Introduction

Ryzen, a brand that brought back a company from the brink of bankruptcy, is undoubtedly one of the best comeback stories in the semiconductor industry. The first generation brought cores abound. At a time when 4 cores/8 threads was the norm for a flagship processor (looking at you, Intel i7 7700K), AMD changed the status quo by introducing Ryzen 7 1800X, a 8 cores/16 threads flagship to round up the first generation of processors based on the Zen architecture. Boasting a massive 52% IPC increase from the previous generation FX series, Zen 1 was the first page of this impressive comeback story. AMD finally achieved node parity (14nm) with Intel by skipping 22nm node in what seemed like a very long time.

Unbeknownst to Intel, this is the node they would be stuck refining for years to come. Ryzen 1000 series finally made people notice AMD even in the upper echelons of computing. The launch of Threadripper series disrupted the entire HEDT market. Touting 16 cores/32 threads, Threadripper shined in multi-threaded workloads. While Intel still had the IPC lead and was faster in lightly-threaded applications, Ryzen had made its mark. It wasn't without its fair share of issues though. Memory compatibility and overclocking were spotty at first, later improved by numerous updates to the BIOS.

Launched in 2018, the 2nd generation of Ryzen (based on Zen+ architecture) brought in several architectural changes and an upgrade to GlobalFoundries' 12nm node, netting a 16% performance increase over Zen 1. While inching closer, it wasn't enough to overthrow Intel, especially in the gaming segment.

Ryzen 3000 series saw AMD almost achieve IPC(Instructions Per Clock) parity with Intel, having already cemented its lead in multi-threaded workloads, . From the lowest end of budget PC to the highest end of server processors, AMD had a full stack of compelling processors. Shifting to TSMC's 7nm node while Intel was stuck refining 14nm++ whatever node, AMD's Ryzen 3000 series was incredibly power efficient. Based on Zen 2, the upgraded architecture coupled with 7nm node brought in another 15% IPC increase over the previous generation. While Intel still held the absolute gaming performance crown, that less than 5% lead in many gaming benchmarks seemed insignificant against the performance lead AMD had in almost everything else, not to speak about efficiency.

Image credit: AMD, Toms Hardware

With over 20 major changes to the redesigned architecture, Zen 3 based Ryzen 5000 'Vermeer' series saw AMD take the title of 'world's best gaming processor' from Intel. Probably for the first time since its Athlon 64 days, AMD had Intel beat in all metrics. Fabricated on the same but enhanced TSMC's 7nm node according to AMD (not 7nm+), 5000 series boosted to slightly higher clock speeds with the Ryzen 9 5950X touching 5 GHz with sufficient cooling. AMD achieved a massive 19% IPC uplift to overthrow Intel as the king of the hill. 5000 Series offered 26% better gaming performance over the 3000 Series at 1080p with 24% generational improvement in energy efficiency to go with it.

This article is an attempt to tell the story of the strides AMD took since its Phenom days and answer the question: how does a decade old hexa-core fare against one from now? The idea for this benchmark comparison stemmed from upgrading my PC to AMD Ryzen 5 5600X from AMD Phenom II X6 1055T, and my curiosity. The results were, well... interesting. Obvious, but interesting. Read on to find out!

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Gallery

Part 3: Test Setup and Methodology

Part 4: CPU Benchmarks

Part 5: Gaming Benchmarks

Part 6: Hexa-cores vs dual-core

Part 7: Platform Benchmarks

Part 8: Thermals and Power

Part 9: Conclusion