Car
Audio
Digital camera
Games
Painted Software
Robots
Smart watch
Tech news
Tools
You Can Trust Our Reviews
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buy decisions. ( Read our editorial deputation. )
Reading: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Review
Cost-Effective Cores (and Cooling)
AMD is continuing to sell the Ryzen 5 1600X, the first-generation variant of this chip, though at a rebuff discount rate. By going with the revised Zen+ Ryzen 5 2600X, you ‘re getting better memory compatibility and some higher clock speeds. besides, like with the Ryzen 7 2700X, this central processing unit ‘s retail box includes a perfectly fine general-use CPU cooler bundled in. The Wraith Spire features a copper disk with pre-applied thermal paste, aluminum fins, and a 92mm fan. Although the Wraith Spire can handle a shred of overclocking, we caution you against overclocking the Ryzen 5 2600X very much with it. The cooler is rated for 95 watts of thermal profligacy, and this central processing unit generates a much at its standard settings .
Like with those first-generation chips, shoppers who opt for the Ryzen 5 2600X will need to have a discrete graphics circuit board, as there ‘s no fortune of this processor that handles 2D and 3D video playback and rendering tasks like on Intel ‘s mainstream chopine. If built-in graphics is significant to you, AMD has its Ryzen 5 2400G ( $ 169 ) and Ryzen 3 2200G ( $ 99 ) with Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics. AMD ‘s jack-of-all trades AM4 chipset works with the complete lineup of Ryzen chips ( excluding AMD ‘s giant Ryzen Threadripper processors, of course ), but note that not all AM4 motherboards have the all-important HDMI, DVI, VGA, or DisplayPort video-out ports to support these APUs, as AMD has traditionally referred to its processors with on-chip graphics acceleration .
For those who plan to install an aftermarket CPU cool, the Ryzen 5 2600X has an unlock multiplier that makes overclocking a cinch. Overclockers will besides appreciate the fact that this central processing unit ‘s heat spreader is soldered on for optimum heating system remove between the die come on and the cooler .
That Was Then, This Is Wow
AMD ‘s Zen+, or Pinnacle Ridge, computer architecture was built using Global Foundry ‘s newly 12nm leading Performance ( LP ) FinFET fabrication process. The primary advantages of this process compared to the old 14nm abject Power Plus ( LPP ) FinFET march include up to 15 percentage better transistor performance, up to 16 percentage lower DRAM latencies for the L1 and L3 caches, up to 34 percentage lower DRAM latencies for the L2 cache, and up to a 3 percentage uplift in instructions per clock ( IPC ). not excessively moth-eaten .
A few features are getting a fresh coat of paint this time about, equally well. preciseness Boost is an algorithm that weighs the cooling performance of the system against the stream workload to determine how a lot headroom is available to boost. With the 2000-series chips, Precision Boost 2 now has the ability to gradually drop the boost clock as more cores, up to the full six, are engaged. Those running a bounty CPU cooler, such as a closed-loop fluent cool or a tower-style air out cooler, can tap into carry Frequency Range 2 ( XFR 2 ) to achieve even higher average clock speeds under load .
With these newfangled processors, AMD besides gave the chipset a spit-shine, though any of the first- or second-gen Ryzen chips will work just finely whether you install them into an X370 or X470 motherboard. If you opt for one of the new 400-series boards, you ‘ll get access to AMD ‘s StoreMI storage-acceleration technology .
Boost It! Shifting Into Overdrive
Another raw trick AMD taught choice AM4 motherboards is a feature called Precision Boost Overdrive. This bounty overclocking engineering increases the central processing unit ‘s engage frequency based on the current temperature, the world power pulmonary tuberculosis from the CPU, and your motherboard ‘s ability to supply power to the CPU via the VRM. Regardless of what you ‘re doing with the system, PBO works its charming behind the scenes, ensuring you get the best experience possible. For all intents and purposes, this is the like as applying a traditional overclock, which means you need a motherboard with a full-bodied VRM, a better-than-stock CPU cool, and a dash of heedless bravado that makes voiding your guarantee seem like a worthwhile chance to take .
Best of all, to enable Precision Boost Overdrive, all you need to do is flip a switch in the BIOS of choose X470 motherboards, or enable the place from within the AMD Ryzen Master overclocking utility, which you can download hera. once Ryzen Master was downloaded and installed, I launched it, switched to Creator Mode, clicked Precision Boost Overdrive, and clicked Apply. With the PBO feature enabled, my Cinebench R15 single- and multi-core scores jumped from 171 and 1,349 to 173 and 1,365, respectively. by the way, the MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC motherboard I used to test this processor has a Precision Boost Overdrive feature setting in the BIOS menu .
Testing Methodology
For my test apparatus, I installed the Ryzen 5 2600X into that MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC motherboard, and populated two of the DIMM slots with 16GB of dual-channel Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-3466 memory. For the boot drive, I relied on the 500GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO M.2, a SATA SSD installed in the topmost M.2 slot on this motherboard. I installed the components into a Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass Edition case, with a Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB closed-loop cool keeping my central processing unit temperatures in check. For the graphics card used during the non-gaming benchmarks, I used an MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming X .
To compare this processor ‘s scores with other viable options presently on the market, I included in the charts to follow scores for the six-core/12-thread Intel Core i7-8700K, the six-core/six-thread Intel Core i5-8400, and the four-core/four-thread Intel Core i5-7640X ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ) .
To represent on the AMD side of the aisle, I besides worked in the eight-core/16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 1800X ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ), the six-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 1600X, the eight-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 2700X ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ), and last, the four-core/eight-thread Ryzen 5 2400G. ( I ‘m in the procedure of reviewing that final chip. )
Cinebench R15
Maxon ‘s 64-bit Cinebench R15 is a CPU-centric test that lets me gauge both the single-core and multicore performance of the assorted processors I tested. The result scores are proprietary numbers that represent the central processing unit ‘s performance while rendering a complex CPU-intensive effigy. This is considered a man-made benchmark .
Compared to 2017 ‘s Ryzen 5 1600X ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ), this processor achieved a 6.8 percentage higher score in the single-core test and a 9.5 percentage increase in the multi-threaded test. The higher memory focal ratio of our current system may account for some of the improvement, but the stay is devour to IPC improvements and Pinnacle Ridge ‘s spiffed-up boost performance. Note besides that tied though this chip lacks two cores compared to the Ryzen 7 2700X, the single-core performance is practically the lapp .
iTunes 10.6 Conversion Test
The iTunes 10.6 Encoding Test is laughably single-threaded, which means that more cores do n’t do AMD ‘s chip any favors. This test is designed to illustrate the performance you might expect when running bequest software that does n’t scale well .
In this test, all of the Intel chips grade better than the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, but lone the Ryzen 7 2700X beats it among AMD ‘s current-generation processors. The closest Intel processor, the Core i5-8400 ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ), has an advantage of a mere 6 seconds .
Handbrake 0.9.9
Handbrake is a classic ( and democratic ) workstation utility that ‘s used to convert video between formats. typically, the more threads and cores your processor has, the better it will perform in this application. I loaded up a 12-minute-long open-source 4K television movie, Tears Of Steel, and used the software to convert it into a 1080p MPEG-4 video recording.
Because of Handbrake ‘s affinity for more cores and threads, the Ryzen 5 2600X did n’t do a well as the eight-core/16-thread AMD processors, and it trounced the quad-core processors from AMD and Intel. When picking on processors with the lapp number of cores and threads, the Ryzen 5 2600X fell behind the Core i7-8700K but beat the Ryzen 5 1600X in this real-world test. Although better options are out there, this processor proves you can tackle professional workloads without setting your wallet on fire .
POV-Ray 3.7
This benchmark is another one that ‘s by and large considered synthetic, however, the highly-threaded nature of the utility is getting to be more and more spokesperson of the applications available today. I ran POV-Ray using both the multi-threaded “ All CPUs ” set and the hamstring “ One CPU ” arrange. The benchmark tasks the processor with rendering a complex photo-realistic image using ray trace .
again, the multi-threaded results show that the Ryzen 5 2600X lags behind the eight-core processors, but it beats the chips with six or less. The Intel Core i7-8700K ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ) performs better, but not by a lot. The single-core results achieved by the 2600X, i5-8400, and 2700X are precisely a few seconds apart .
Blender 2.77a
Another of the real-world benchmark I used is Blender, a popular open-source 3D rendering application that people far more creative and talented than I use to craft 3D ocular effects, animations, and models. Our test file consists of a cartoonish flying-squirrel render that takes less than a minute to complete with most modern processors.
Intel ‘s processors seem to perform well in Blender, with the top seduce going to the Core i7-8700K. The following best score goes to the Ryzen 7 2700X. In third rate overall, just a second gear behind the Core i5-8400, is the star of today ‘s platform, the Ryzen 5 2600X .
7-Zip File compression
7-Zip is a widely-used file-compression utility that features a built-in compression/decompression benchmark. It ‘s a real-world test that by and large makes habit of as many cores and threads as your central processing unit has to offer .
The pair of eight-core/16-thread processors from AMD and the Intel Core i7-8700K all beat the Ryzen 5 2600X, but considering how much more you ‘ll be paying for those chips, we think the fourth-place end for the Ryzen 5 2600X is impressive however.
Flexing Some Gaming Goodness…
When I examined the gaming performance of the Ryzen 7 2700X, I noted that although AMD has however to catch up to Intel in some games, performance across most titles has improved ( sometimes well ) compared to the first-generation Ryzen processors. I tested two games, Far Cry Primal ( High preset ) and Rise Of The Tomb Raider ( DX11, very high preset ) with a GeForce GTX 1080 ( $ 298.99 at Amazon ), at 4K and 1080p. At the lower resolution, where AMD ‘s processors tend to lag behind the most, the Ryzen 5 2600X actually nudged ahead of the flagship Ryzen 7 2700X .
The chip scored 108fps in Far Cry Primal and 120fps in rise of the Tomb Raider, which is a good deal higher than the Ryzen 5 1600X ‘s 90fps and 112fps scores. Intel ‘s Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400, meanwhile, scored 138fps/143fps and 137fps/138fps in the two games, respectively. When I raised the solution to 4K, however, the games were no longer CPU constrained, and the scores were closely identical across both AMD ‘s and Intel ‘s platforms. In brusque, if you ‘re good adequate about gaming to invest in a midrange or high-end graphics wag, you very should be gaming at a better-than-1080p resolution, at which point your menu likely will be your restraint, not your CPU .
…and a Taste of Overclocking
Having already overclocked the Ryzen 7 2700X, moving to its six-core sibling yielded a exchangeable know .
As is my prefer overclocking method acting, I made a few tweaks to the BIOS settings of the MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC, equipped with the latest BIOS available as of the begin of September 2018. I by and large start by slightly raising the core frequency, testing for stability, raising it again, and testing for stability again until the organization fails to boot or becomes unresponsive. From here, I systematically raise the core electric potential until constancy is once again achieved, or back off on the core frequency if that fails to work .
For Ryzen 2000-series processors, I try to keep the kernel voltage below 1.4V, equally much more than that may importantly reduce the chip ‘s life. Adding to the SoC voltage can help maintain stability under load, and occasionally, adjusting the Loadline Calibration can give me that extra short boost I need. Throughout the overclocking session, I kept an eye on the core temperature to make sure our Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB could handle the increased thermal load .
The arrangement booted into Windows with the all-cores clock accelerate at 4.3GHz, 4.25GHz, and 4.225GHz, however, the system was n’t stable enough to complete Cinebench R15 at those settings. I last achieved stability with the multiplier set to 42, for a 4.2GHz core clock, CPU core voltage set to 1,3875V, and SoC electric potential set to 1.2V. This time, I left CPU Loadline Calibration modes at the nonpayment “ Auto ” plant. This overclock yielded me a 1,442 Cinebench multi-threaded grudge and a 177 Cinebench single-core score .
When we overclocked the Ryzen 5 2600X using Precision Boost Overdrive in the Ryzen Master utility, we saw a child bump in our scores. The manual overclocking performed from the BIOS, however, produced significantly better results .
I admit, this type of trial-and-error overclocking is n’t for everybody. If you ‘re a small worry about tweaking settings in the BIOS, but not fazed by the terror of losing guarantee coverage, Precision Boost Overdrive is an easy, firm, and relatively worry-free option. just know that you ‘ll want to factor in the cost of a liquid cool, or an air travel cool more robust than the bundle one, if you mean to get sincerely overclocking-serious .
In the End, It’s a Wise Buy
Although the Ryzen 7 2700X is a fantastic processor for enthusiasts, it ‘s the Ryzen 5 2600X that seems like the real rhombus in the rough in. It ‘s the perfect combination of affordability, overclockability, and performance. Gamers, streamers, content creators, and all-around calculate enthusiasts have enough of reasons to choose this processor and AMD ‘s platform as their adjacent upgrade .
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
4.0
Editors ‘ option
See It
$ 235.35
at Amazon
MSRP $ 229.00
Pros
View More
Cons
The Bottom Line
For personal computer builders or upgraders seeking a moderate-price CPU for multitasking, playing games, and running common consumer applications, AMD ‘s Ryzen 5 2600X offers superb spang for the buck .
Like What You’re Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and exceed product advice delivered correct to your inbox .
e-mail
This newsletter may contain advertise, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your accept to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up !
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox !
Sign up for other newsletters
