AMD Ryzen 5 9600 vs Intel Core i5-6500
—Single-core25.6
52.6Multi-core22.9
65.3Gamingspec-based21.9
14 spec wins — AMD Ryzen 5 96000 spec wins — Intel Core i5-6500
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 23
- 500% higher L2 cache: 6 MB vs 1 MB
- 433% higher L3 cache: 32 MB vs 6 MB
- 423% higher PassMark: 29,315 vs 5,600
- 300% higher Max memory: 256 GB vs 64 GB
Reasons to pick the Intel Core i5-6500
No decisive spec advantages — this side competes on price and preference.
General
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2025 | 2015 |
| Socket | AM5 | LGA1151 |
| Process | 4 nm+71% | 14 nm |
| Base TDP | 65 W | 65 W |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | No |
| Cooler included | Yes | Yes |
Cores & Clocks
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 6+50% | 4 |
| Performance cores | 6+50% | 4 |
| Efficiency cores | 0 | 0 |
| Threads | 12+200% | 4 |
| Base clock | 3.8 GHz+19% | 3.2 GHz |
| Boost clock | 5.2 GHz+44% | 3.6 GHz |
| L2 cache | 6 MB+500% | 1 MB |
| L3 cache | 32 MB+433% | 6 MB |
Integrated GPU
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| iGPU | AMD Radeon Graphics (2 CU RDNA 2) | Intel HD Graphics 530 |
| iGPU clock | 2,200 MHz | 1,050 MHz |
Memory
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory support | DDR5-5600 | DDR4-2133 / DDR3L-1600 |
| Max memory | 256 GB+300% | 64 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 2 |
Platform
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| PCIe version | 5+67% | 3 |
| CPU PCIe lanes | 28+75% | 16 |
Benchmarks
| Spec | AMD Ryzen 5 9600 | Intel Core i5-6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | — | 1,180Bottom 13% |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | — | 3,050Bottom 8% |
| Cinebench R23 (multi) | — | 3,500Bottom 4% |
| PassMark | 29,315+423%Top 42% | 5,600Bottom 4% |
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