AMD Ryzen R5 1600 Hex-Core AM4 Processor Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

While the Ryzen R5 1600 is one of the more expensive choices in the Ryzen 5 range, it’s still superb value for money at just £213.13. However, at this price, the R5 1600 is cheaper than the Intel i7-7600K. Of course, let’s not forget the best Intel has to offer for around the same price; the i5-7600 quad-core.

Overview

Once again, it seems we’re blown away by what Ryzen has to offer. I’m a big fan of the R7 series of chips myself, and I invested in the 1700X for my own work system. However, I think the R5 1600 may be one of the best chips of the entire Ryzen series!

This CPU costs less than a lot of the popular Intel offerings, which certainly makes it appealing to any system builder. However, it still delivers the kind of performance you would expect from a high-end desktop processor. When it comes to gaming, it’s no slouch, and unless you’re building an extreme 4K gaming PC, there’s little chance of the R5 1600 causing any bottlenecks with your graphics cards. Of course, it’s unlikely anyone building a system like that would be looking at a £200 CPU, so that’s a moot point.

The R5 1600 may be one of the best chips of the entire Ryzen series!

With a six-core and twelve-thread design, this CPU is adept at multitasking. Of course, with more games now starting to support the use of these extra cores, there are benefits to be found. Furthermore, the additional cores (compared to the more conventional dual and quad cores), have other uses. Of course, if you like to stream your games or run a lot of background applications, there are real benefits to be found. While not the most powerful CPU in the world, those who occasionally need to do some video rendering will also find this chip to be a welcome addition to their build.

Ryzen has already set a new benchmark for Price Vs. Performance in 2017, and the Ryzen R5 1600 is by far one of the best examples of this. When it comes to building a gaming rig on a tighter budget, this is a very exciting option.

Pros

• The best value for money Ryzen processor
• AM4 platform
• Excellent overclocking performance
• Much cheaper than rival Intel offerings
• Great for multitasking
• Robust gaming performance
• Good thermal performance

Cons

• None

“Ryzen 7 is aimed at the enthusiast market, while Ryzen 5 was set to stun the consumer market. The R5 1600 certainly achieves that goal, and would make a great addition to any powerful work or gaming PC, and at a fantastic price too!”