The secret gaming king: i5-10600K
20.5.2020
Translation: machine translated
With the i5-10600K, Intel wants to catch up with AMD's Ryzen 5 3600X in terms of cores. The i5 comes with six cores and hyperthreading. As the test shows, the performance in games is the real highlight of the processor. It comes close to a stock i9-10900K.
Intel is still king when it comes to gaming. This is shown by the review of the i9-10900K. With the i5-10600K, Intel also proves this in the mid-range. The new i5 comes close to the i9-10900K in our gaming benchmarks. But that's not all: thanks to hyperthreading and six cores, the processor can compete with the Ryzen 5 3600X (7nm) in applications despite the old 14nm production technology.
The chip in detail
The biggest change to the i5-10600K compared to its predecessor is hyperthreading. The 10600K is a six-core processor with twelve threads and a base clock of 4.1 GHz. The maximum boost frequency is 4.8 GHz in the single core and 4.5 GHz in the multi core.
The processor is "unlocked", which means it can be overclocked. It comes with integrated Intel UHD 630 graphics. Its TDP is 125 W, which is 30 W higher than the previous model. It supports 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, up to 128 GB dual-channel DDR4-2666 RAM and has an L3 cache of 12 MB.
| Processor | Cores / Threads | Base / maximum boost clock (GHz) | Cache Total (MB) | PCIe Lanes | TDP (Watt) | Price (as of 20/05/2020) | Price per thread (as of 20/05/2020) |
| Core i5-10600K | 6 / 12 | 4.1 / 4.8 | 12 MB | 16 PCIe 3.0 | 125 | 319 | 26.60 |
| Core i5-9600K | 6 / 6 | 3.7 / 4.6 | 9 MB | 16 PCIe 3.0 | 95 | 199 | 33.15 |
| Ryzen 5 3600X | 6 / 12 | 3.8 / 4.4 | 35 MB | 16 PCIe 4.0 | 95 | 232 | 19.35 |
For the Intel Core i5-10600K you need a new motherboard with socket LGA 1200. If you are considering the processor, you must include the motherboard in the cost. The processor costs just under 320 francs at launch. The competition from AMD, the Ryzen 5 3600X, also with six cores and twelve threads, costs 232 francs (as of 20 May 2020). That's 38 per cent less.
Test setup and methodology
I use the following components for the review:
I activate XMP in the BIOS. Otherwise I leave everything on default - except for overclocking, I'll get to that later. I use the drivers supplied by Asus and Intel as well as Windows 10 version 1909.
The testing methodology is based on our graphics-card-reviews. However, I have revised the methodology since its introduction. Therefore, here is an overview of the various benchmarks:
- Cinebench R20
- CPU-Z Benchmark
- Blender
- Handbrake
- 7-Zip
- Photoshop
- PCMark 10
- Fire Strike / Fire Strike Ultra
- Time Spy / Time Spy Extreme
- Games: "Assassin's Creed Odyssey", "Civilisation VI: Gathering Storm", "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided", "Far Cry 5", "For Honor", "Gears 5", "Red Dead Redemption 2", "Strange Brigade" and "Shadow of the Tomb Raider"
I run all benchmarks three times and take the best result. I use the highest possible default settings for the games. As neither the i5-9600K nor the Ryzen 3600X are available to me for comparison, I use the results from various specialist magazines and databases.
Overclocking and Cinebench R20
As I am conducting the tests at home due to the coronavirus, I am limiting myself to overclocking with the Noctua cooler. I am aware that this means I cannot make any statements about the maximum overclocking potential, but I can say after the tests: The i5 can be overclocked to 5 GHz on all six cores even with the single-tower cooler from Nocuta.
As a reference, I run the Cinebench R20 benchmark. With stock settings, the i9-10900K achieves a single core score of 505 and a multi-core score of 3604, with the processor heating up to 67° Celsius. For comparison: According to CPU Monkey, the Ryzen 5 3600X achieves a single core score of 509 and a multi-core score of 3751.
I first activate the AI overclock from Asus on the Extreme profile. The 10600K runs at 4.9 GHz on all cores. The result: 3885 points. The processor heats up to 80 degrees. Without AI, I achieve an overclock of 5.0 GHz on all cores. I achieve 3939 points in Cinebench. HWiNFO64 shows me a maximum of 93 degrees.
The 10600K proves to be extremely overclockable when tested. With the single-tower air cooling, 500 MHz more is possible. With a powerful AIO, it would certainly be even more.
CPU-Z
The comparison results from CPU-Z are based on the CPU-Z Validator database, so you can assume that the results are from overclocked processors. The 10600K performs around six per cent better than its predecessor in single core and, thanks to the two more cores, around 41 per cent better in multi core. Compared to the Ryzen 3600X, the i5-10600K only performs one per cent less.
7-Zip
In the integrated benchmark of 7-Zip - I select the standard "Dictionary size" of 32 MB - the 10600K achieves 56,207 instructions per second (MIPS). This is almost 44 per cent more than the result from Hardwareluxx for the predecessor 9600K. According to Kitguru, the Ryzen 3600X achieves around 6 per cent more MIPS.
Blender bmw27
For Blender users, the i5-10600K represents a huge step forward. Compared to the i5-9600K, the new flagship computes around 14 per cent faster. However, it remains around four per cent behind the Ryzen 5 3600X.
Handbrake
I lack comparative data from the 9600K and 3600X processors for Handbrake. The 10600K encodes the 88-second, 645 MB 4K trailer of "The Dark Knight Rises" with Handbrake's "Fast 1080p30" presets in 70 seconds. Compared to the i9-10900K, this is around 25 per cent slower.
Photoshop
Different workloads are performed in the Photoshop benchmark from Puget Systems. You can find more detailed information here. At the end, the benchmark calculates a score based on a reference workstation. The results of 9600K and 3600X are also missing here. Compared to the "big boys" i9-10900K and Ryzen 9 3900X, the 10600K only performs around ten and five per cent worse respectively.
PCMark 10
The PCMark 10 benchmark tests various scenarios such as the loading time of apps, efficiency in spreadsheets, browsing or photo and video editing. It calculates a score from this. With its 6868 points, the 10600K performs around six per cent worse than the best result of an i5-9600K in the 3DMark database with a comparable setup to our test benchmark. 3DMark is the distributor of the benchmark. However, the 9600K in question is overclocked according to the database. The 3600X performs three percentage points better. It does not appear to be overclocked according to the database.
Fire Strike, Fire Strike Ultra, Time Spy and Time Spy Ultra
The synthetic game benchmarks provide a first look at the performance in games. I have omitted the overall score, which is calculated from the results of the graphics card and CPU. This is because the GPU score is very inconsistent. I had differences of over 1000 points here. This distorts the result enormously. To give you a better idea of the performance of the i5-10600K, I'll use the top result of its predecessor as a comparison i5-9600K und des Ryzen 3600X in combination with a 2080 Super from the 3DMark database . The 9600K is overclocked in most cases, the 3600X runs on stock settings according to 3DMark.
The 10600K beats its predecessor across the board. It performs around 27 per cent better across the four benchmarks, even though the 9600K is overclocked in most cases. However, the Intel chip remains around four per cent behind the Ryzen 3600X across all benchmarks, which does not appear to be overclocked.
The games
In addition to the average FPS, I also provide you with the frametime in percentiles, namely 99 and 99.9.
The measured values of the percentiles are frame times classically measured in milliseconds. In other words, the time intervals from picture to picture or frame to frame. The purpose of the percentile values is to ignore isolated outliers. 99 percentile means that 99 per cent of all measured values are faster than the specified measured value. If a value in the graphic is 95 FPS, 99 per cent are running at a higher frame rate than 95 FPS. Exactly one per cent, on the other hand, runs slower than 95 FPS. The same applies to the 99.9 percentile. For better comparability, the result is converted from frametimes in milliseconds to the traditional FPS value.
Unfortunately, I don't have comparative values for the 3600X and 9600K on our testbench. That's why I'm providing you with the results of the 10900K from Intel and 3900X from AMD for comparison.
The i5-10600K is hot on the heels of the i9-10900K: The 10600K is only four per cent behind the big one in terms of average FPS at 1080p and only three per cent in 2160p.
Conclusion: Gaming like the big boys - only much cheaper
Thanks to six cores and hyperthreading, the i5-10600K can keep up with the Ryzen 5 3600X, despite the outdated 14 nm manufacturing technology. It also outperforms its predecessor, the 9600K, in the tests. The i5 doesn't just perform well in applications: it can also more than keep up in gaming. With stock settings, it comes close to the i9-10900K, which costs almost 90 per cent more.
Overclockers should also enjoy the 10600K. Without much effort and with an air cooler, I was able to achieve 500 MHz more on all cores than Intel claims. With a bit of tinkering and better cooling, there's certainly more in it.
So what should stop you from buying the new i5? There's certainly the price: at just under 320 francs at launch, the 10600K costs 87 francs more than the Ryzen 5 3600X (as of 20 May 2020). AMD includes an air cooler with the price. With Intel, you have to buy it separately. Then there's the motherboard with socket LGA 1200. A 3600X will also run on an old X470 or B450 board.
For mid-range gamers who really want to replace their old box now, the i5-10600K is certainly a good choice. For those who only game from time to time and focus more on applications, the Ryzen 5 3600X is probably the better deal. <p
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
