Ryzen 5 5600 vs Ryzen 5 6600HS

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Ryzen 5 5600

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.2% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Ryzen 5 6600HS.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 6600HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌85.7% higher power demand at 65W vs 35W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 6600HS moves to FP7 and DDR5.

Ryzen 5 6600HS

2022

Why buy it

✅Draws 35W instead of 65W, a 30W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP7 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 5600 across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (18,975 vs 21,550).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600.

Ryzen 5 5600

2022

Ryzen 5 6600HS

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +14.2% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Ryzen 5 6600HS.

Why buy it

✅Draws 35W instead of 65W, a 30W reduction.
✅Newer platform on FP7 with DDR5 support instead of AM4 and DDR4.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $199 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 6600HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌85.7% higher power demand at 65W vs 35W.
❌Older platform position on AM4 with DDR4, while Ryzen 5 6600HS moves to FP7 and DDR5.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 5 5600 across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (18,975 vs 21,550).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 32 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 5600 better than Ryzen 5 6600HS?

Yes. Ryzen 5 5600 is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 14.2% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data and 13.6% better PassMark, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 5 5600 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 14.2% more average FPS across 3 shared CPU game tests.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 5600 is the better fit. You are getting 13.6% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 100% larger total L3 cache (32 MB vs 16 MB).

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 5 5600 is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 5600 is at an unclear MSRP at $199 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 14.2% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (108.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), so the better CPU is not just faster, it is also the cleaner value play on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 5 6600HS is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a healthier platform with FP7 and DDR5 instead of AM4. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Ryzen 5 5600 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 6600HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Ryzen 5 6600HS
1080p
low	161 FPS	167 FPS
medium	130 FPS	145 FPS
high	112 FPS	117 FPS
ultra	93 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	141 FPS	142 FPS
medium	113 FPS	122 FPS
high	95 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	78 FPS	82 FPS
4K
low	79 FPS	79 FPS
medium	69 FPS	72 FPS
high	55 FPS	57 FPS
ultra	44 FPS	45 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Ryzen 5 6600HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Ryzen 5 6600HS
1080p
low	508 FPS	353 FPS
medium	419 FPS	294 FPS
high	351 FPS	259 FPS
ultra	310 FPS	228 FPS
1440p
low	447 FPS	306 FPS
medium	375 FPS	259 FPS
high	323 FPS	235 FPS
ultra	277 FPS	203 FPS
4K
low	313 FPS	227 FPS
medium	268 FPS	196 FPS
high	243 FPS	179 FPS
ultra	209 FPS	146 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Ryzen 5 6600HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Ryzen 5 6600HS
1080p
low	539 FPS	474 FPS
medium	526 FPS	457 FPS
high	483 FPS	414 FPS
ultra	414 FPS	344 FPS
1440p
low	539 FPS	474 FPS
medium	434 FPS	400 FPS
high	396 FPS	360 FPS
ultra	339 FPS	301 FPS
4K
low	371 FPS	340 FPS
medium	298 FPS	284 FPS
high	255 FPS	246 FPS
ultra	197 FPS	193 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Ryzen 5 6600HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600	Ryzen 5 6600HS
1080p
low	539 FPS	474 FPS
medium	539 FPS	474 FPS
high	539 FPS	474 FPS
ultra	539 FPS	474 FPS
1440p
low	539 FPS	474 FPS
medium	539 FPS	474 FPS
high	539 FPS	474 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	474 FPS
4K
low	501 FPS	474 FPS
medium	448 FPS	471 FPS
high	398 FPS	420 FPS
ultra	349 FPS	364 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600 Open Ryzen 5 6600HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 6600HS

Ryzen 5 5600

The Ryzen 5 5600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 20 April 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 32 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 21,550 points. Launch price was $299.

Ryzen 5 6600HS

The Ryzen 5 6600HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in Janeiro 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Rembrandt-HS (Zen 3+) (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.3 GHz, with boost up to 4.5 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 6 nm process technology. Socket: FP7. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 18,975 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

Both the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 6600HS share an identical 6-core/12-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Ryzen 5 5600 versus 4.5 GHz on the Ryzen 5 6600HS — a 2.2% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 6600HS (base: 3.5 GHz vs 3.3 GHz). The Ryzen 5 5600 uses the Vermeer (2020−2025) architecture (7 nm), while the Ryzen 5 6600HS uses Rembrandt-HS (Zen 3+) (2022) (6 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 5600 scores 21,550 against the Ryzen 5 6600HS's 18,975 — a 12.7% lead for the Ryzen 5 5600. L3 cache: 32 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 5600 vs 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 6600HS.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5600	Ryzen 5 6600HS
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz	4.5 GHz+2%
Base Clock	3.5 GHz+6%	3.3 GHz
L3 Cache	32 MB (total)+100%	16 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	512K (per core)
Process	7 nm	6 nm-14%
Architecture	Vermeer (2020−2025)	Rembrandt-HS (Zen 3+) (2022)
PassMark	21,550+14%	18,975
Cinebench R23 Multi	11,077	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,052	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	8,600	—

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Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 5600 uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 5 6600HS uses FP7 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.