Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Head-to-head CPU comparison: cores, clocks, cache, benchmarks, and value. Which belongs in your next build?
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
Intel's mid-range Arrow Lake. 14 cores in a 125W envelope is impressive. Solid all-rounder when you want Intel.
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AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
The eternal budget champion. AM4 platform is mature, B450/B550 boards are dirt cheap, and 6 fast cores still play modern games well at 1080p. Often the foundation for sub-$700 gaming PCs.
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| Spec | Intel Core Ultra 5 245K | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
|---|---|---|
| Price (MSRP) | $309 | $159 |
| Cores / Threads | 14 / 14 | 6 / 12 |
| Performance Cores | 6 | 6 |
| Efficiency Cores | 8 | 0 |
| Base Clock | 4.2 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| Boost Clock | 5.2 GHz | 4.6 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 24 MB | 32 MB |
| TDP | 125W | 65W |
| Socket | LGA 1851 | AM4 |
| Memory Support | DDR5-6400 | DDR4-3200 |
| Process Node | TSMC 3nm | TSMC 7nm |
| Cinebench R23 Multi | 24,800 | 11,200 |
| Cinebench R23 Single | 2,150 | 1,580 |
| Gaming Score | 73/100 | 65/100 |
| Productivity Score | 78/100 | 45/100 |
| Value Score | 78/100 | 95/100 |
The Verdict
Based on our benchmark database and scoring, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K wins on gaming by about 8 points, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K pulls ahead in productivity by 33 points. Overall the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K comes out ahead in this matchup, but the right pick depends on what you're actually building: gaming-first rigs favor higher single-thread and 3D V-Cache designs, while streaming and content-creation rigs benefit more from raw multi-core output. Note the socket mismatch — the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K needs an LGA 1851 motherboard, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X needs AM4, so these aren't drop-in swaps on the same platform.