Core i3-8350K vs Ryzen 5 1500X

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-8350K scores 26 and the Ryzen 5 1500X scores 25, about 4% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-8350K has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Ryzen 5 1500X has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 4 GHz and 3.7 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-8350K uses the LGA1151 socket and the Ryzen 5 1500X uses AM4, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 91 W for the first and 65 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i3-8350K cost $168 and the Ryzen 5 1500X $174, which gives 15.5 and 14.4 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i3-8350K can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 3060 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Ryzen 5 1500X reaches the GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-8350K if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Ryzen 5 1500X if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.