Intel Core i5-9600K Review: A Mid-Range Gamer's CPU
Why you can trust Tom's Hardware
Rendering, Encoding and Compression
Rendering
AMD's Ryzen 7 2700 shows the value of eight cores armed with simultaneous multi-threading technology through our parallelized rendering workloads.
The Core i5-9600K trails its comparably-priced competition from AMD, and it only offers a small step forward versus the previous-gen Core i5-8600K.
Single-threaded workloads, regardless of software type, are still dominated by Intel's capable architectures.
Encoding & Compression
Our threaded compression and decompression metrics work directly from system memory, removing storage throughput from the equation. The Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600X are competitive in the compression test, but really stretch their legs during our decompression workload.
y-cruncher, a single- and multi-threaded program that computes pi, is a great benchmark for measuring the effect of AVX instructions. Intel processors have no trouble establishing a lead in this kind of test.
The Core i5-9600K beats AMD's Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600X in our HandBrake x265 metric, which is heavily optimized for AVX instructions. That changes during the H.264 benchmark, which sees the Core i5-9600K trail a stock Ryzen 5 2600X. Intel needs a 5 GHz overclock to overtake the stock Ryzen 7 2700.
MORE: Best CPUs
MORE: Intel & AMD Processor Hierarchy
MORE: All CPUs Content
Current page: Rendering, Encoding and Compression
Prev Page Office and Productivity Next Page ConclusionStay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Join the experts who read Tom's Hardware for the inside track on enthusiast PC tech news — and have for over 25 years. We'll send breaking news and in-depth reviews of CPUs, GPUs, AI, maker hardware and more straight to your inbox.
Paul Alcorn is the Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech for Tom's Hardware US. He also writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage, and enterprise hardware.
AMD's new Ryzen AI re-branding for Zen 5 comes to light — Asus leaks 'Strix Point' processor names
Chinese-made GPU beats performance of 10-year-old integrated AMD graphics — Lingjiu GP201 hits mass production
Windows 11 24H2 will enable BitLocker encryption for everyone — happens on both clean installs and reinstalls
-
Tobias Claren How high can I overclock with intel boxed cooler?Reply
Or a cooler that fits in a mini itx case lake Silverstone Raven or similar (12 litres or less)?