The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is the objective winner of this comparison, securing victories in 11 out of 14 evaluated specifications. Its most significant technical advantage is its L3 cache, which offers a 100% improvement over the Intel Core i7-11700K. This substantial cache capacity provides the primary performance edge for the newer architecture, establishing it as the superior choice across the majority of the measured hardware metrics.

Users prioritizing modern architecture and the benefits of a larger L3 cache should choose the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X for their build. Conversely, the Intel Core i7-11700K remains a viable option for those who specifically require a higher total core count, as it maintains a 33% advantage in that category. Selecting between these two processors depends on whether your workload favors the cache-heavy efficiency of the former or the increased core density of the latter.