Intel Core i5-13600K CPU Review

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Rendering Performance

We will now take a look at how rendering performance compares.

Cinebench R23

Intel Core i5-13600K Cinebench R23 Multi-Core

In Cinebench R23 we see the great benefits of having 14 cores and 20 threads on the Core i5-13600K versus the 6-core/12-thread 7600X. The Intel Core i5-13600K is a whopping 60% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X! This is huge, a very big difference. Compared to the previous gen 12600K the new 13600K is 38% faster, which is a nice boost gen over gen. The 13600K is even faster than the 12700K.

Intel Core i5-13600K Cinebench R23 Single-Core

In Single-Core testing the Intel Core i5-13600K is 2% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X in single-thread performance. Compared to the 12600K the new 13600K is 4% faster.

Blender Open Data Benchmark

Take note, the Blender Open Data Benchmark has changed, it now runs 3 scenes and spits out a “Samples per Minute” number, where higher samples are better.

Intel Core i5-13600K Blender Benchmark monster

Blender is going to be another application that benefits from more cores and threads on the 13600K. The 13600K is 49% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X. Compared to the 12600K the new 13600K is 37% faster. The 13600K is faster than the 12700K.

Intel Core i5-13600K Blender benchmark junkshop

In junkshop the Core i5-13600K is 49% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X. Compared to the 12600K the 13600K is 38% faster.

Intel Core i5-13600K Blender Benchmark classroom

In Blender classroom the Core i5-13600K is 47% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X. Compared to the 12600K the new 13600K is 36% faster.

V-RAY 5 Benchmark

Intel Core i5-13600K V-RAY 5

In V-RAY 5 the new Intel Core i5-13600K is 41% faster than the Ryzen 5 7600X. Compared to the 12600K the new 13600K is 37% faster. We also see the 13600K edge out the 12700K and the Ryzen 7 7700X by 8%.

HandBrake

Intel Core i5-13600K HandBrake

In HandBrake video encoding/transcoding the Intel Core i5-13600K does extremely well compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X. It allows you to export video much faster, saving you 3.3 minutes of time in our test or 33% faster over the 7600X. The 13600K is also faster than the 12700K and 7700X. Compared to the 12600K it’s a 24% improvement. These are significant results, in fact, the 13600K is very close to the time of the Ryzen 9 7900X! They are only 5% apart! That is just simply amazing, and an advantage of all those cores and threads.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Performance
10
Efficiency (Perf per Watt)
5
Features
10
Value
9

SUMMARY

We put the Intel Core i5-13600K Raptor Lake CPU through its paces and benchmarked synthetic and gaming scenarios at various resolutions. The CPU maintained a high-performance level, rivaling the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X in multi-threaded workloads, and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in gaming. It is loaded with modern features and cores for multithreading. However, it came at a high cost of power usage and temperature where it lost points for efficiency. Its overall value is detracted by way of this tremendous power utilization in order to maintain its performance leadership. Its overall value is good from a performance and price perspective, but its efficiency is the cost.

Discussion (13 replies)

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Grimlakin
Grimlakin 👍 1

These CPU's are amazing... but the high core counts... seem odd.

IF you need high core count systems are you really gonna 'save' the 50-100 bucks and not just get the higher end part? I mean there are efficiencies and such and desktop consumers who see a 50 buck price difference as just TOO much of a hurdle... but lets get real. Those are starting enthusiests... and will they be doing something that need or warrants that many threads? Couldn't they have gotten the performance for gaming without the complexity of more threads and reduced cost even more? Even if only cost internally for the product stack?

Brian_B

"Grimlakin, post: 61605, member: 215" wrote:

Couldn't they have gotten the performance for gaming without the complexity of more threads and reduced cost even more? Even if only cost internally for the product stack?


I think, as you move down the stack - it's all about salvage bins and strategically pricing/marketing them. Not that these were specifically created for this mid-market segment.

Space_Ranger
Space_Ranger 👍 2

I really like Intel's CPU. I want to REALLY like them. That power draw though. I can't. I can't do it.

Brian_B
Brian_B 👍 2

It's kind of funny that all those Efficiency cores and the power is still what it is.

Space_Ranger
Space_Ranger 👍 5

They are "Efficient" at consuming power.. :)

LazyGamer
LazyGamer 👍 2

"Grimlakin, post: 61605, member: 215" wrote:

Couldn't they have gotten the performance for gaming without the complexity of more threads and reduced cost even more?


E-cores are cheap. Really cheap, as they're essentially re-worked, stripped-down Skylake cores. They lack HT which was one of the main sources of security issues for Skylake.

And for Raptor Lake, over Alder Lake before, the E-cores run a bit faster, have lower latency, and do not inhibit ring clock speed - which results in higher overall memory bandwidth and lower memory access latency for every core.

So those eight E-cores on the 13600K and 13700K are extremely helpful. They still have full-fat FPUs and so on, so you could think of them as being something like having a whole 9700K (at 10nm / Intel 7) bolted on to the side of the six or eight P-cores in these CPUs. They can handle any work assigned to them.

"Grimlakin, post: 61605, member: 215" wrote:

IF you need high core count systems are you really gonna 'save' the 50-100 bucks and not just get the higher end part?


For the 13600K, you probably should stretch to the 13700K for the additional two P-cores. But just for gaming? Hard to make that argument depending on what other budget considerations are at hand.

"Grimlakin, post: 61605, member: 215" wrote:

Couldn't they have gotten the performance for gaming without the complexity of more threads and reduced cost even more? Even if only cost internally for the product stack?


I guess this depends on the comparison. There's a lot of elegance to be found in AMD's more traditional approach, but for those that do more with their systems than just gaming - and by more I mean they have all the stuff running that a desktop user and a gamer would have in the background - Intel's approach makes sense. The P-cores can handle the demanding gaming threads, the E-cores can handle everything else - effortlessly.

Hard to measure and hard to reproduce I know, as no reviewer would purposefully use such a methodology on a product launch review, let alone variability with all the additional variables and likely run-to-run variance casting doubt on the results. This is just how I look at it.

"Brian_B, post: 61609, member: 96" wrote:

I think, as you move down the stack - it's all about salvage bins and strategically pricing/marketing them. Not that these were specifically created for this mid-market segment.


As long as Intel has been doing these bins, I expect they very much planned things this way. Intel needed to both head off AMD's gains with Zen 4 as well as provide an uplift in comparison to Alder Lake, thus providing a motive for folks with anything older to jump in this round.

Strong gaming performance, strong MT performance, and available inexpensive boards and support for less expensive DDR4 with Raptor Lake all put Intel pretty substantially in the value leader slot.

"Space_Ranger, post: 61619, member: 52" wrote:

They are "Efficient" at consuming power.. :)


Zen 4 is leading in perf/watt at the very highest loads, but average loads are surprisingly 'normal' for both of them. For gaming and general desktop use, outside of say 3D rendering, both ecosystems are more or less equivalent.

Peter_Brosdahl
Peter_Brosdahl 👍 4

Such a mixed bag with these new processors for gamers but this one is a bit more palatable than the 13900K. Still going to wait and see what AMD's next 3D offering is but it all adds up to more knowledge for the most informed purchase.

Brian_B
Brian_B 👍 3

"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 61656, member: 87" wrote:

Such a mixed bag with these new processors for gamers but this one is a bit more palatable than the 13900K. Still going to wait and see what AMD's next 3D offering is but it all adds up to more knowledge for the most informed purchase.


Yeah, if I were building a system from scratch right now, I could see going any direction really and coming out with a really solid system. Would probably come down to whatever I could catch on sale that particular day.

S

"LazyGamer, post: 61626, member: 1367" wrote:

Strong gaming performance, strong MT performance, and available inexpensive boards and support for less expensive DDR4 with Raptor Lake all put Intel pretty substantially in the value leader slot.

Hell no, just factor the cost of an AIO cooler and suddenly the value crashes to the ground.

Zen 3 is a much better value if only not as fast.

LazyGamer
LazyGamer 👍 1

"Stoly, post: 61707, member: 1474" wrote:

Hell no, just factor the cost of an AIO cooler and suddenly the value crashes to the ground.



Zen 3 is a much better value if only not as fast.


I'd have figured that in anyway :unsure:

Not a 'fan' of using HSFs except where necessary or in truly low-powered scenarios.

Niner51
Niner51 👍 4

"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 61656, member: 87" wrote:

Such a mixed bag with these new processors for gamers but this one is a bit more palatable than the 13900K.


Bringing up this old thread due to my "downgrading" from a 13900K to a 13600KF. After moving into my new home and being in a designated main level bedroom/man cave over my basement man cave in my previous home where temperatures were not as noticeable I just wanted to have something that ran cooler which this does compared to my previous 13900K. The 13600KF is just as good as the 13900K at 4K with little to no drop off in FPS as this review suggests.

Space_Ranger
Space_Ranger 👍 2

"Niner51, post: 73770, member: 106" wrote:

Bringing up this old thread due to my "downgrading" from a 13900K to a 13600KF. After moving into my new home and being in a designated main level bedroom/man cave over my basement man cave in my previous home where temperatures were not as noticeable I just wanted to have something that ran cooler which this does compared to my previous 13900K. The 13600KF is just as good as the 13900K at 4K with little to no drop off in FPS as this review suggests.


That's nice to see! Thanks for sharing!

LazyGamer
LazyGamer 👍 1

"LazyGamer, post: 61709, member: 1367" wrote:

Not a 'fan' of using HSFs except where necessary or in truly low-powered scenarios.


So, I take this back. The latest round or two of air coolers have pushed more than adequate cooling down to US$50 to US$70. Obviously be mindful of voltages under load!

Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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