AMD Ryzen 5 1600X and 1500X Processor Reviews

By Nathan Kirsch

AMD Ryzen 5 – 6-Core CPUs Arrive For Under $220

After weeks of leaks the AMD Ryzen 5 series of processors has finally been launched! With the launch of the AMD Ryzen 5 processors, AMD is attacking the mainstream market at the $169 to $249 price points where most gamers buy processors. AMD believes that Ryzen 5 4-core and 6-core processors will give users a well-rounded feature-rich platform that is competitive with what Intel has on the market.

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X Processor

The AMD Ryzen R5 is aimed at the sub-$250 CPU market and feature either 4 or 6-core processor designs with SMT. The new AMD Ryzen 5 series consists of four processors at launch; the AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, 1600, 1500X and 1400. The flagship 6-core processor is the AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (6-cores and 12-threads at a 3.6GHz base/4.0GHz Boost clock) and the flagship 4-core processor is the Ryzen 5 1500X (4-core, 8-thread at a 3.5GHz base/3.7GHz boost). AMD sees the Ryzen 5 series being very disruptive at this price point as the Ryzen 5 1600X would be lined up across the Intel Core i5-7600K. AMD is targeting the Ryzen 5 1600X and Ryzen 5 1500X towards PC gaming enthusiasts and those just happen to be the two models that they send us to benchmark for this launch day article.

AMD Ryzen 5 Processor Pricing

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X Specs

  • 95W TDP
  • 3+3 CCX config
  • 16MB L3 cache
  • 512K L2 cache per core
  • 3.6GHz Base
  • 3.7GHz All-Core Boost
  • 4.0GHz 2-Core Boost
  • 4.1GHz XFR

AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Specs

  • 65W TDP
  • 2+2 CCX config
  • 16MB L3 cache
  • 512K L2 cache per core
  • 3.5GHz Base
  • 3.6GHz All-Core Boost
  • 3.7GHz 2-Core Boost
  • 3.9GHz XFR

Here is a look at the current AMD Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 series that are all available on the market toady.

PRODUCT LINE MODEL CORES THREADS BASE CLOCK (GHZ) BOOST CLOCK (GHZ) INCLUDED COOLER TDP (WATTS) Price
RYZEN 7 1800X 8 16 3.6 4.0 N/A 95 $495
RYZEN 7 1700X 8 16 3.4 3.8 N/A 95 $389
RYZEN 7 1700 8 16 3.0 3.7 Wraith Spire 65 $320
RYZEN 5 1600X 6 12 3.6 4.0 Wraith Spire 95 $249
RYZEN 5 1600 6 12 3.2 3.6 Wraith Spire 95 $219
RYZEN 5 1500X 4 8 3.5 3.7 Wraith Spire 65 $189
RYZEN 5 1400 4 8 3.2 3.4 Wraith Stealth 65 $169

Later this year you’ll have the AMD Ryzen 3 series that is coming coming, but that is aimed at lower-end of the market with sub-$150 processors that won’t be aimed at mainstream or enthusiast gamers.

Let’s take a look at the test system and then move onto the benchmarks!