Ryzen 5 7600X vs Ryzen 5 9600X: Which is the better CPU?

The Ryzen 5 9600X is the successor of the Ryzen 5 7600X. The former is designed on the newer Zen 5, but does it deliver higher performance?

Picture of AMD Ryzen 5 7600X vs Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X vs Ryzen 5 9600X (Image via AMD)

The Ryzen 5 9600X is AMD’s latest CPU in the budget mid-range category. It is the direct successor to the older Ryzen 7600X. The former is the newer CPU, yet it has the same number of cores and a 0.1GHz higher clock speed than the latter. Looking at these numbers, you would think that the Ryzen 5 9600X won’t be that impressive.

However, AMD believes its newer Zen 5 architecture and more efficiency would be enough to deliver a solid performance uplift. The question is, are the performance improvements enough to justify the high selling price? Let’s find out with a detailed comparison of the two CPUs, including benchmarks, to find out which Ryzen processor is better.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Ryzen 5 7600X vs Ryzen 5 9600X: Detailed Comparison

The Ryzen 5 7600X was released in 2022 based on the Zen 4 architecture. On the other hand, the Ryzen 5 9600X is designed on the latest Zen architecture and launched in 2024. Let’s start comparing the two CPUs, starting with their specs.

Specs Comparison

Picture of the Ryzen 5 9600X
The Ryzen 5 9600X (Image of AMD)

Here are the specs of the Ryzen 5 7600X and Ryzen 5 9600X:

SpecificationsRyzen 5 7600XRyzen 5 9600X
ArchitectureZen 4Zen 5
Core/Thread count6/126/12
Max clock speed5.3 GHz5.4 GHz
L3 cache32 MB32 MB
RAM supportDDR5-5200DDR5-5600
PCIe Gen supportGen 5Gen 5
Platform SocketAM5AM5
Thermal design power (TDP)105W Typical | 142W Max65W Typical | 88W Max
Extended TDP: 105W Typical | 142W Max
Manufacturing nodes5nm, 6nm4nm, 6nm

The specs table reveals a bleak picture. The new Ryzen 5 9600X is quite similar to the older Ryzen 5 7600X. The only new things in the former are a 0.1GHz higher clock speed, higher RAM speeds, and lower TDP. However, as we know, specs aren’t everything.

The Zen 5 architecture alone brings around 16% IPC improvements over the Zen 4 in the Ryzen 5 7600. Therefore, the Ryzen 5 9600X should perform better.

Synthetic Performance Comparison

It’s time we put the specs aside and check out the performance difference between the Ryzen 5 7600X and Ryzen 5 9600X:

BenchmarksRyzen 5 7600XRyzen 5 9600X
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)19762163
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)1531517460
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)28463291
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)1271414418
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)115133
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)885978

In single-core benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 9600X is around 13.1% better on average than the Ryzen 5 7600X. In multi-core benchmarks, the newer CPU also achieved a similar 13.6% improvement. The performance numbers are close to the 16% IPC improvements that AMD claimed.

Therefore, you can achieve a 13 to 16% performance improvement in productivity applications. Will we see a similar performance improvement on the gaming side? Let’s find out.

Game Performance Comparison

Here’s how the Ryzen 5 7600X and Ryzen 5 9600X perform in popular games:

GamesRyzen 5 7600XRyzen 5 9600X
Red Dead Redemption 2206 FPS210 FPS
Fortnite420 FPS421 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077217 FPS217 FPS
Black Myth: Wukong175 FPS174 FPS
Counter-Strike 2 (Low Settings)371 FPS376 FPS
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt290 FPS292 FPS

Note: The two CPUs were tested at 1080p resolution with the RTX 4090 GPU to eliminate any GPU bottleneck. All FPS numbers were sourced from the Hardware Tested channel on YouTube.

On average, the Ryzen 5 9600X is about 0.6% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X. Essentially, there are no improvements in the gaming. Seeing the 13.6% improvements in the synthetic benchmarks, we were quite hopeful, but that’s clearly not the case here.

Price Comparison

Picture of AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (Image via AMD)

The Ryzen 5 7600X is currently available for $179 on Amazon, while the Ryzen 5 6600X is selling for $202.31 on Amazon. Therefore, the new Ryzen CPU is 13% more expensive than the old one.

Final Verdict on Ryzen 5 7600X vs Ryzen 5 9600X

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is 13.6% better than the Ryzen 7600X in synthetic benchmarks, which should be reflected in productivity applications as well. However, in gaming performance, there are little to no differences between them. Besides, the Ryzen 5 9600X is 13% more expensive.

Therefore, we cannot recommend the new Ryzen 5 9600X to gamers. They should rather buy the older Ryzen 5 7600X and spend the $20 – $25 they save on other components, such as RAM kits. Even for productivity users, we cannot recommend it. Instead, we would suggest the Intel Core i5-14600K, which delivers 49% more productivity performance than the Ryzen 5 9600X.


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