The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is the objective winner of this comparison, securing victory across seven of the fourteen evaluated specifications. Its most significant technical advantage is its Max Memory capacity, which is 100% better than that of the alternative. While the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 remains competitive in specific areas, the superior memory support provided by the Ryzen 5 5500 establishes it as the more capable component based on the total number of winning metrics.

Users who prioritize memory capacity for their system should select the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 to take advantage of its doubled maximum memory limit. Conversely, the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 is the better choice for users who specifically require a higher core count, as it offers a 33% advantage in total cores. Choosing between these two processors depends entirely on whether your workload demands the increased memory ceiling of the former or the additional processing cores of the latter.