The two main players when it comes to processors are AMD and Intel and they both have a series of processors which compete with each other.
Ryzen 5 is pretty much a mid tier lineup of processors which aims to focus on gamers, and budget builders whereas Ryzen 7 and 9 are more high-end.
The closest competitor to the Ryzen 5 processors is Intel’s I5 processors, and they both have pretty much the same goal, and that’s to serve gamers and budget seekers.
What Is The Competitor To Ryzen 5?
The equivalent to Ryzen 5 is the Intel Core I5 processor. Ryzen 5 processors are mid range chips released back in 2017, and they’re mostly quad and hexa core processors.
I5 processors can have up to 16 cores which is currently present in the I9 12900K which in a sense makes I5 processors better when it comes to multicore performance.
But when it comes to single-core performance, the tables tend to turn quite a bit, Ryzen 5 5600x was superior to the I5 10600K thanks to IPC improvements.
But in general, Intel is more known when it comes to single-core performance because they feature higher clock speeds and higher IPCs.
Intel I5 processors are known to overclock easier which means its clock speed potential is significantly higher than Ryzen 5 processors.
About Ryzen 5 Processors
Ryzen 5 is the family of processors introduced in March of 2017, and it’s based on the Zen architecture.
- Ryzen 5 processors either come with 4 or 6 cores which make them quad or hexa core processors.
- The number after the Ryzen 5 is the series for example: Ryzen 5 5600x
- The Ryzen 4000 and Ryzen 6000 series of CPUs are mobile exclusive
- The X suffix in some Ryzen 5 processors mean the CPU slightly faster than the non-X variant
- Most Ryzen 5 processors are overclockable/unlocked
- Most Ryzen 5 processors do not come with integrated graphics except for the Ryzen 5 ‘G’ variant CPUs.
List Of Ryzen 5 CPUs
With each generation, Ryzen 5 processors get faster due to architecture improvements, better multi core performance, and higher clock speeds.
So when you’re picking a processor, the newest generation will always be faster even if they have the same core count and clock speeds.
This is why the Ryzen 5 5600X is faster than the Ryzen 5 3600XT despite having identical core counts and similar clock speeds.
- Ryzen 5 7600X – Is soon to be released and surpass the Ryzen 5 5600X, the clock speeds are significantly higher, so this is testament to AMD working on single-core performance.
- Ryzen 5 5600X – Is the fastest Ryzen 5 processor at the moment, it has decent single-core performance, and decent multi-core performance.
- Ryzen 5 3600XT – Is pretty much a faster Ryzen 5 3600X, the XT means extreme so expect slightly higher clock speeds, and slightly improved performance overall.
- Ryzen 5 3600X – Is a faster version of the Ryzen 5 3600, the X basically means it’s a slightly faster version of the original model (Ryzen 5 3600).
- Ryzen 5 Pro 3600 – Is identical to the Ryzen 5 3600, it just has additional security, longer warranties, and higher chip quality. In reality, there’s no performance difference.
| CPU | Core Count(Threads) | Clock Speed(Boost) | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 | 6(12) | 3.6GHz(4.2GHz) | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 Pro 3600 | 6(12) | 3.6GHz(4.2GHz) | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 3600X | 6(12) | 3.8GHz(4.4GHz) | 95W |
| Ryzen 5 3600XT | 6(12) | 3.8GHz(4.5GHz) | 95W |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.6GHz) | 65W |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | 6(12) | 4.5GHz(5.3GHz) | 105W |
About Intel I5 Processors
Intel I5 Processors are the mid range processors released back in 2009, and it’s between I3 and I7 processors
- I5 Processors can have between 2 and 10 processing cores, so dual core or deca core processors.
- The I5 12600K is the first I5 processor to have up to 10 processing cores. (6 performance & 4 efficiency cores).
- I5 processors are often regarded as the best gaming processors due to the price to performance ratio.
- Only the I5 processors denoted with a ‘K’ at the end are overclockable.
- Most I5 processors will come with integrated graphics.
List Of I5 CPUs
With each iteration of generation, the processors get more powerful, whilst the clock speeds rarely increase, the IPC increases are significant.
So, the I5 12600K will always be faster than the I5 11600K despite the 11600K having higher clock speeds, always go for the latest processor if you want the best.
All the I5 processors in this list are mid-tier mainstream processors, there are I7 and I9 processors that feature higher clock speeds and more cores.
- Core I5 13600K – Is a soon to be released processor which features 14 cores and 20 threads, this is the first time an i5 has featured more than 6 cores.
- Core I5 12600K – Is the current generation of I5 processors, it’s the flagship Intel core I5 CPU which is perfect for mid-tier gaming PCs.
- Core I5 12600KF – Is the exact same as the I5 12600K in performance, but the only difference is that it doesn’t come with integrated graphics hence the ‘F’ suffix.
- Core I5 12600 – Is similar as the Intel I5 12600K but isn’t overclockable, and has slightly lower clock speeds, this is suitable for budget seekers.
- Core I5 11600K – Is the previous generation of Intel I5 processors, it features 6 cores, 12 threads with a base clock speed of 3.9GHz, and a boost clock speed of 4.9GHz.
- Core I5 11600KF – Is the exact same as the I5 11600K except it features no integrated graphics, so you will need a dedicated GPU in your system.
- Core I5 11600 – Is similar to the I5 11600K except it has lower clock speeds, lower TDP, and it cannot be overclocked, this is more of a budget option.
| CPU | Core Count(Threads) | Clock Speed(Boost) | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5-11600 | 6(12) | 2.8GHz(4.8GHz) | 65W |
| Core i5-11600K | 6(12) | 3.9GHz(4.9GHz) | 125W |
| Core i5-11600KF | 6(12) | 3.9GHz(4.9GHz) | 125W |
| Core i5-12600 | 6(12) | 3.3GHz(4.8GHz) | 65W(117W Boost) |
| Core i5-12600KF | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.9GHz) | 125W(150W Boost) |
| Core i5-12600K | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.9GHz) | 125W(150W Boost) |
| Core i5-13600K | 14(20) | 3.5GHz(5.1GHz) | 125W |
What’s Better For Gaming?
To truly understand what is better for gaming, we need to understand how games benefit from the processor, and how the processor works.
The CPU has two aspects of performance, single-core and multicore, games pretty much benefit most from single-core performance.
So this means focusing more on clock speeds, and the latest generation of whatever CPU you’re buying, the previous generation of CPUs will always have less single-core performance.
So the I5 12600K will always beat the I5 11600K in single-core tests, this is because of IPC increases, and this is also why it’s unwise to compare different generations of processors together.
Now in terms of single-core performance, Intel processors are often regarded as the best due to their high clock speeds and IPC.
This is often why you’ll find strict gaming builds using the I5 processors instead of Ryzen processors, but this doesn’t mean that Ryzen isn’t a great choice when it comes to gaming.
With the release of Ryzen 5 7600X, we believe Ryzen will be a tough competitor to the Intel I5 13600K simply due to IPC improvements.
Benchmark Results
To compare the CPU’s we will use Cinebench R23 scores and focus more on the single-core aspect to find out what is better for gaming.
To make the results fair, we will compare Ryzen 5s with their true Intel I5 counterparts. For example, the Ryzen 5 5600X competes directly with the I5 10600K.
As you can see, the Ryzen 5 5600X is better than the I5 10600K when it comes to gaming, this is because of the better IPC.
The better IPC reflects in the Cinebench R23 cores which you can see above, the I5 10600K falls behind by nearly 200 points.
So if you were to build a gaming PC when the Intel 10th generation and the Ryzen 5000th generation processors were prominent processors, it would be best to go for the Ryzen 5 5600X.
Now recently, there’s alleged R23 results for the Ryzen 5 7600X and the I5 13600K, although it’s unverified, it’s most likely accurate to some extent.
The Ryzen 5 7600X shows an impressive result of around 1861, this is a huge jump from the Ryzen 5 5600X score of 1593, again this is due to IPC improvements.
However, the I5 13600K is shown to be significantly faster with a score of 2015, this means the I5 13600K would be superior in a gaming scenario.
What’s Better For Video Editing?
When it comes to video editing, multicore processors are more useful because video editing is able to utilize more than one core more effectively than games.
Due to this, whatever processor has the most cores tends to be the better processor for video editing, and clock speeds have less of an impact.
So when it comes to multicore performance, neither the Ryzen 5 or the Intel I5 are regarded as being good at it due to the low core counts compared to higher tier CPUs such as Ryzen 9 and I9.
Benchmark Results
The same rules apply for the R23 results, we will mostly compare processors that directly compete with each other to keep the results fair.
The Ryzen 5 5600X finishes with a score of 12051 and the I5 10600K finishes with a score of 10526 which means the Ryzen 5 5600X is better in terms of multicore performance.
So if you were to build a gaming PC, and you could only pick one of these processors, the Ryzen 5 5600X would be better.
They both have the same number of cores and threads which means the Ryzen 5 5600X wins because of the IPC improvements.
With the Ryzen 5 7600X and the I5 13600K, the results are unverified, but if they were 100% true, this would make the I5 13600K significantly better than the Ryzen 5 7600X.
It makes sense because the Ryzen 5 7600X only has 6 cores and 12 threads, this is probably why it only has a score of 14780.
Whereas the I5 13600K has 14 cores and 20 threads, more than double the number of cores as the 7600X which is why it has a score of 24420.
So if you were to pick a processor for streaming, video editing, or other multithreaded tasks, the best choice would be the 13600K by a long shot.
Complete Benchmark Results
| CPU | Core Count(Threads) | Clock Speed(Boost) | Cinebench Single-Core Score | Cinebench Multi-Core Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 | 6(12) | 3.6GHz(4.2GHz) | 1278 | 9383 |
| Ryzen 5 3600X | 6(12) | 3.8GHz(4.4GHz) | 1314 | 9458 |
| Ryzen 5 3600XT | 6(12) | 3.8GHz(4.5GHz) | 1316 | 9585 |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.6GHz) | 1522 | 11735 |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | 6(12) | 4.7GHz(5.3GHz) | 1861 | 14780 |
| Core i5-11600 | 6(12) | 2.8GHz(4.8GHz) | 1594 | 11118 |
| Core i5-11600K | 6(12) | 3.9GHz(4.9GHz) | 1555 | 11252 |
| Core i5-11600KF | 6(12) | 3.9GHz(4.9GHz) | 1556 | 11156 |
| Core i5-12600KF | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.9GHz) | 1867 | 17558 |
| Core i5-12600K | 6(12) | 3.7GHz(4.9GHz) | 1865 | 17246 |
| Core i5-13600K | 14(20) | 3.5GHz(5.1GHz) | 2015 | 24420 |
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Intel equivalent to the Ryzen 5 processors are the Intel I5 processors, and they both are mid tier processors.
When comparing these processors, it’s important to always consider the generation because it keeps the playing field equal.
For example, it would be unwise to compare a desktop processor to a laptop processor, this is because most of the time the architecture is too different.
