reviewer’s Choice Award!
Suggested Reading
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Octa-Core Processor Review
- Everything On The 2nd Gen Ryzen (Pinnacle Ridge) CPUs!
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Octa-Core Processor Preview
- The 2nd Gen Ryzen Price Comparison
- The AMD Ryzen Gen 2 Reviewer’s Kit Revealed!
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 2600 Benchmarks Leaked!
- Cheaper Ryzen CPUs When Ryzen 2 Launches?
- The 2018 AMD Ryzen Price Cut Details Examined!
- The AMD Raven Ridge Desktop APUs – Everything You Need To Know!
- AMD Ryzen 5 2400G with Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics
- AMD Ryzen 3 2200G with Radeon Vega 8 Graphics[adrotate group=”2″]
- Thank The Ryzen Effect For Better Intel Processors!
- The 8th Gen Intel Core Desktop CPU Tech Report
- The Intel Core i7-8700K Hexa-Core Processor Review
- Everything You Need To Know About The Intel Coffee Lake CPUs!
- All You Need To Know About AMD Ryzen Threadripper!
- The AMD Ryzen PRO Processor Tech Report
- The AMD Ryzen 7 1800X Octa-Core Processor Review
- The AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Quad-Core Processor Review
- The AMD Ryzen 3 1300X Quad-Core Processor Review
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