Is the Intel core i5 good for gaming?
We already know that i3-8100 is the ultimate best CPU for budget PC builds so why bother about the i5? Well there are different levels of budget below the most expensive for everyone. And hence Intel core i5 for gaming is a topic worth pondering. i3 latest gen processors are priced at a maximum of $120. The i5 family is a bit pricier, say $20 higher for budget, but $80 higher for the unlocked best processors.
Regardless those are still dominating the gaming platforms because of their single core performance and that’s what games want. We are gamers and not content creators! i5 is a perfect validated choice for the mainstream gamer who wants graphics with fps, and speed. So without further delay let’s get to the best and budget i5 CPU’s for gaming.
Intel Core i5-9400F-Budget
- 6 cores and 6 threads
- 2.90 GHz processor base frequency/4.10 GHz max turbo frequency
- 9 MB Intel Smart Cache
- DDR4-2666 maximum 128 GB RAM.
- FCLGA1151 socket support
- Up to 1×16, 2×8, 1×8+2×4 PCI express configs
- Intel optane memory support
- 65W TDP
This is a good choice for a mid-range PC build. However it lacks integrated graphics and hyper-threading. Hyper-threading is not an issue because we are not 4K video encoders. And we are definitely gonna be suing a dedicated GPU, so that issue is also solved. Core i5-9400F and the 9400 is the identical twin of the i5-8400. Difference been the F doesn’t have integrated graphics and hence less valued. Experts used Z390 motherboards and 16 GB DDR4 3200 RAM to test this CPU, and with several other competitors of the same range.
Benchmark performance
Before jumping to conclusions remember that this is not overclockable and it has no hyper threading. 3DMark and VRMark are some popular benchmark software to test core and thread performance. The 9400F falls right below the i5-8600K and right above the i7-8700K. Usually you can anticipate higher performance with more threads. Therefore obviously the overclockable CPU’s rank the highest.
Gaming performance
Experts tested this processor for frame rates at 1080 resolution with ultra settings given 16 GB RAM. The core i5-9400F reached 107 fps with Dawn of war III. The higher overclocking processors like the i7-9700K,i7-8700K reached 129 fps.
This game particularly tests multi-threading. The next game is Grand Theft Auto V which favors more core count processors. Testing conditions are same, which means HD at ultra settings. The i5-9400F averaged 96 fps, while the overclocking i7’s ended above 114 fps.
But a point worth mentioning is that the 9400F was leading the Ryzen processors of same range. Project cars 2 is another games that tests threading and clock rates. 9400F reaches 110fps. Also it beats the system requirements for processor speed for games like Fortnite, Apex Legends. Which is why this is a good Intel core i5 for gaming processor.
Real world applications
Yes our primary focus is gaming but it wouldn’t hurt to know more about the processor. Also this is where the Ryzen processors out perform the Intel counterparts. Adobe CC is an application used by most people as it requires light thread counts to complete tasks.
The Intel overclockers and the Ryzen processors shows better timing than the 9400F. When it comes to web browsing benchmarking software evaluate Javascript for different aspects like video, audio. The 9400F falls short of the 8600K,but ahead of the Ryzen 5 2600.
Load times
These benchmark software test the loading times for day to day applications like web browsing, Microsoft office in different external conditions. In this tests however the 9400F falls short of the 8400. Ryzen 7 2700 and Ryzen 5 2600 falls below 9400F. Because of the ability of overclocking and higher core/thread count the overclockable Ryzen and Intel processors like the i7-9700K, Ryzen 7 2700X shines in these tests.
Single-threaded workloads regardless of their category are best handled by Intel CPU’s. The 9400F beats the Ryzen 5 processors in HandBrake x265 benchmark tests. This benchmark tests mark how well processors perform with AVX instructions for complex calculations.
Conclusion
Although these F-series processors lacks integrated graphics, you can clearly see that once paired with the right GPU and RAM it can deliver creditable performance. Since we are budget gamers hyper-threading and intensive workloads aren’t a big concern. The competitor here is the Ryzen 5 series processors. Most experts comment that although AMD has the upper hand in overall performance, Intel is ahead in the gaming arena given the price.
Intel Core i5-9600K-Best
- 6 cores/6 threads
- 3.70 GHz base frequency
- 9 MB Intel Smart Cache
- 95 W TDP
- DDR4-2666 Max memory of 128 GB for 2 channels
- Intel® UHD Graphics 630
- 4K@ 60 fps
- FCLGA1151 socket support
- PCI Express configs 1×16, 2×8, 1×8+2×4
Well this is will cost a few bucks than the budget obviously because of its overclocking ability, increased clock speeds, higher TDP and integrated Intel graphics. Intel’s Coffee Lake architecture is the foundation of this chip. A Z390 chipset motherboard and better cooler(something like the cooler master hyper LED 212) than the stock one is the recommendation here.
Although the TDP says 95W, if overclocked it may go beyond 140 W hence the better cooler option. Experts used the same test setup of Z390 motherboard and 16 GB RAM 3400MHz.
Benchmark performance
Keep in mind that unlike the 9400F this one is overclockable yet lacks hyper-threading. In the Cinebench R15 single core performance this processor performed a little less than the i7-9700K. Most of the CPU’s that have hyper-threading and higher core and thread count excel at these tests. Experts also tested this CPU with wPrime,3DMark 11, Geekbench, Blender. The i9-9900K,Threadripper 2950X,i7-9700K had the best ratings. i5-9600K landed above the Ryzen 5 2600X and below i7-8700K.
Game performance
The processor was tested for gaming performance under the same test setup. Don’t forget that this has Intel graphics unlike the 9400F. Surprisingly the 9600K outperformed the i7-8700K. Because most games aren’t dependent on hyper-threading or higher number of threads. Instead they require good single core performance and hence Intel trumps over Ryzen. When paired with graphics cards of equal performance the performance of the 9600K is pretty impressive.
The Intel core i5-9600K had a performance rating of 90+ when tested with games like Far cry 5, shadow of the tomb raider, Battlefield 1,Forza Horizon 4. But These are more GPU oriented than CPU oriented. On the other hand with games like Civilization VI, Warhammer :Dawn of war III it still performed well. With full HD resolution it reached an average of 110+ fps. However in numbers the i7-8700K managed to surpass the 9700K for frame rates. But combine it with a good GPU the Intel core i5-9700K will definitely overrun the 8700K.
Real world performance
For browser performances single threaded CPU’s tend to outperform other multi-threads. Therefore the i5-9600K scored well above the Ryzen processors in the web browsing test. However in common application tests like Adobe cc illustrator Ryzen processors outranked the i5-9600K,although overclocking did help a bit.
Even in the PCMark 10 test Ryzen 5 2600 beat the i5-9600K. It is a well know fact that for heavy workloads like high resolution video encoding, rendering Ryzen processors are the best. But our concern is solely gaming and for that the Intel core i5-9600K is an amazing budget CPU.
Conclusion
Well there you go! that concludes Intel core i5 for gaming. The i5-9600K is the best out of the two because of the integrated graphics, overclocking though it is irrelevant for us gamers and the increased clock speeds. Nevertheless the i5-9400F also proves to be a good budget gaming processor for most. Pair these with good graphics cards(at least a GTX 1660ti), a SSD and of course the right cooling, you have yourself an awesome gaming rig!
