AMD Ryzen 5 5600 vs Ryzen 5 8400F: Which is the best gaming CPU?

Modified Jun 01, 2024 15:41 GMT

AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8400F are some of the best sub-$200 CPUs (Image via Amazon and AMD)

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8400F are some of the premiere options in the sub-$200 gaming CPU market. They are designed to handle some of the latest graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 40 series and the AMD RX 7000 series without running into excessive bottlenecks. This makes the Team Red CPUs a great buy for budget gamers.

Choosing the best among these can be a bit difficult given how close they are in terms of on-paper specs. To reduce some of that confusion, we have prepared this detailed CPU comparison.

Both the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and the Ryzen 5 8400F are powerful six-core CPUs

The latest Ryzen 8000 series brings slight improvements over the 7000 series options (Image via PC Masters)

The Ryzen 5 5600 and 8400F are based on slightly different architectures. The newer Zen 4 silicon is better optimized to deliver higher IPC and single-core performance. This puts the Ryzen 8000 chip at an advantage over the older alternative. It also means a head-to-head specs comparison isn't fully accurate.

Specs comparison

For starters, both the Ryzen 5 8400F and the 5600 are six-core twelve-threaded processors. However, the newer chip is 300 MHz faster under full workload. The 8400F is a scaled-down version of the original 7600 and packs just 22 MB of cache. This is against the 32 MB of cache that Ryzen 5 5600 bundles.

Moreover, the newer processor only supports DDR5 RAM. It is based on the AM5 platform, which continues to be more expensive than the last-generation AM4. This makes the 8400F a costlier option for gamers.

Below is a detailed specs comparison of the chips:

	Ryzen 5 8400F	Ryzen 5 5600
Architecture	Zen 4 (5nm)	Zen 3 (5nm)
# cores	6	6
# threads	12	12
Max. boost clock	Up to 4.7 GHz	Up to 4.4 GHz
Cache (L2+L3)	22 MB	32 MB
Memory support	Up to DDR5-5200	Up to DDR4-3200
TDP	65W	65W
Price	$169	$126

The Ryzen 5 8400F launched at a competitive price of $169. However, the 5600 has been discounted sufficiently and is available for just $126 these days.

Performance comparison

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 continues to be a capable six-core gaming CPU (Image via AMD)

In terms of performance, the newer processor takes the lead, unsurprisingly. In single and multi-core performance benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 8400F takes a noticeable lead over the older 5600.

The difference is huge in multi-core workloads. Single-core performance doesn't fall significantly if you go back a couple of generations. This metric is fundamental in video games, a workload that can't fully utilize multi-core architectures.

Below is a comparison of the benchmark scores in the Cinebench R23 and CPU-Z tests. These numbers have been sourced from Nanoreview and CPU-Z's databases.

	AMD Ryzen 5 5600	AMD Ryzen 5 8400F
Cinebench R23 single-core	1504	1686
Cinebench R23 multi-core	10716	13035
CPU-Z single-core	611	662
CPU-Z multi-core	4799	5339

Read more: Intel Core i5-13400 vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600

AMD Ryzen 5 5600 vs Ryzen 5 8400F: Final verdict

Both the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8400F offer competitive performance. However, we recommend the 5600 if you're building a budget gaming rig. A system with the 5600 chip will cost a fraction of that with a newer AM5-based setup.

The newer 8400F will be a better choice if you want a workstation on a budget. The chip has a significant lead in multi-core workloads, which would make it the better CPU for video editing, file compression, and other professional workloads.

Check out other CPU comparisons from Sportskeeda:

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar