PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Ryzen 5 5600GT

2024

Why buy it

✅+0.3% higher PassMark.
✅50% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Ryzen 9 5980HS.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5980HS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $140 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 5980HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌85.7% higher power demand at 65W vs 35W.

Ryzen 9 5980HS

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +12.8% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 35W instead of 65W, a 30W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (20,257 vs 20,312).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600GT.

Ryzen 5 5600GT

2024

Ryzen 9 5980HS

2021

Why buy it

✅+0.3% higher PassMark.
✅50% more PCIe lanes (24 vs 16) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Wraith Stealth), unlike Ryzen 9 5980HS.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +12.8% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 35W instead of 65W, a 30W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 9 5980HS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Launch MSRP is still $140 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 5980HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌85.7% higher power demand at 65W vs 35W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (20,257 vs 20,312).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Ryzen 5 5600GT.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 5600GT better than Ryzen 9 5980HS?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Ryzen 9 5980HS is ahead with a 12.8% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 5600GT pulls ahead with 0.3% better PassMark.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 5600GT is the better fit. You are getting 0.3% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 5 5600GT is the smarter buy today. Ryzen 5 5600GT is at an unclear MSRP at $140 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you 0.3% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Ryzen 9 5980HS is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 12.8% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (145.1 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), so the better CPU is not just faster, it is also the cleaner value play on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 5 5600GT is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2024 vs 2021) and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 8/16. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Ryzen 5 5600GT Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 5980HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	178 FPS	277 FPS
medium	150 FPS	250 FPS
high	120 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	180 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	241 FPS
medium	125 FPS	195 FPS
high	100 FPS	159 FPS
ultra	84 FPS	140 FPS
4K
low	83 FPS	168 FPS
medium	74 FPS	138 FPS
high	59 FPS	106 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	93 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600GT Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	360 FPS	506 FPS
medium	304 FPS	464 FPS
high	267 FPS	390 FPS
ultra	231 FPS	342 FPS
1440p
low	313 FPS	485 FPS
medium	271 FPS	407 FPS
high	245 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	208 FPS	294 FPS
4K
low	235 FPS	334 FPS
medium	207 FPS	288 FPS
high	192 FPS	263 FPS
ultra	161 FPS	227 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600GT Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	508 FPS	506 FPS
medium	508 FPS	506 FPS
high	502 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	418 FPS	506 FPS
1440p
low	499 FPS	506 FPS
medium	409 FPS	506 FPS
high	369 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	308 FPS	463 FPS
4K
low	343 FPS	506 FPS
medium	291 FPS	469 FPS
high	252 FPS	413 FPS
ultra	194 FPS	348 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600GT Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
1080p
low	508 FPS	506 FPS
medium	508 FPS	506 FPS
high	508 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	508 FPS	506 FPS
1440p
low	508 FPS	506 FPS
medium	508 FPS	506 FPS
high	508 FPS	506 FPS
ultra	492 FPS	477 FPS
4K
low	508 FPS	506 FPS
medium	459 FPS	463 FPS
high	407 FPS	410 FPS
ultra	352 FPS	346 FPS

Open Ryzen 5 5600GT Open Ryzen 9 5980HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Ryzen 5 5600GT and Ryzen 9 5980HS

Ryzen 5 5600GT

The Ryzen 5 5600GT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 8 January 2024 (1 year ago). It is based on the Cezanne (2021−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 4.6 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: AM4. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 20,312 points. Launch price was $140.

Ryzen 9 5980HS

The Ryzen 9 5980HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 12 January 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 20,257 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Processing Power

The Ryzen 5 5600GT packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen 9 5980HS offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 9 5980HS has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.6 GHz on the Ryzen 5 5600GT versus 4.8 GHz on the Ryzen 9 5980HS — a 4.3% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 5980HS (base: 3.6 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Ryzen 5 5600GT uses the Cezanne (2021−2025) architecture (7 nm), while the Ryzen 9 5980HS uses Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Ryzen 5 5600GT scores 20,312 against the Ryzen 9 5980HS's 20,257 — a 0.3% lead for the Ryzen 5 5600GT. L3 cache: 16 MB on the Ryzen 5 5600GT vs 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 5980HS.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	4.6 GHz	4.8 GHz+4%
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+20%	3 GHz
L3 Cache	16 MB	16 MB (total)
L2 Cache	512 kB (per core)	512K (per core)
Process	7 nm	7 nm
Architecture	Cezanne (2021−2025)	Cezanne-HS (Zen 3) (2021)
PassMark	20,312	20,257
Geekbench 6 Single	2,000	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	9,300	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Ryzen 5 5600GT uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 9 5980HS uses FP6 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-3200 memory speed. The Ryzen 5 5600GT supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 24 (Ryzen 5 5600GT) vs 16 (Ryzen 9 5980HS) — the Ryzen 5 5600GT offers 8 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Socket	AM4	FP6
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-3200	LPDDR4-4266
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+300%	32 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	No	No
PCIe Lanes	24+50%	16

🔧

Advanced Features

Both processors feature an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. Both support AMD-V virtualization. Both include integrated graphics — Radeon Vega 7 (Ryzen 5 5600GT) and Radeon Graphics (8CU) (Ryzen 9 5980HS) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 5600GT targets Budget Gaming/Desktop, Ryzen 9 5980HS targets Mobile High-End.

Feature	Ryzen 5 5600GT	Ryzen 9 5980HS
Integrated GPU	Yes	Yes
IGPU Model	Radeon Vega 7	Radeon Graphics (8CU)
Unlocked	Yes	Yes
AVX-512	No	No
Virtualization	AMD-V	AMD-V
Target Use	Budget Gaming/Desktop	Mobile High-End