Ryzen 7 2700x vs Ryzen 5 3600

AMD's 2700X is 8-core, and 3600 is a 6-core CPU. In this article, I will tell you what is the difference and which one should you buy?

+ Ryzen 7 2700x

Greatly improved performance. Reasonable price. Useful ones include CPU cooler and software.

+ Ryzen 5 3600

Low price, Excellent performance in games and applications, PCIe 4.0 support, Bundled cooler, Low power consumption, The unlocked multiplier, Backward compatible.

- Ryzen 7 2700x

Maximum energy consumption.

- Ryzen 5 3600

There is no cheap B series motherboard with PCIe 4.0, Overclocking space is limited, There is no integrated graphics card.

Let's look at the specifications in detail.

Ryzen 7 2700x specs versus Ryzen 5 3600 specs

General	Ryzen 7 2700x	Ryzen 5 3600
Released	April 19, 2018	July 7, 2019
Vendor	AMD	AMD
Launch Price	329 USD	199 USD
Codename	Zen+	Zen 2
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Integrated GPU	No	No
Socket	AM4	AM4
Performance	Ryzen 7 2700x	Ryzen 5 3600
Cores	8	6
L1 Cache	96K (per core)	96K (per core)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 Cache	16MB (shared)	32MB (shared)
Threads	16	12
Base Frequency	3.7 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus Frequency	100 MHz	100 MHz
Multiplier	37x	36x
Turbo Boost Frequency	4.3 GHz	4.2 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier	Yes	Yes
Power	Ryzen 7 2700x	Ryzen 5 3600
Fabrication Process	12 nm	7 nm
Transistors	4.8 billions	4.9 billions
Max. temperature	85°C	95°C
TDP	105 W	65 W
Memory Support	Ryzen 7 2700x	Ryzen 5 3600
Memory Size	64 GB	128 GB
Memory types	DDR4-2933	DDR4-3200
Max. Memory Bandwidth	43.71 GB/s	47.68 GB/s
Max. Memory Channels	2	2
EEC Support	Yes	No
Misc	Ryzen 7 2700x	Ryzen 5 3600
PCI Express Lanes	20	20
PCI Express Version	3.0	4.0

Ryzen 7 2700X has eight cores and 16 threads, Ryzen 5 3600 has six cores and 12 threads. The main difference lies in the clock speed. The base clock of the 2700X is 100MHz higher than the 3600, and the maximum boost clock is also 100MHz more elevated than the 3600. But both processors can also be overclocked. This difference causes the TDP of the 2700X to be slightly higher than 3600.

Performed To understand how these differences affect games and applications, I have tested them in the system. Both were tested using the MSI X570 Gaming Pro motherboard, which has a 16GB dual-channel memory of DDR4-3200. For the graphics card, I am using XFX RX 5700XT, which is the best graphics card I can buy. I also used the stock cooler that comes with each CPU.

Let's take a look at the game first, I have tested all the games in 1080p and 1440p resolution.

PUBG

The PUBG under the super setting has been tested the same on both CPUs. The result is closer. At 1080p, the R5 3600 leads 6FPS, while at 1440p, there is no difference. The game runs at a constant 87FPS on both CPUs.

Adobe Premiere Pro

R7 2700x is faster. This is because there is a core. My youtube video runs smoothly. However, when you compare side by side, you will not notice any difference. The R5 3600 is about 60 seconds behind in speed.

Summarizing the game differences, there is no real difference. The performance of the two CPUs in the game is basically the same.

According to my results, the performance of R5 3600 in all games has increased by 5%. Ryzen 5 3600 is priced at US$175, while Ryzen 5 2700x is priced at US$95 or an increase of 51%.

Although the performance of the R7 2700x out of the box is indeed better. You can also use the R7 2700x to get a better inventory cooler, but I don’t think this is worth $95, and you can invest your budget in better aftermarket options.

Unless the price is close, I would not consider buying R7 2700x. From the perspective of gaming or other productivity, the slight performance improvement does not seem to be worthwhile Good luck