[SOLVED] Help in choosing a good CPU for me

Hi, I'm new to building PCs but I plan to build one for myself later this year. For my whole life I've been using Laptops and after watching one of my friends build his own budget gaming rig I decided to do it as well. My question today is about which CPU should be best for me. I've already decided on the Graphics Card which will be RX 590, keep in mind I am on a budget so I cant just go for an RTX 2080 paired with i9 9900k.
My current CPU choices are i5 4590K, i5 9400F and Ryzen 5 2600. All of these are good options but I was thinking of going for the i5 9400F mainly because it's newer and supports better RAM and my friend told me to avoid AMD CPUs since I'm newbie and may end up having troubles with drivers or other software. My friend told me to go for i5-4590k because it has a higher base frequency.
My Questions: [1]Is higher Base frequency better than Max Turbo Frequency for gaming? [2]Is it better to go for Less cores than more cores atleast for gaming? [3]Is there an advantage to having an integrated GPU since i5-9400f does not have one? [4]Which CPU do you think I should go for?(you can recommend another CPU but in the same price range.)
 
Solution
If you are planning on building later in the year, it is premature to make any processor decisions now.
New parts are constantly being launched, and at better price performance.
Unless you will buy used, wait .
Intel is rumored to launch 10th gen desktop processors in April.

Ditto for graphics cards.

One rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget about 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.

On ram, plan on a 2 stick kit(not individual sticks) That gives you faster dual channel operation.

If you favor multiplayer games with many participants, then look for a processor with more threads.
Today, that would be 6 or more.
ryzen today has cheap threads. Intel is likely to match them soon.

If you favor cpu centric...
Eliminate the i5-4590 straight away since it's a 6 year old CPU.

What's your actual budget? (Does it need to include monitor also? )
What country are you shopping in?
Yes I'm building from scratch so I will need everything including a monitor. My budget for the CPU ends up being $200. I'm building this in Pakistan but I can use amazon to pick up the CPU if I have to.
 
tennis2 is right about it, the Core i5 4590K is way too old, unless youre thinking of buying second hand, which I don't know cause you didn't said that.

As for the 9400F been better than the R5 2600, and all that nonsense about avoiding AMD cpu, thats all crap.

What I would ask to you is (besides what tennis2 asked already):

1. What type of games do you want to play?
2. What resolution and refresh rate does your monitor/tv support?

With atleast that information we will be able to make a better suggestion.

Things to keep in mind, that most first time builders don't consider or know:

a. Avoid buying only 1 big capacity stick of RAM. If your main goal is gaming and getting big FPS numbers, then you want dual channel memory. For that you need 2 identical sticks of RAM, or even better a kit. Its way better to get 2x4GB DDR4 3200 kit of RAM, than buying only 1x8GB stick or even 1x16GB of RAM (its been tested by many reviewers out there, don't trust me go google). More RAM capacity does not always mean more FPS in gaming.
b. No matter what remember that long gaming sessions makes every piece of hardware inside the case to get warm, so make sure the case is well designed and it has good airflow (this can be done by a few atleast 3 case fans, 2 at the front and 1 at the back, and its way better if they are 120mmm).
c. Read and/or watch reviews, not the crappy videos wwhere you can't see the system thats is been tested, or the youtuber, try to focus on known sites and channels (Sites like: TomsHARDWARE, Guru3D, TechPowerUp; channels like: GamerNexus, Derbauer, HardwareUnboexd, LinusTechTips, etc.) learn what pc components are worth it and which are not.
d. Don't close yourself to a PC component, like i5 940F or the GPU RX 590, try to share with the rest here your system budget and perhaps you can get a very good suggestion that may lead to a more uptodate GPU (that probably will use less power and run more quiet) or a better CPU for your type of gaming.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
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If you are planning on building later in the year, it is premature to make any processor decisions now.
New parts are constantly being launched, and at better price performance.
Unless you will buy used, wait .
Intel is rumored to launch 10th gen desktop processors in April.

Ditto for graphics cards.

One rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget about 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.

On ram, plan on a 2 stick kit(not individual sticks) That gives you faster dual channel operation.

If you favor multiplayer games with many participants, then look for a processor with more threads.
Today, that would be 6 or more.
ryzen today has cheap threads. Intel is likely to match them soon.

If you favor cpu centric games like sims, mmo, or strategy, then look for faster single thread performance.
Look up the passmark performance ratings for your candidates.
You will get two numbers, The overall number is the performance when all threads are 100% utilized.
That does not happen often except for multithreaded batch apps.
The single thread rating is important for most games.

Plan on using a SSD for the windows C drive. 240gb at least.

If you want to shop today, you can buy a case, psu and monitor since they do not change much.
Wait until the last minute for the cpu. Buy the motherboard only after you have picked a cpu.
Wait also for ram since it must be compatible with the motherboard.

Buy only a top quality power supply of adequate power.
Here is how to size a psu:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
Here is one list of psu quality tiers. Buy tier 1/2, no less than 3.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Your processor may well come with an adequate cooler.
If you need to buy a cooler, avoid a aio liquid cooler.
Except for the most expensive, a simple air cooler will cool just as well, be less expensive, quieter, and will not leak.
 
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Solution
tennis2 is right about it, the Core i5 4590K is way too old, unless youre thinking of buying second hand, which I don't know cause you didn't said that.

As for the 9400F been better than the R5 2600, and all that nonsense about avoiding AMD cpu, thats all crap.

What I would ask to you is (besides what tennis2 asked already):

1. What type of games do you want to play?
2. What resolution and refresh rate does your monitor/tv support?

With atleast that information we will be able to make a better suggestion:

Things to keep in mind, that most first time builders don't consider or know:

a. Avoid buying only 1 big capacity stick of RAM. If your main goal is gaming and getting big FPS numbers, then you want dual channel memory. For that you need 2 identical sticks of RAM, or even better a kit. Its way better to get 2x4GB DDR4 3200 kit of RAM, than buying only 1x8GB stick or even 1x16GB of RAM (its been tested by many reviewers out there, don't trust me go google). More RAM capacity does not always mean more FPS in gaming.
b. No matter what you do remember that long gaming sessions makes every piece of hardware inside the case to get warm, so make sure the case is well designed and it has good airflow (this can be done by a few atleast 3 case fans, 2 at the front and 1 at the back, and its way better if they are 120mmm).
c. Read and/or watch reviews, not the crappy videos wwhere you can't see the system thats is been tested, or the youtuber, try to focus on known sites and channels (Sites like: TomsHARDWARE, Guru3D, TechPowerUp; channels like: GamerNexus, Derbauer, HardwareUnboexd, LinusTechTips, etc.) learn what pc components are worth it and which are not.
d. Don't close yourself to a PC component, like i5 940F or the GPU RX 590, try to share with the rest here your system budget and perhaps you can get a very good suggestion that may lead to a more uptodate GPU (that probably will use less power and run more quiet) or a better CPU for your type of gaming.

Cheers
I plan to play COD Warzone, Apex Legends, PUBG, BF5, Witcher 3, SOTR and ROTR etc
I'm going to get a 1080p 75 Hertz Monitor. I'm not gonna go for a high refresh rate one since this is a budget PC and I wont be getting super high fps on many of the games I wanna build this for.
I do know about dual channel memory and I plan to get 2x8.
I don't mind sharing my full budget but the thing is the market here is weird, RX 580 and 590 are readily and cheaply available so it's the perfect time to pick them up. Ofcourse you could recommend me a different GPU but I may end up not finding it or paying extra to get it shipped to me which is why I did not ask for a full build guide.
I do plan to upgrade my build again maybe at the end of 2021 but I just want to build a PC and start gaming by the end of this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodroX
If you are planning on building later in the year, it is premature to make any processor decisions now.
New parts are constantly being launched, and at better price performance.
Unless you will buy used, wait .
Intel is rumored to launch 10th gen desktop processors in April.

Ditto for graphics cards.

One rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget about 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.

On ram, plan on a 2 stick kit(not individual sticks) That gives you faster dual channel operation.

If you favor multiplayer games with many participants, then look for a processor with more threads.
Today, that would be 6 or more.
ryzen today has cheap threads. Intel is likely to match them soon.

If you favor cpu centric games like sims, mmo, or strategy, then look for faster single thread performance.
Look up the passmark performance ratings for your candidates.
You will get two numbers, The overall number is the performance when all threads are 100% utilized.
That does not happen often except for multithreaded batch apps.
The single thread rating is important for most games.

Plan on using a SSD for the windows C drive. 240gb at least.

If you want to shop today, you can buy a case, psu and monitor since they do not change much.
Wait until the last minute for the cpu. Buy the motherboard only after you have picked a cpu.
Wait also for ram since it must be compatible with the motherboard.

Buy only a top quality power supply of adequate power.
Here is how to size a psu:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
Here is one list of psu quality tiers. Buy tier 1/2, no less than 3.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Your processor may well come with an adequate cooler.
If you need to buy a cooler, avoid a aio liquid cooler.
Except for the most expensive, a simple air cooler will cool just as well, be less expensive, quieter, and will not leak.
Seems like you're right I'm still a few months off from building it and prices may change. Thanks for answering my questions