AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600 for Content Creatives

I wanted to compare the 8-core AMD 3800X to the 6-core AMD 3600. Which PC will perform better at creative tasks? Presumably, the AMD Ryzen 7 3800X, but how much? That is more of the picture I want to express in this comparison post: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600.

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC, AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9GHz, Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi & Win 10 Home (SLC8260A3)
Check the price on Amazon

AMD 3800X vs 3600

CyberPowerPC - Gamer Master Gaming Desktop - AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT - 1TB HDD + 500GB SSD
Check the price on Best Buy

The AMD 3800X has a 300Mhz base clock lead over the AMD 3600 however, this might not make that big difference with Adobe Creative Cloud or LuminarAI photo editing software.

Both builds have the same amount of memory but have different hard drive configurations. Hopefully, the 500GB SSD is installed as the boot drive.

Ryzen 7 3800X vs Ryzen 5 3600

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

I would have liked to compare the 3600 to the 3900X; however, I could not find any specials on that magnificent processor. It seems to be geared more towards enthusiasts that prefer to build their own PCs. I am aware the 3800x is the ugly duckling that most reviewers don't recommend, but it can make sense if it's the better deal over the present 3700x deals, essentially the same processor, as far as performance is concerned.

First off, let's take a look at the major differences between the specs of these machines.

Specs

Supreme vs Master

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme PCCyberPowerPC Gamer Master PC
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9GHz 9 (water)AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6Ghz (air)
Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GBRadeon RX 5600 XT 6GB
16GB DDR4 (same)16GB DDR4 (same)
1TB NVMe SSD1TB HDD + 500GB SSD
600W Power Supply600W Power Supply
$1,076.09 (with tax)$790.41 (with tax)

Actual Parts

Supreme vs Master

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme PCCyberPowerPC Gamer Master PC
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9GHz (water)AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6Ghz (air)
ASRock B550AM Gaming (P1.40)ASUS PRIME B550M-A AC (1004)
ASRock Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GBASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB
Crucial 2x8GB DDR4-3000Crucial 2x8GB DDR4-2666
1TB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD512GB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD
1TB Seagate BarraCuda
EVGA 600W 80 Plus GoldThermaltake 600W 80 Plus
$1,076.09 (with tax)$790.41 (with tax)

I wanted to be sure to include this information because it will impact the performance of the tests performed depending on off the shelf availability.

Connectivity

Supreme vs Master

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CyberPowerPC Gamer Supreme PCCyberPowerPC Gamer Master PC
5 x USB 3.0
1 x USB-C
6 x USB 3.0
2x Front USB 3.02x Front USB 3.0
10/100/1000 (same)10/100/1000 (same)
802.11AC WiFi802.11AC WiFi
7.1 Channel surround7.1 Channel surround
Keyboard and MouseKeyboard and Mouse

The Gamer Master (AMD 3600) arrived from Best Buy with some small blemishes and nicks on the case but nothing large per se, in a self-explanatory retail PC box. Possibly from shipping or during the assembly process. The Gamer Supreme PC arrived in a non-descript box from Amazon, and its case is looking flawless. Discreet boxing is good at all times of the year.

Each boot up to a plain black background, which I don't mind at all. I only saw CYBERPOWERPC referenced in the 'basic information about your computer' section in Windows. Both came running Windows 10 Home Version 2004 (OS build: 19041.208) and Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2202.130.0. I checked for updates and only went back to the version 20H2 October update. Radeon Software Version 20.9.2 which was released on 9/22/2020. Nice! Not bad at all.

Neither computers have SD or MicroSD card readers. This will need to be added as a USB add-on for a few bucks if you want to import your camera or drone footage.

I took a look at the applications pre-installed on both of the systems and couldn't find anything non-Microsoft in the list besides the AMD Chipset Software and AMD Software package for the GPU. I chose to uninstall Microsoft 365, but that comes with Windows 10.

I saw memory usage of 4.4/15.9 GB with nothing running, Google Chrome installed, and Microsoft 365 uninstalled.

CINEBENCH R23

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC
(AMD 3800X)
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop
(AMD 3600)
CPU (Multi-Core)CPU (Multi-Core)
12658 pts9265 pts
CPU (Single Core)CPU (Single Core)
1314 pts1251 pts
MP RatioMP Ratio
9.64x7.41x

I ran CINEBENCH R23 on the AMD 3600, scored 9265 pts on Multi-Core and 1251 pts on Single-Core benchmarks. The computer was pleasantly quiet during both benchmarks. I re-ran the Multi-Core to check temperatures and found the AMD 3600 reached 50.0°C halfway through the benchmark. The 3800x, on the other hand, reached a score of 12658 pts on the multi-core benchmark, 1314 pts for single-core and reached 77.0°C (170°F).

Impressed to see the 3800x with a 369 point lead compared to the 1950x, which is the last CPU I used in my previous desktop build. Only a few years ago, and this consumer processor is crushing it! :o

I opened up Open Hardware Monitor to see the highest temperature at idle at 35.0°C for the 3600 on-air, while I observed the water-cooled 3800x bounce between 34°C to 46°C while not under load.

The parts they use in these desktops can vary. For instance, Gamer Master (AMD 3600) came with a 512GB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD and 1TB Seagate BarraCuda 7200 RPM SATA 3.5" Hard Drive, per device manager. The Gamer Supreme came with solo 1TB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD.

The motherboard of the Gamer Master (AMD 3600) is an ASUS PRIME B550M-A AC with BIOS 1004 from August 17, 2020. This MB supports up to 5xxx Series Desktop Processors. I have many good experiences with ASUS Motherboards, so pleased to see one in this build. It has dual M.2 support and USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports. Nevertheless, the Gamer Supreme shipped with an ASRock B550AM Phantom Gaming MB with BIOS 1.0.04 from January 9th, 2020.

Happy to see they installed two sticks of DDR4 memory for proper dual-channel speeds on each system. Watching Linus Tech Tips latest video on pre-built machines showed many major PC builders forgo this, run their systems in single-channel, which is worse for performance and a waste of memory.

Supreme PC
Disk R/W

1TB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD
(777.18 GB free of 930 GB)

Test TypeRead (MB/s)Write (MB/s)
Gamer Supreme PC
EEQ1M
Q8T1
2450.061981.80
Gamer Supreme PC
SEQ1M
Q32T1
2364.831972.51
Gamer Supreme PC
RND4K
Q32T16
797.461658.04
Gamer Supreme PC
RND4K
Q1T1
54.782020.09

Master PC
Disk R/W

512GB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD (Boot Drive)
(422 GB free of 465 GB)

Test TypeRead (MB/s)Write (MB/s)
Gamer Master PC
EEQ1M
Q8T1
2485.921818.88
Gamer Master PC
SEQ1M
Q32T1
2480.721817.13
Gamer Master PC
RND4K
Q32T16
1302.28641.63
Gamer Master PC
RND4K
Q1T1
56.95203.31

Master PC
Disk R/W

1TB Seagate BarraCuda 7200 RPM SATA 3.5" Hard Drive
(931 GB free of 931 GB)

Test TypeRead (MB/s)Write (MB/s)
Gamer Master PC
EEQ1M
Q8T1
183.74174.16
Gamer Master PC
SEQ1M
Q1T1
182.67178.68
Gamer Master PC
RND4K
Q32T1
1.531.42
Gamer Master PC
RND4K
Q1T1
0.641.37

Next, I used PassMark AppTimer to calculate the time to startup these programs when I tested my laptop but for these tests, I decided to give PugetBench for Adobe Creative Cloud a try because I felt it would paint a clearer picture of how well these systems perform.

Adobe Creative Cloud Benchmarks

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

PugetBench for Lightroom Classic 0.92, Lightroom Classic 10.0

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC
(AMD 3800X)
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop
(AMD 3600)
Overall ScoreOverall Score
905.5834
Active ScoreActive Score
83.579.5
Passive ScorePassive Score
97.687.3
Link to PugetBench ResultsLink to PugetBench Results

I initially ran this test on Lightroom Classic 9.3 (AMD 3600) before realized there was an update out and saw the following differences between 9.3 and 10.0.
Overall Score: +18
Active Score: +4.4
Passive Score: Same

The AMD 3800X does incredibly well with the Adobe Lightroom Classic workload! :)

PugetBench for Photoshop 0.92, Photoshop 21.2.4

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC
(AMD 3800X)
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop
(AMD 3600)
Overall ScoreOverall Score
852721
GPU ScoreGPU Score
88.583.4
General ScoreGeneral Score
75.468.4
Filter ScoreFilter Score
94.975.7
Link to PugetBench ResultsLink to PugetBench Results

PugetBench for Premiere Pro 0.92, Premiere Pro 14.5.0

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC
(AMD 3800X)
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop
(AMD 3600)
Overall ScoreOverall Score
587491
Standard Export ScoreStandard Export Score
68.656.9
Standard Live Playback ScoreStandard Live Playback Score
48.741.2
GPU ScoreGPU Score
40.231.3
Link to PugetBench ResultsLink to PugetBench Results

PugetBench for DaVinci Resolve 0.92.1, DaVinci Resolve (Free) 16.2.7

CyberpowerPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC
(AMD 3800X)
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop
(AMD 3600)
Overall ScoreOverall Score
653513
4K Media Score4K Media Score
6550
GPU Effects ScoreGPU Effects Score
3930
Fusion ScoreFusion Score
9274
Link to PugetBench ResultsLink to PugetBench Results

Application Startup Time

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

I used PassMark AppTimer to calculate the time to startup these programs and RAW files from the Mavic 2 Pro for the HDR tests.

Settings Used:
Executions: 10
Delay: 1000 milliseconds
Window Name (checked/enabled)
Visible (checked/enabled)
Window Close Method: WM_CLOSE

LuminarAI 1.0.0 (7261)

Pre-order LuminarAI today for the best offer.

Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800x): It took between 6.0031 to 6.1247 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Game Master (AMD 3600): It took between 6.6033 to 8.2481 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Luminar 4.3.0

Download a free trial of Luminar 4.

Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800x): It took between 1.7300 to 1.7644 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Game Master (AMD 3600): It took between 1.8478 to 1.8935 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Aurora HDR 1.0.0.2550

Check the price of Aurora HDR.

Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800x): It took between 1.0799 to 1.1150 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Game Master (AMD 3600): It took between 1.1370 to 1.2387 seconds to launch (10 launches).

Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800x):
3-Photo HDR (with Lightroom Adjustments): 4.5 to 5.5 seconds
5-Photo HDR (with Lightroom Adjustments): 5.75 to 6.75 seconds

Game Master (AMD 3600):
3-Photo HDR (with Lightroom Adjustments): 5.5 to 6.5 seconds
5-Photo HDR (with Lightroom Adjustments): 6.5 to 7.5 seconds

Settings used:
Auto Aligned: ON
Ghost Reduction: OFF
Chromatic: OFF

Gaming Benchmarks

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

I wasn't planning on downloading any games at first but figured it would be good to download the massive 84.73 GB digital download of Gears 5 for the benchmark. I saw around 225-235 Mb/s over ethernet on a 300 Mb/s cable connection, but that could be because of all the people at home these days.

I turned on Delivery Optimization in Windows and saw a minor increase in download speeds. This will come in handy when downloading software on the next PC I will be testing.

In Windows search. Type "Allow downloads from other PCs" and you will be brought to the Windows Control Panel section for Delivery Optimization. From here you can select if you want your downloads from other PCs on your network or PCs on your local network plus PCs on the Internet. If you find this slows down your internet you can always flip this back after you are finished downloading.

Gears 5 is available now with Xbox Game Pass. (Xbox Series X|S ● Xbox One ● Windows 10 PCs)

Right now you can get 3 months of Ultimate for $1.

Gears 5 on 4K

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs 5600 XT
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs Ryzen 5 3600
Average Framerate:
60 vs 59.7 (.3 difference)
Average GPU Framerate:
63.9 vs 62.2 (1.7 difference in framerate)
Average CPU Framerate (game):
260.6 vs 221.1 (39.5 difference in framerate)
Average CPU Framerate (render):
203.8 vs 176.2 (27.6 difference in framerate)
Average Min. Framerate (bottom 5%)
58.3 vs 55.5 (2.8 difference in framerate)
GPU Bound & CPU Bound
99.94% vs 99.97% (0.03% difference)

We are really not seeing much of a difference between the RX 5700 and the 5600 XT. I was hoping for a bigger difference but it just is not there for this title at 4K with a locked 60FPS. You can see in the screenshots above which settings were used on each game benchmark. The 5600 XT bottomed out at 55.5FPS, while the 5700 XT managed 58.3FPS.

Then again, there is a significant improvement between these two CPUs which you can see in the nice increase in CPU framerates but at the end of the day, its just bragging rights as there was very little noticeable difference visually. :)

Gears 5 on 1080P

AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Gears 5 ran well with most of the settings on ULTRA at a resolution of 3840x2160. No surprise, it was very CPU Bound at 99.97% per the benchmark results.

Forza Horizon 4 Demo

3800X vs 3600

Final Thoughts

I didn't notice any obnoxious lights on the Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800X) PC while it was asleep, but I did find the Gamer Master (AMD 3600) did have an annoying blue light that blinks near the power button while it is in hibernation. I kept placing the remote control for my monitor on top of this light so it wouldn't illuminate the whole room.

If you want better gaming performance, it looks like the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is plenty of CPU and a better GPU would be best for optimal graphics. You will save money on the CPU and better FPS. :)

The Gamer Supreme (AMD 3800X) is a bit stronger PC if you plan on using it for most creative works instead of gaming. The AMD 3700 or AMD 3700X could also be exchanged at this price range for similar results.

If you wanted better performance for gaming it looks like the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is plenty for CPU and a better GPU would be best for optimal graphics. :)

I wanted to run a benchmark on Luminar AI, Aurora HDR, and Luminar 4; however, I couldn't find any solid options. Instead, I used timing speed for launching the programs and a manually timed HDR combination.

I hope this article helps you in your creative decision making on what system best serves your needs!

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