AMD Ryzen 5 2600E vs Intel Core 5 320 Comparison
AMD Ryzen 5 2600E
Core 5 320
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Ryzen 5 2600E vs Intel Core 5 320
FAQ
Q: Which processor has more threads?
A: The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E has 12 threads across 6 cores, while the Intel Core 5 320 also has 6 cores but only 6 threads, meaning it lacks simultaneous multithreading.
Q: What are the process nodes for these two chips?
A: The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E is built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the Intel Core 5 320 uses a 3 nm process at Intel.
Q: Which chip wins in single-core performance?
A: The Intel Core 5 320 dominates single-core tests. In Cinebench R23 single-core, it scores 1926 versus 1481 for the AMD, a 23.1% advantage. In PassMark single-thread, it leads 4045 to 2297, a 43.2% gap.
Q: Does the AMD chip win any benchmark categories?
A: Yes. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E wins 6 of the 17 head-to-head tests, including Cinebench R23 multi-core (10494 vs 6197, a 69.3% lead), PassMark data compression (173653 vs 148779, a 16.7% lead), and PassMark integer math (39781 vs 32323, a 23.1% lead).
Q: What memory types does the Intel Core 5 320 support?
A: The Intel chip supports DDR5 and LPDDR5X memory, but only through a single-channel memory bus with a bandwidth of 59.7 GB/s. The AMD chip supports DDR4 via a dual-channel bus.
Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Core 5 320?
A: The launch MSRP is $340. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.
Architecture Differences
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E belongs to the 2000 series, built on the Zen architecture with the Pinnacle Ridge refresh (Zen+). It uses a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with 4,800 million transistors on a 192 mm² die. The Intel Core 5 320, by contrast, is a Wildcat Lake generation part built on a 3 nm process at Intel. No transistor count or die size is recorded for the Intel chip.
The core configurations diverge sharply. Both chips have 6 physical cores, but the AMD part supports 12 threads through SMT, while the Intel part is limited to 6 threads. Cache hierarchies also differ. The AMD chip has 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3. The Intel chip has 192 KB of L1 cache, 2.5 MB of L2, and 6 MB of shared L3.
Memory support reflects their different market segments. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E is a desktop part on AMD Socket AM4 with dual-channel DDR4 support. The Intel Core 5 320 is a mobile part on Intel BGA 1516 with single-channel DDR5 and LPDDR5X support, and a memory bandwidth of 59.7 GB/s. The Intel chip also includes integrated graphics (Intel Xe3 Graphics with 2 Xe cores) and a PCIe Gen 4 interface with 6 CPU lanes, while the AMD chip has no recorded integrated graphics or PCIe details.
Clock speeds show the fundamental trade-off. The AMD chip has a base clock of 3.10 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The Intel chip has a much lower base clock of 1.50 GHz but a higher boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 15 W TDP. Neither chip has an unlocked multiplier.
Where Each One Wins
The Intel Core 5 320 wins the majority of head-to-head tests (11 of 17), and its victories concentrate in single-threaded and light-threaded workloads. It leads in Cinebench R15 single-core by 46%, Cinebench R20 single-core by 19.3%, Cinebench R23 single-core by 23.1%, and PassMark single-thread by 43.2%. It also wins PassMark physics by 38.4%, floating point math by 50.6%, extended instructions by 50.9%, and find prime numbers by 70.9%. The PassMark multithread test goes to Intel by 20.1% (15450 vs 12346), and Cinebench R20 multi-core goes to Intel by 19.3% (5462 vs 4407). This pattern suits workloads that depend on high per-core throughput, such as lightly threaded productivity apps, scripting, and certain physics simulations.
The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E wins 6 tests, and its strongest area is heavy multi-core rendering. The largest win is Cinebench R23 multi-core, where it scores 10494 versus 6197, a 69.3% advantage. It also wins Cinebench R15 multi-core by a narrow 0.3% (1057 vs 1054), PassMark data compression by 16.7%, data encryption by 10.6%, integer math by 23.1%, and random string sorting by 16%. These results indicate that the AMD chip's 12 threads give it an edge in sustained parallel workloads like video encoding, compression, and integer-heavy processing, even though its older architecture trails in per-core speed.
Specification Differences
The two processors differ on nearly every major specification. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600E has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the Intel Core 5 320 has 6 cores and 6 threads. Base clocks are 3.10 GHz for AMD and 1.50 GHz for Intel; boost clocks are 4.00 GHz and 4.60 GHz respectively. TDP is 65 W for AMD and 15 W for Intel.
The AMD chip uses AMD Socket AM4, the Intel chip uses Intel BGA 1516. Process nodes are 12 nm (GlobalFoundries) versus 3 nm (Intel). L1 cache is 96 KB per core versus 192 KB total, L2 is 512 KB per core versus 2.5 MB, and L3 is 16 MB shared versus 6 MB shared. Memory support is DDR4 dual-channel for AMD, versus DDR5 and LPDDR5X single-channel for Intel, with the Intel part listing 59.7 GB/s bandwidth.
The Intel chip includes integrated graphics (Intel Xe3 Graphics, 2 Xe cores) and PCIe Gen 4 with 6 CPU lanes; the AMD chip has no recorded integrated graphics or PCIe data. The Intel chip has a recorded launch MSRP of $340 and part number SAE3H; the AMD chip has neither. Both are production-active, support no ECC memory, and have locked multipliers. The AMD chip was released on 2018-09-18, the Intel chip on 2026-04-15.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The benchmark data shows a clear split between the two chips. The Intel Core 5 320 wins 11 of 17 tests, but the AMD Ryzen 5 2600E posts the largest single margin.
The most striking result is Cinebench R23 multi-core. The AMD chip scores 10494 against Intel's 6197, a 69.3% lead. This is the biggest delta in either direction across all recorded tests. The AMD chip also wins Cinebench R15 multi-core, but only by 0.3% (1057 vs 1054), showing that the older test does not fully expose the thread-count advantage.
The Intel chip dominates single-core and math-heavy workloads. In Cinebench R15 single-core, Intel leads 276 to 149, a 46% margin. Cinebench R20 single-core goes to Intel by 19.3% (771 vs 622), and Cinebench R23 single-core by 23.1% (1926 vs 1481). PassMark single-thread shows a 43.2% gap (4045 vs 2297). In PassMark floating point math, Intel nearly doubles AMD's score: 42440 versus 20970, a 50.6% lead. PassMark extended instructions also favor Intel by 50.9% (13262 vs 6509), and find prime numbers by 70.9% (110 vs 32).
The AMD chip wins several integer and data workloads. PassMark integer math goes to AMD by 23.1% (39781 vs 32323). Data compression favors AMD by 16.7% (173653 vs 148779), data encryption by 10.6% (12146 vs 10984), and random string sorting by 16% (20918 vs 18038). PassMark multithread goes to Intel by 20.1% (15450 vs 12346), and PassMark physics to Intel by 38.4% (1221 vs 752).
Overall benchmark averages are close: the AMD chip averages 18230 versus 18023 for Intel, a difference of roughly 1%. Both sit at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs. The AMD chip's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700 (0% delta), AMD EPYC 9274F (0.2%), Intel Core 5 315 (0.2%), and Intel Core i7-9700 (0.3%). The Intel chip's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (0.2%), Intel Core 5 120U (0.7%), Intel Core i5-1334U (-0.7%), and AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (0.7%). The data indicates that these two processors occupy the same overall performance tier, but with sharply different strengths: the AMD chip for parallel throughput and the Intel chip for per-core speed and efficiency.