The Ryzen 5 5600 is an amazing budget CPU from AMD. It offers a 6-core, 12-thread processor that base clocks at 3.5 GHz and boosts up to 4.4 GHz. It is priced at $193.78 on Amazon (as of 2/4/26). This CPU uses the AM4 socket type, which is not AMD’s current platform (AM5). While AM4 is older, it is still very capable and does not automatically mean the CPU is slower—performance depends more on the architecture than just the socket.

One thing I noticed during installation is that some older AM4 motherboards may require a BIOS update before the Ryzen 5 5600 will work. This can be inconvenient if the board does not support BIOS flashback. Additionally, because AM4 uses a PGA (Pin Grid Array) design, the pins are located on the CPU itself. If any of those pins get bent during installation, it can potentially ruin the CPU, so you do need to be careful when handling it.

Even though there may be some concerns with BIOS compatibility and careful installation, it is still a great budget-friendly option. In my testing and research, PassMark shows it with a single-thread rating of 3,257 and a multi-thread score of 21,545, which is very solid for the price point. In everyday use—gaming, multitasking, and light content creation—it performs smoothly and feels responsive. For a mid-range build, it definitely holds its own.

Specs of Ryzen 5 5600
Class: Desktop

Socket: AM4

Base Clock: 3.5 GHz

Max Boost Clock: 4.4 GHz

Cores: 6
Threads: 12

Typical TDP: 65 W

Cache per CPU Package:
L1 Instruction Cache: 6 × 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 6 × 32 KB
L2 Cache: 6 × 512 KB
L3 Cache: 32 MB

***Please note this is for a school project***