AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT, 6C/12T, 3.80-4.50GHz, boxed

Unser Fazit zu den neuen Matisse-Refresh-Prozessoren ändert sich auch nach dem Test der kleineren Serienvertreter nicht. Dank des optimierten 7-nm-Prozesses konnte AMD die Taktraten gegenüber den bisherigen Modellvarianten leicht erhöhen, die 100 bis 200 MHz machen sich in der Praxis jedoch kaum bemerkbar. Vor allem Multi-Threaded-Anwendungen profitieren von dem vergleichsweise doch sehr geringen Taktanstieg wenig bis gar nicht, in Single-Core-Anwendungen und vor allem in Spielen legen die XT-Modelle jedoch spürbar zu. Dies steht jedoch in keinem Verhältnis zum Preis: Zwar sind die Straßenpreise für die neuen XT-Modelle in den letzten Tagen deutlich gefallen, gegenüber den bisherigen Serienvertreten bezahlt man je nach Modell aber noch immer fast 40 bis 90 Euro mehr. Da hilft es auch nicht, dass die Leistungsaufnahme trotz der minimal höheren Leistung unverändert bleibt. Immerhin das Overclocking-Potential fällt besser aus – vor allem die kleinen Modelle kann man deutlich beschleunigen. Taktraten von 4,4 GHz auf allen Kernen sind bei allen Vertretern möglich. Doch Vorsicht: Wer Zen 2 übertakten will, der braucht eine leistungsstarke Kühlung, denn selbst mit unserer All-In-One-Wasserkühlung mit Triple-Radiator kamen wir schnell an die Grenze des Machbaren – teilweise schaltete sich das Testsystem eigenständig ab, um nicht zu überhitzen.

Die neuen XT-CPUs von AMD haben bei uns einen gemischten Eindruck hinterlassen. Einerseits ist es löblich, dass die Performance erhöht werden konnte, ohne dafür die TDP anzupassen. Die Leistung überzeugt und ist, wie von Zen 2 gewohnt, in Spielen und Anwendungen sehr hoch. Andererseits kommt dieser "Refresh" gefühlt etwas zu spät. Denn viele werden "ihren" Zen 2 bereits gekauft haben und Aufrüster, die bisher auf Zen 3 gewartet haben, werden das auch nach dem Launch der XT-Ryzens tun. Nichtsdestotrotz sind die finalen Fassungen der neuen Zen-XT-Prozessoren das Beste, was AMD derzeit an CPUs auffahren kann. Wer auf ausgereifte, selektierte und bis zum Optimum getunte Zen-2-CPUs gewartet hat, kann jetzt zuschlagen.

Mit Ryzen 9 3900XT, 7 3800XT und 5 3600XT bringt AMD zum ersten Geburtstag von Zen 2 drei optimierte Prozessoren in 7 nm auf den Markt, die Enthusiasten zum gleichen Preis mehr bieten sollen. Im Test zeigen die neuen CPUs am ehesten in Spielen Vorteile, die Wartezeit auf Zen 3 effektiv verkürzen können sie aber nicht.

...Yet the same refrains remain. Price cutting on the regular 3600X, which is down to £205, puts value into the spotlight.

We can recommend the 3600XT, and we can as quickly recommend the 3600X for the sole reason that we think might never notice the performance difference in your real-world usage of the platform. AMD is pricing both the same, so the XT would is the more robust choice. But then again, the street prices of the 3600X might be a notch more interesting. We would recommend an LCS cooling solution to go with that, and that can increase the bill of ownership. Then again, who (aside from aquaphobic users) hasn't got LCD these days? You have seen it, there are some offsets here and there, but overall you'll gain up to perhaps 5% performance in the lower threaded situations. While that is an admirable value, we also see the processor have to deal with a bit of heat build-up faster. This processor quickly runs close to 70 Degrees C on full load, and that's based on an X63 280mm LCS cooler. Basically, AMD has pushed the max out of the 3600XT throughout the score of threads. There wasn't much left to tweak and that's not a bad thing as AMD did the work for you. For gaming, you're good to go as with any graphics card, just not the 1000 USD ones, the performance is there unless you want to squeeze out every bit of remaining perf, after QHD and UHD it's just not relevant anymore even to discuss. At 249 USD AMD prices this product the same as they priced the 3600X last year. As far as six-core processors go this could be high up on the wish list for many, as you'll gain solid performance across the board, no matter if that is single or multi-threaded. Also, at 249 USD, the processor is an ideal product for a gaming PC. It needs robust cooling, but that goes for any proc these days. So you need to balance things out with what is worth your while. Regardlessly the 3600 XT, preferably with good LCS unit runs fantastic. In the end, whatever you choose, you'll enjoy it. Recommended.

Built around the Zen 2 microarchitecture, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT uses a chiplet design which combines 7 nm and 12 nm parts to deliver a more powerful, and power-efficient processor at a great price point. The end result is significantly better single-core and multi-core performance over previous generation Ryzen processors. There is no doubt that this 6-core, 12-thread processor offers great performance at a great price point, with a better Wraith Spire cooler to boot.

The 3rd Generation Ryzen CPUs continue to be massively impressive, and with this updated trio, they have only increased in our estimation. An excellent trio for anyone looking for lots of performance without needing to sell the family silver.

Right now, there are a lot of great options for your new work and gaming PC. The Ryzen 5 3600XT is in a really strong position though, offering performance that can match that of much more expensive models. However, at just £225 it’s not overly expensive either. It’s about the same price as some competitive Intel options, but you don’t get PCIe Gen 4 on the Intel options just yet.

Now then, should you buy an AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT? At $250, the answer to this question is complex. $265 gets you the Intel Core i5-10600K, which ends up slightly behind the 3600XT in price-performance, but yields 2% more compute performance, and a good 1.3%–3.5% higher frame rates in 1440p and 4K UHD resolutions. At $200, the dark horse of this review is the Ryzen 5 3600X, which the 3600XT attempts to succeed in AMD's product stack, posting 19% higher price-performance. The Ryzen 5 3600, much like the i5-10400F, offers over 40% higher price-performance thanks to excellent pricing. Before you jump the gun on an i5-10600K, though, you should take a look at the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is going for around $275 these days, just $10 more, but offers two more cores, similar gaming performance, but significantly better multi-threaded performance, and a Wraith Prism cooler. Given the 3600X is hovering around $200 these days, $230 would have been a better price for the 3600XT. No amount of overclocking the 3600XT can get it to match the 3700X. Your decision to pick the 3600XT over the i5-10600K should hence ride on other factors, such as M.2 PCIe gen 4.0 future-proofing or you falling woefully short of just $25 to pick up a 3700X. On the technical side, the Ryzen 5 3600XT is a great CPU, what's holding it back is pricing. If only its price premium over the 3600X were $20 instead of $50, I would definitely be willing to spend the extra money on this chip, and we'd give it our recommended award.