Ryzen 5 3600 vs EPYC 7281

Primary details

Comparing EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	489	631
Place by popularity	not in top-100	11
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.43	40.13
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	AMD EPYC	AMD Ryzen 5
Architecture codename	Naples (2017−2018)	Matisse (2019−2020)
Release date	29 June 2017 (6 years ago)	7 July 2019 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$650	$199
Current price	$1299 (2x MSRP)	$148 (0.7x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 5 3600 has 1070% better value for money than EPYC 7281.

Detailed specifications

EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	16 (Hexadeca-Core)	6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads	32	12
Base clock speed	2.1 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.7 GHz	4.2 GHz
L1 cache	96K (per core)	96K (per core)
L2 cache	512K (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 cache	32 MB (shared)	32 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Die size	192 mm2	no data
Number of transistors	4,800 million	4,800 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Compatibility

Information on EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	2 (Multiprocessor)	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	TR4	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	170 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600 are enumerated here.

AMD-V

+

+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4 Eight-channel	DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size	2 TiB	128 GB
Max memory channels	8	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	170.671 GB/s	51.196 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	128	no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

EPYC 7281 outperforms Ryzen 5 3600 by 22% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	13.98	11.48
Recency	29 June 2017	7 July 2019
Physical cores	16	6
Threads	32	12
Cost	$650	$199
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	170 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between EPYC 7281 and Ryzen 5 3600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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