AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

As long as unmatched 1080p gaming isn't the main objective for your build, it's hard to beat the high clock speeds, thread and core count, and overall performance of AMD's Ryzen 5 1600X CPU for the price.

The Ryzen 5 chips represent the middle tier of AMD's relatively new Ryzen processor platform, but are based on the same "Zen" architecture as the faster, more expensive Ryzen 7 line. There are more variations of Ryzen 5 chips than their superior counterparts, with the Ryzen 5 1600X ($249.99) topping out the midrange lineup in price and power. Unless you really need the extra cores and threads offered by Ryzen 7, the 1600X is arguably the best value in the Ryzen lineup so far.

The 1600X features six cores and 12 threads, up from the lowest-cost Ryzen 5 chip, the four-core and eight-thread Ryzen 5 1400. Its base clock speed is 3.6GHz, but it boasts a 4GHz boost and can go beyond that with an efficient cooler in your build (no cooler is included here). AMD rates its TDP (thermal design power, which measures heat dissipation requirements) at 95 watts, which is the same as the higher-end Ryzen 7 chips, which should only come into play if you're building a smaller system walking the power consumption tightrope. The 1600X (and the other Ryzen chips) feature simultaneous multithreading, similar to the efficiency-boosting Hyper-Threading Technology in most of Intel's midrange and high-end chips.

The speedy performance for the price is what makes Ryzen chips so appealing, undercutting Intel's offerings significantly without sacrificing too much speed, and AMD's partners released motherboards that help sweeten the deal. For general productivity, media projects, and multitasking, the 1600X performs incredibly well. It's even capable of beating the $340 Intel Core i7-7700K on some benchmark tests when all cores are engaged, especially excelling at 4K to 1080p video conversion.

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

For gaming, Intel still has the edge at 1080p. AMD has been working to improve Ryzen performance in that area, and has done so with some updates, but the 1600X still sees meaningful frame rate drops compared with the i7-7700K. The Intel chip costs more, so it's not equal footing, but the lower price does not come with equivalent performance in all areas. Keep this in mind if gaming is more important for you than general processor-intensive tasks.

All said, the Ryzen 5 1600X is a fantastic performer for the price, and should be one of your top considerations barring a gaming-centric build, in which case the 1500X may be a better value. For more details on the Ryzen platform, the 1600X's features, and specific benchmark testing, read the full AMD Ryzen 5 1600X review on our sister site, Computer Shopper.