Ryzen 5 9600X vs Core i5 14600K: Our Recommendation

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Uzair Qureshi

At Tech4Gamers, I proudly wear the title of Comparisons Specialist. Focused on CPUs and GPUs, I bring forth a wealth of hands-on experience and a keen eye for detail to provide our audience with the latest insights and analyses.

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Pros And Cons 

Comparison Table

Architectural Differences

1. Core Count:  The 9600X has 6 cores and 12 threads, whereas the 14600K has 14 cores and 20 threads. These cores are performance cores using the traditional structure of x86 processors.
2. Clock Speed: The Ryzen 5 9600X has a base clock of 3.9 GHz, with a boost of up to 5.4 GHz. The 14600K is lower in both aspects, with a base clock of 3.5 GHz and a boost clock of 5.3 GHz.
3. L3 Cache: The Ryzen 5 9600X has 24 megabytes of onboard cache, while the i5 14600K has 32 megabytes.
4. Process Node: The Zen 5 processors, including the 9700X, are based on a 4nm process, while the Raptor Lake processors, Including the i5 14600K, are based on a 10nm process.
5. TDP: The 9600X has a rated PL1 TDP of around 65 watts, while the 14600K has a rated TDP of around 125 watts.

With the excitement over AMD’s recent releases, it’s worth revisiting Intel’s offerings from last year. Come along in the Ryzen 5 9600X vs i5 14600K comparison to see how the old fares against the new!

Gaming Benchmarks – 1080p

With two processors with different hardware compatibilities, we used two different test benches to check their performance. The only differences between them were the motherboards and the RAM, both of which barely made a difference.

Test Bench

• OS – Windows 11 
• RAM – G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600
• CPU Cooler – Enermax LiqMaxFlo 360mm
• Graphics Card – GIGABYTE RTX 4090 Gaming OC 24G
• SSD – XPG Gammix S50 Lite
• Power Supply – be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1300W 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 

• The Witcher 3 ran about 5.4% faster on the 14600K, with an average framerate of 95 FPS, while the 9600X averaged at 90 FPS in our brief tests.
• For the 1% lows, the 9600X hovered around a framerate of 64 FPS, whereas the i5 14600K performed better and stuck closer to 73 FPS.

Starfield

• Starfield ran about 13.4% faster on the 14600K with 127 FPS, while we noticed that the Ryzen 5 9600X stuck around 111 FPS.
• The 1% lows were much closer, with a difference of only around 4%. The 9600X hovered around 90 FPS, while the 9700X had a framerate of 94 FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077

• Cyberpunk ran better on the 14600K, with an average framerate of 109 FPS, which was around 12% higher than the 9600X’s average of 96 FPS that we measured.
• The 14600K had lows of around 72 FPS in this game, around 14.9% higher than the 9600X’s framerate of 62 FPS.

Forza Horizon 5

• Our testing of Forza Horizon 5 showed an average framerate of 244 FPS on the 14600K, which is only about 1.6% better than the 240 FPS we saw with the 9600X.
• The 1% lows of the 14600K were about 2.29% better with a framerate of 177 FPS while the 9600X got around 173 FPS.

Ghost Of Tsushima

• The 14600K continued its lead with Ghost of Tsushima, getting an average framerate of around 161 FPS, around 2.4% better than the 153 FPS.
• The 14600K had lows of around 108 FPS in this game, around 3% higher than the 9600X’s framerate of 114 FPS.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

• We saw an average framerate of 123 FPS with Microsoft Flight Simulator on the 14600K, which is only about 3.31% better than the 119 FPS on the 9600X.
• We were surprised to see that both the 9600X and the 14600X reached minimums of 99 FPS.

Hogwarts Legacy

• Hogwarts Legacy ran about 10.5% better on the 14600K with an average framerate of 70 FPS, whereas the 9600X averaged around 63 FPS.
• As for the 1% lows, the 14600K was 9.2% better in our test of this game with a framerate of 55 FPS, while the 9600X hovered around 50 FPS.

Horizon Forbidden West

• Coming to the final game we tested, Horizon Forbidden West ran with an average framerate of 149 FPS on the 14600K, which was 11% better than the 133 FPS of the 9600X.
• The 9600X had an average low of around 95 FPS, whereas the 14600K had a low of around 106 FPS, constituting a 10.95% difference.

Overall Gaming Performance

Average FPS

In our testing, we saw an average difference in framerate of about 7%, with the 14600K pulling through in Starfield and Horizon Forbidden West with a big lead. Most games did not have a huge difference in framerate between the two chips and could be enjoyed just as well on either.

1% Lows

The minimum framerates had quite a bit of difference between these chips, with the 14600K being around 2.75% faster on average than the 9600X. Still, the difference was not huge.

The gaming felt pretty similar, going from game to game and chip to chip, with the 14600K holding up its excellence due to more cores and threads.

Power Consumption

There was a very small 3.27% difference in the power consumption of these chips, with the 14600K being slightly more power-hungry. Virtually no one will experience the benefit or drawback of a difference this small.

Temperatures

The average temperature difference between the two chips was about 2.15%. The temperature difference between the two chips was not substantial; both processors have a similar thermal headroom for overclocking.

Price And Availability

The Core i5 14600K is around 3% more expensive than the Ryzen 5 9600X, but bear in mind these prices have been extrapolated from sources that sell both chips new, and you can get the 14600K quite a bit cheaper if you look at it on the used market.

What We Recommend

Core i5 14600K: The only big difference in this comparison was the performance, where the 14600K took the lead. Admittedly, the lead of the 14600K wasn’t huge over the 9600X, but everything else had tiny deltas between the two chips.

Ryzen 5 9600X: The 9600X stayed pretty close to the 14600K in our testing as well, though we were hoping for it to perform much better. Performance was about 10 FPS behind on average, while the power consumption was only marginally better.

Now that we’ve explored all the ins and outs of these processors, it is safe to say that both perform nearly equal to each other. If you had to choose a single processor to base your build from scratch, we’d recommend the 14600K because of its better performance and slightly lower price.

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Uzair Qureshi

[Comparisons Specialist]

I’m a passionate computer hardware expert specializing in CPUs and GPUs. With a lifelong curiosity for hardware and extensive hands-on experience, I provide valuable insights, practical advice, and in-depth analysis on these components. Engaging with the hardware community, I exchange knowledge and stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Get In Touch: uzair@tech4gamers.com