High-end AMD processors take top billing in our rankings of the best gaming CPUs, but most people should get the cheapest somewhat modern CPU that can fit into their system.
Right now, that CPU is the Ryzen 5 5600, part of a generation that launched in 2020 but still supports modern components like PCIe 4.0 SSDs and graphics cards. We’ve seen the 5600 as low as £100 over the past few months, making it eminently affordable for new builds or upgrading existing Ryzen systems, but how does it hold up in performance terms five years later?
To find out, I recently built a Ryzen 5 5600 system at home and ran it through a gauntlet of performance tests, including synthetic benchmarks and modern games.
| Category | Component | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | The most affordable Ryzen processor worth considering in 2025 and the focus of this article. |
| GPU | Acer RX 7800 XT 16GB OC | Our favourite mid-range GPU, offering strong rasterised performance and plenty of VRAM for ~£450. However, Nvidia rivals offer better RT performance and a feature advantage. |
| RAM | 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 | 3200MT/s CL16 RAM is the sweet spot for AM4 in terms of price-to-performance, and this 32GB Corsair kit is affordable and well-regarded. |
| Main Storage | Crucial P310 1TB NVMe SSD | One of Crucial’s newer PCIe 4.0 SSDs with zippy reads and writes that makes for decent value. |
| Secondary Storage | WD SN5000 4TB NVMe SSD | A drive for storing less frequently-accessed files and games in a big capacity that we quite like. |
| Case | NZXT H5 Flow (2024) (Black) | I wanted to try NZXT’s latest H5 Flow, given its clean aesthetics, good airflow, and the popularity of the previous generation. |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2 | A decently specced AM4 motherboard with solid I/O, on-board Wifi 6E and Bluetooth, and PCIe 4.0 support for GPU and the primary SSD. |
| Cooler | Noctua NH-U12S | It might be overkill for the 5600, but it remains a fantastic cooler that can push a serious amount of air while remaining quiet. |
| Fans | Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax,black.swap & Noctua NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap. | These are high-performance, quiet case fans that can help a lot with airflow. |
| PSU | NZXT C850 Gold ATX 3.1 (Black) | 850W provides more than enough power for the current components inside, and provides headroom for later down the line with support for the latest generation of parts. |
Now, onto what makes this CPU such a canny choice, and the first performance testing.
Ryzen 5 5600: how does it hold up in 2025?
- Component selection and justification [this page]
- Why we chose the 5600, and synthetic benchmarks
- RT benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Returnal, F1 24, Indiana Jones & The Great Circle, Forza Horizon 5, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Black Myth: Wukong, The Callisto Protocol
- Game benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Returnal, F1 24, Forza Horizon 5, Black Myth: Wukong, The Callisto Protocol, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dirt Rally 2.0.
- Gaming performance summary: 1080p, 1440p, 4K
- Final thoughts and judgement
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