How do the scores compare?

There is no overall score comparison yet, because at least one of them still awaits benchmark results. On individual spec rows, AMD Ryzen 5 9600 wins 14 and Intel Core i3-2120 wins 0.

What are the main differences between the AMD Ryzen 5 9600 and the Intel Core i3-2120?

AMD Ryzen 5 9600 advantages: Stronger multi-core score: 53 vs 20; 1121% higher PassMark: 29,315 vs 2,400; 1100% higher L2 cache: 6 MB vs 1 MB; 967% higher L3 cache: 32 MB vs 3 MB; 700% higher Max memory: 256 GB vs 32 GB.

AMD Ryzen 5 9600 vs Intel Core i3-2120

AMD

AMD Ryzen 5 9600

Intel

Intel Core i3-2120

$138

—Single-core20

52.6Multi-core20

65.3Gamingspec-based20

14 spec wins — AMD Ryzen 5 96000 spec wins — Intel Core i3-2120

InnoReviews verdict

No overall winner yet: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 lacks the published benchmark results an Inno Score requires, so there is no Inno Score to compare — we don't rank chips on their spec sheet alone. The spec table below still shows every difference we track.

Which would you pick?

Key differences

Reasons to pick the AMD Ryzen 5 9600

Stronger multi-core score: 53 vs 20
1121% higher PassMark: 29,315 vs 2,400
1100% higher L2 cache: 6 MB vs 1 MB
967% higher L3 cache: 32 MB vs 3 MB
700% higher Max memory: 256 GB vs 32 GB

Reasons to pick the Intel Core i3-2120

No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.

General

General comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
Announced	2025+1%	2011
Socket	AM5	LGA1155
Process	4 nm+87%	32 nm
Base TDP	65 W	65 W
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	No
Cooler included	Yes	Yes

Cores & Clocks

Cores & Clocks comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
Cores	6+200%	2
Performance cores	6+200%	2
Efficiency cores	0	0
Threads	12+200%	4
Base clock	3.8 GHz+15%	3.3 GHz
Boost clock	5.2 GHz+58%	3.3 GHz
L2 cache	6 MB+1100%	1 MB
L3 cache	32 MB+967%	3 MB

Integrated GPU

Integrated GPU comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
iGPU	AMD Radeon Graphics (2 CU RDNA 2)	Intel HD Graphics 2000
iGPU clock	2,200 MHz	1,100 MHz

Memory

Memory comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
Memory support	DDR5-5600	DDR3-1333
Max memory	256 GB+700%	32 GB
Memory channels	2	2

Platform

Platform comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
PCIe version	5+150%	2
CPU PCIe lanes	28+75%	16

Benchmarks

Benchmarks comparison: AMD Ryzen 5 9600 versus Intel Core i3-2120
Spec	AMD Ryzen 5 9600	Intel Core i3-2120
Geekbench 6 (single)	—	780Bottom 1%
Geekbench 6 (multi)	—	1,600Bottom 1%
PassMark	29,315+1121%Top 42%	2,400Bottom 1%

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