AMD Ryzen 7 2700X vs Ryzen 5 2600 – Which Processor is Better?

AMD has produced some exceptional processors over the years. They have competed well with Intel and have proven to be a worthy competitor to them. But the last 2-3 years have seen their market shares slip down compared to Intel.

Though Intel countered them with dramatic settings and production of their processor portfolio, AMD has this wonderful trend of coming back with better models. According to market shares, AMD has around 50% of the CPU models sold by most retailers.

Perhaps, they want to evolve its Zen architecture and produce some new models for the market. Please note that the enhancements are only iterative. However, the processors do come infused with some notable changes that can help many users.

AMD is known for aggressively producing processors and components in the mid-range market, and they have shone continually in that sector. On the other hand, their nemesis, Intel seems to be concentrating more on the top-end processor market.

It is safe to say that the second-generation Ryzen models are finding themselves in the right direction. Today, we will be reading about two mid-range processors designed and developed by them.

We will be looking at the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processors. Did you know that the second-generation Ryzen processors are produced using the optimized 12nm LP node? This offers you with immense efficiency gains and an increase in performance.

It is in comparison to the previous Ryzen’s 14nm LPP process. The manufacturer has also changed the Zen architecture and called it the Zen+ architecture. It can now provide you with sophisticated multi-core boost rates, higher frequencies, and quicker memory/caches.

These models can enhance the gaming, regular, and other tasks that you want to do using them. They can also take up more workloads. You will be delighted to know that the processors come with amazing stock coolers and are backward compatible with the older socket AM4 processors.

There is also free software if you were wondering. We have compared the architecture, specifications, performance & overclocking in this comparison review. We have also mentioned the winner at the end of the post.

AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
PROS	PROS
Elegantly designed. There is a massive performance boost. There are bundled coolers. Exceptional memory. It is decently priced.	There is a fantastic design. It is compatible with 300 series motherboards. The unit has a good performance value. It has a nice cooler included. Strong overclocking ability.
CONS	CONS
There is limited overclocking headroom.	It requires water cooling for overclocking.
CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON	CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON
CHECK PRICE ON NEWEGG	CHECK PRICE ON NEWEGG

Pricing & availability

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor is priced under $330. The unit is priced fairly. We do not say that normally. That is because it comes infused with decent features that we will be reading about shortly.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor is priced under $186. Our tester felt that the model was priced pretty nicely. Though it may not one of the most powerful units in the market even in the mid-range sector, we thought that the pricing was too hard to ignore.

Architecture & specifications

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor makes use of the dual-CCX configuration with the best Infinity fabric. This improvement comes from a 100 MHz-higher base clock. You can also find that there are 200 MHz of additional boost frequency.

It was developed having exceptional power delivery capabilities that are mostly not utilized by most of the first-generation Ryzen models. Because some of the processors reduced their power delivery capabilities, these units had to modulate a better performance.

The AMD Ryzen 5 series models are considered the middle ground for most users. If you are somebody looking for a model that can meet your requirements, for an affordable price, then it has to be this unit.

In most cases, you may not require more performance than required, unless you are planning on doing several demanding tasks. In this sector, the Intel Core i5 models have reigned until now, and it is time for a massive change, we suppose.

This second-generation 2600 model produced by AMD wants to change its competitor and roll ahead with some awesome enhancements. It was released into the market along with the X470 chipset.

The Zen+ architecture allows the model to be able to clock significantly higher than its earlier models. Besides, it is also able to provide better DDR4 RAM support, lower memory latency, and of course, the 12nm manufacturing process.

You also have XFR2 technologies, precision boost 2, and StoreMI that can combine several drivers into a single volume. This is what makes the Ryzen 2000 series the most exciting in the Ryzen family for attracting PC designers.

The model’s ability to offer you 12 threads together enables you to achieve more from the heavily threaded benchmarks. When you are more into image and video processing, game streaming, and rendering, then this model must be at the top of your list.

Specifications	AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Model
Brand	AMD	AMD
Processors Type	Desktop	Desktop
Series	Ryzen 7 2nd Gen	Ryzen 5 2nd Gen
Name	Ryzen 7 2700X	Ryzen 5 2600
Model	YD270XBGAFBOX	YD2600BBAFBOX
Details
CPU Socket Type	Socket AM4	Socket AM4
Core Name	Pinnacle Ridge (Zen+)	Pinnacle Ridge (Zen+)
of Cores	8-Core	6-Core
of Threads	16	12
Operating Frequency	3.7 GHz	3.4 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	4.3 GHz	3.9 GHz
L1 Cache	768KB	576KB
L2 Cache	4MB	3MB
L3 Cache	16MB	16MB
Manufacturing Tech	12nm	12nm
64-Bit Support	Yes	Yes
Memory Types	DDR4 2933	DDR4 2933
Memory Channel	2	2
Virtualization Technology Support	Yes
PCI Express Revision	3.0	3.0
Max Number of PCI Express Lanes	16	16
Thermal Design Power	105W	65W
Cooling Device	Heatsink and fan included	Heatsink and fan included
Windows 11	Supported	Supported
Date First Available	October 06, 2021	October 05, 2018

Performance & overclocking

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor offers you with one of the best performance & overclocking in the market for the price. It has a great performance boost that most of its rivals were not able to do in the tests.

Its performance is the same as that of the Intel Core i7 8700K processor. Besides, our tester noted that it has a thermal solution that provides it with more value. The Intel model mentioned here is a stunning one and comes with exceptional overclocking, you need to use the Z-series unit for overclocking and a cooler.

The Ryzen unit on the other hand comes with 16 threads and a heat fan that does the cooling. We think that AMD is capable of providing you with its promise of an amazing gaming experience on its titles.

We also noted that it was able to offer us better results when compared to the Intel models in the market. We may want to add that the precision boost 2 and XFR2 algorithms are pushing the frequency curve ahead of the overclocking area.

When tuning the unit to 4.2GHz using the higher dual-core precision boost we were able to get a better performance than all the cores to overclock in several applications. It provides several features like backward compatibility with 300-series processors, unlocked multiplier, and others.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor is almost the same as that of the Ryzen 5 2600X model. We found it to be a well-rounded processor that comes with several USPs. Though it is somewhat slower than top-end models, it is what it is.

You may want to remind yourself that it is much cheaper than the 2600X model and comes with decent features like a 30 Watts lower TDP. You can trade in some speed for the low pricing of the model.

You may know that you can find different tools that are optimized for different applications. This model here happens to provide you with gamers, developers, and coders, with higher benchmark results or lesser power consumption.

You will be delighted to know that this unit was able to overclock similar to that of the Ryzen 5 2600X. Of course, you may need to use the GeForce GTX 1080. When you are keen on using the Intel Core i5 8600K CPU, then please note it offers a higher frame rate.

This is most than the other Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 CPUs. However, when you are pushing further for higher resolutions, then it becomes more demanding than most settings. This is when the differences between processors come down.

There are a few drawbacks to using this processor. You may notice that there is limited overclocking headroom & our tester did not find any 400 series processors that are of value. Before we forget they are all unlocked.

So, you do not have to worry about that because they are ideal for PC developers, who want to extract more juice from their components. Please consider using a GPU unit. This helps you to push the processor way beyond its 3.9 GHz boost limit.

The processor was able to work sublimely at 4.2GHz under water cooling, with the Wraith fan. As we have mentioned, the maker has included a nice cooling system inside the CPU. It can effortlessly handle the overclocking in there.

Does this processor come with flaws? Yes, it does. You will need to ensure that there is water cooling when you want to be overclocking. Not to mention, our tester found that it has some lag over most of the Intel i5 in single-core processing.

All in all, they both are extremely capable processors. However, we felt that the Ryzen 7 2700X model comes with better performance & overclocking abilities. The Ryzen 5 2600 processor is also a good model that can work wonders for doing regular projects.

AMD Ryzen 7 2700X vs Ryzen 5 2600 Benchmark

Single-Core Performance

Power Efficiency

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Passmark CPU (Single-Core)

Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)

Average Score (Pts)

Overclocked Score(Pts)

Game EFps

Verdict

Our winner in this comparison review between AMD Ryzen 7 2700X vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processors is the Ryzen 7 2700X unit. The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor is a fantastic model designed and developed by the maker.

Our tester loved using it and found that it was able to take everything that was thrown at it with ease. Due to the enhanced boost algorithms, it is able to provide better performance on most of the heavily threaded applications.

However, the increased frequency and reduced memory latency offer a slight variation on the workload that you want to do with it. We were also very satisfied to note that the maker did not disappoint anybody with the pricing of the model.

We can notice that the bundled LED cooler and storage tiering software provides immense value to the model as well. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor is an excellent gaming model. Besides, it is a good mid-range workstation model.

You can do a ton of activities using the processor. Additionally, the pricing is something that was noticeable as well. But as we often say, just because it is affordable, it does not necessarily mean that it can provide you with a good performance.

Should you already own a Ryzen 5 processor, there’s no need to upgrade yourself to a 2000 series processor, unless moving up to Ryzen 7. The same goes with a 300 series chipset-sporting processor.

If you own an older CPU or are thinking about switching from Intel, the Ryzen 5 2600 is an exceptional processor for the initial price. Less than $200 for a six-core processor with 12 threads, resulting in ample headroom for gaming and serious productivity.

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor might hold the edge over the other unit discussed here because it has a faster CPU speed, more CPU threads, and a higher turbo clock speed. Moreover, you can find a bigger L2 cache, a higher PassMark result, and a bigger L1 cache.

There is a higher PassMark result (single), and a higher Cinebench R20 (multi) result. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor is better than the other model because it has a 10°C higher maximum operating temperature, a 40W lower TDP, and 0.67MB/core more L3 cache per core.

At the end of the day, you are going to have to decide about the processor of your choice depending on your requirements and preferences. The pricing is almost the same and you can find both the models coming with massive discounts.

But the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor is somewhat better when you notice the wide range of specifications and features that it comes with. It is a value-for-money product. Likewise, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor has its own benefits and features that you can use it for.

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