Intel
Intel Core i5-6600K
The unlocked Skylake i5: the same four cores and four threads as the 6600, but with a free multiplier that typically reached 4.4-4.6 GHz on air. It was the enthusiast 1080p gaming pick of 2015, and the missing Hyper-Threading is exactly why it aged worse than the 6700K.
Pros
- Unlocked multiplier - most samples run 4.4-4.6 GHz all-core on a decent air cooler
- 3.5 GHz base / 3.9 GHz turbo at stock, the fastest four-thread Skylake i5
- HD Graphics 530 at 1150 MHz means it still posts and outputs video with no GPU installed
- Z170/Z270 boards allow memory overclocking well past the official DDR4-2133
- Cheap on the used market, and Z170 boards for it are equally cheap
Cons
- No Hyper-Threading - four threads is the single biggest limitation for anything modern
- No cooler in the box, and a 91 W overclockable part needs a real one
- Paste, not solder, under the heat spreader: overclocked temperatures climb fast
- Not supported for Windows 11 (8th gen is Microsoft's cutoff)
Below average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Intel Core i5-6600K
General
- Announced
- 2015
- Socket
- LGA1151
- Process
- 14 nm
- Base TDP
- 91 W
- Unlocked multiplier
- Yes
- Cooler included
- No
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 4
- Performance cores
- 4
- Efficiency cores
- 0
- Threads
- 4
- Base clock
- 3.5 GHz
- Boost clock
- 3.9 GHz
- L2 cache
- 1 MB
- L3 cache
- 6 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Intel HD Graphics 530
- iGPU clock
- 1,150 MHz
Memory
- Memory support
- DDR4-2133 / DDR3L-1600
- Max memory
- 64 GB
- Memory channels
- 2
Platform
- PCIe version
- 3
- CPU PCIe lanes
- 16
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 1,300
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 3,350
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 1,110
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 4,050
- PassMark
- 6,400
Quick answers
Is the Intel Core i5-6600K good in 2026?
The Intel Core i5-6600K earns an Inno Score of 25.4/100 (“Below average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. The unlocked Skylake i5: the same four cores and four threads as the 6600, but with a free multiplier that typically reached 4.4-4.6 GHz on air. It was the enthusiast 1080p gaming pick of 2015, and the missing Hyper-Threading is exactly why it aged worse than the 6700K.
What are the key specs of the Intel Core i5-6600K?
Cores: 4 · Threads: 4 · Boost clock: 3.9 GHz · Socket: LGA1151
What are the closest alternatives to the Intel Core i5-6600K?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Intel Core i7-4790, Intel Core i5-7500, Intel Core i7-4770K — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.