Intel Core i5-13600K gaming performance review — A mighty mainstream CPU

Pricing and conclusion

Intel’s delivering Raptor Lake at an interesting time when AMD has its latest Ryzen CPUs already out and there are powerful new generations of graphics cards also rolling out from both AMD Radeon and Nvidia GeForce RTX. New levels of performance are already here or are about to become available, and the motherboard platforms behind both Intel and Ryzen are positioned well to keep up with demanding game requirements for years.

If you’re considering a CPU upgrade or are already in the market for a new CPU, Intel’s 13th gen i5 is all you really need to get great framerates and dabble in things like streaming and hyper-polling on peripherals while maintaining that high-refresh experience. You also get double the E-Cores and double the L2 cache. When it comes to the gaming experience, Intel’s 13th gen feels more responsive in most cases and will be able to keep up with future graphics cards as well.

If you’re using an AMD Ryzen 3000, Intel 9th gen CPU, or older, it’s definitely worth the upgrade to 13th gen from a performance standpoint. The i5 makes short work of old flagship CPUs, and offers strong value as a mainstream, flexible CPU. If you’re using a more recent CPU, you’ll need to make a decision based on how much performance you’re targeting and if it’s worth upgrading for a smaller gain. Getting a better GPU may do you more good in that regard.

The downside to Intel 13th gen is that we don’t know if Intel will move to a new socket with its next-gen Meteor Lake CPU lineup, and it’s billed as another huge jump in performance. That means you may not be able to upgrade your CPU again on the same motherboard unless you were to opt for an i9 at a later date. That’s admittedly not a great potential upgrade option. On the contrary, AMD is just getting started with its AM5 socket for Ryzen. You should be able to get a couple generational upgrade options on that platform.

If you’re simply looking for a gaming CPU with strong multi-tasking performance that’ll last you for years and years, Intel is probably the way to go today. There’s little to complain about in the way of performance with today’s games, and you’ll be able to upgrade your graphics card without severe bottlenecks. However, at the ~10% higher MSRP, it does not add 10% more gaming performance based on our test results. In that regard, the 12600K is also a great consideration if you’re strictly after value and find one on sale. The 13600K holds up better for additional multi-tasking though.

• Introduction, features, and specs
• Frequencies, power consumption, and temperatures
• Gaming performance and multi-tasking
• Pricing and conclusion