I find this topic interesting, So i recently watched a youtube video explaining this. Correct me if im wrong, but to sum it up, all modern programs have a certain ratio of serialized code and parallelized code. Serialized code will only use 1 cpu thread so the faster that thread the faster the program runs. Parallelized code doesnt care as much about 1 threads speed but can use more cores, so the more cores the better. Programs like Google Chrome tend to use equal amount of serialized code and parallelized code so they will benefit a little from more cores and a little from a faster core 0. Traditionally when cpus had 1 core all code was serialized and most coders were taught mainly or solely serialized code. As more and more cpus started to gain more cores, developers and up and coming coders started to implement parallelized code to make use of these cores. Parallelized code is harder to write so the implementation has been slow. Intels lack of improved core counts from the first quad core i7 in 2010 to the quad core 7700k in 2017 certainly have not pushed developers to implement code that makes use or more threads. Game and software (including win10) developers did not feel the need to implement code that makes use of many cores, since most people had 4,8 or less threads. Because most people use few threads, games didnt need to make use of many threads. Because games didnt utilize many threads, cpus didnt need to have many, so core counts stagnated. Kindof a stagnate chicken and edd scenario.Ever since around 2017, the market has changed. Amd started the ryzen line of cpus bringing as much as 16 threads for cheap; The same or close to the amount of threads as intels $1000+ server and hedt cpus for simmilar money ae the flagship 8t 7700k. This left intel scrambling to increase thread count, and the 8700 k came out with 12 threads and more recently, the 9900k with 16 threads. The whole market felt this and even most phones have 8 or more cores now (hi apple). With ryzen threadripper bringing as much as 32 cores and 64 threads to consumers, this has caused issues in programs designed for 8 thread or less cpus. Windows 10, from 2014 when high thread count cpus didnt exist, freaks out and has sceduler issues with threadripper. some games on threadripper have so many issues that Amd made a game mode that disables half of the cpus cores to stop issues in games. Because of this, most games and Program developers have been implementing code that utilzes many threads at an alarming rate. As long as games use more and more cpu threads, thread counts will go up.
What i conclude from this is that games and programs are starting to use more and more cores and people with 8 threaded and 4 thread cpus (like me) will be left in the dust. 7nm ryzen may help this progression, so i still reccomend am4. While you wont see the benefits of many threads now, you will see the benefits soon down the road. Some games are already using more than 8 threads, but arent hurt by 6 threads. For now the 8700 or 8600 is better then even the 2700x at gaming, but only GOD knows what may change in the next years.