Comparing the two options feels tricky. Which one suits your needs best?
Comparing the two options feels tricky. Which one suits your needs best?
I'm planning to assemble a new PC soon, and the challenge is choosing between those two CPUs. Their prices vary by about 70-100€ in my area. The 5800x costs between 420-400, while the 5600x is around 330-300, with prices changing often. I'll use a Liquid Freezer II 280 for cooling. My setup is mostly gaming on a 1440p display at 144Hz, paired with a 2070super and a 32GB DDR4 3200Cl16 RAM (which will be fine-tuned manually because it's a Micron E-die). Until GPU prices stabilize, I'm hoping to upgrade to something like the 3080 or 6800 series if supply keeps up. By the end of 2022 or early 2023, I might switch depending on CPU performance, memory speed, and Zen4 support. At the moment, gaming specs seem similar, but efficiency matters more. Some reviews on YouTube show usage rates, though reviewers rarely mention CPU load. I'm unsure if this will become an issue soon, especially with my current software setup—Steam, GeForce, antivirus, and a browser. I don't use a second screen or plan to stream.
I know my 5950x performance stays under 18% even with full GPU load. Running two screens at 2k, playing Fortnite on Epic and watching YouTube videos at 2k also affects it. I’d guess 8 cores would hit around 40-50% usage, while 6 cores likely stay below 70%. Keep in mind the GPU is very optimized and I couldn’t even lower its speed. That should help a little. On idle, it’s usually 5-9%.
I own the 5600x paired with a 3070FE running at 1440p and 165hz, functioning perfectly in a compact NZXT H1 case with a 140mm AIO. Temperatures stayed normal. I placed the 5800x order on launch day but it was a pre-order without a confirmed timeline, and I haven’t checked back.
5600X delivers strong performance. If you don’t require eight cores, you won’t need them. It’s also simpler to manage its heat.
The 5800x delivers strong performance, especially with higher single-core speeds. At temperatures above 85°C, most benchmarks show this level, and gaming at around 40°C is typical for titles like Resident Evil 3. Immortals: Fenyx Rising also performed well at similar heat, reaching about 15% at 40°C. Power management can help bring it down to around 50°C during testing. Not every game behaves the same—some rely heavily on single-core processing, even in modern systems like Anno or Far Cry 5. Keep in mind that multicore CPUs can vary widely in efficiency. Adjusting BIOS power settings, such as setting cores to 4.7GHz and increasing VRM power, can further improve stability.