[SOLVED] i3-9100f VS i5-9400f VS i5-9600k

[Asez23]

These are my current options for buying a CPU. My other specs are MSI B360 Gaming PLUS Mobo, 16GB ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4-3000 UDIMM, MSI Radeon RX 480 Gaming X 8G, COUGAR Panzer MAX and Seagate Barracuda 2TB. Which CPU is the best option for this build?

 

[Asez23]

My Region is USA

 

[Mike2009]

either way your sticking to last gen parts ,,, but if i was gonna choose for that platform right now and your setup ,,, id go for the 9400f and get you a 250 gb nvme ssd you would see a big boost in system performances wqith just a ssd

alternatively you could got for a 10th gen intel Core I3, and cheaper compantible motherboard for the price of that 9600K or AMd ryzen 3 3100 with a b450 3rd gen ready motherboard for the same price with the possibility for you to be able to get the ryzen 5000 series when amd releases the bios update for in 2021 which from what everyones saying would stomp on any of these intel options

 

[Bob125484]

Did you already own MSI B360 Gaming PLUS Mobo ? Do you know what is current bios version on mobo right now. This is important because the motherboard may support only 8th gen out of the box; it may require bios update using 8th gen CPU before it can accept 9th gen CPU. Here is the link to CPU support list along with bios requirement. From your list of 3, I will pick 9400F. B360 mobo do not support overclock.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B360-GAMING-PLUS#support-cpu

Do you live close to microcenter? If so, you can get it cheaper.
https://www.microcenter.com/search/...4294966995+4294820689+4294817472&myStore=true

If you don't have that motherboard, then maybe consider getting Ryzen 5 or Intel 10th gen

 

[Phaaze88]

Gaming? They're all bad in 2020.
You're thread limited out the gate with all 3 of them in more modern titles. You can't afford to run other apps alongside those games as they'll take precious cpu resources.
If you try to run such games anyway, those cpus exhibit high frame time spikes when all their threads are loaded, which can cause stutter. Take CoD: Warzone, as an extreme example. It can use up to 12 cpu threads.
That's not running smoothly, even with the 9600K.

For older titles or eSports, the best - as far as value is concerned - would be the i5-9400F.
If you're not concerned with value, then the 9600K.

 

[Asez23]

Do you live close to microcenter? If so, you can get it cheaper.
https://www.microcenter.com/search/...4294966995+4294820689+4294817472&myStore=true

If you don't have that motherboard, then maybe consider getting Ryzen 5 or Intel 10th gen

lol i wish i lived near microcenter. i dont have the mobo yet, but my budget is $100 for a mobo. can you reccomend a $100 mobo and a $150 CPU?

 

[Asez23]

Did you already own MSI B360 Gaming PLUS Mobo ? Do you know what is current bios version on mobo right now. This is important because the motherboard may support only 8th gen out of the box; it may require bios update using 8th gen CPU before it can accept 9th gen CPU.

https://cdn1.bbcode0.com/uploads/2020/10/27/c993fdab82fdfccf409fb51c024e4dbb-full.png
it is compatible with 9th gen. i am going to go with the 9400f. thank you!

 

[Asez23]

either way your sticking to last gen parts ,,, but if i was gonna choose for that platform right now and your setup ,,, id go for the 9400f and get you a 250 gb nvme ssd you would see a big boost in system performances wqith just a ssd

i can get an SSD, but should i get M.2 or NVME?

 

[Bob125484]

If you

lol i wish i lived near microcenter. i dont have the mobo yet, but my budget is $100 for a mobo. can you reccomend a $100 mobo and a $150 CPU?

If you did not own that mobo and prefer intel, you should get 10th gen mobo LGA 1200 socket motherboard along with i5-10400 (6c/12t). i5-10400F maybe cheaper. Use PCPickpartker to find cheaper component. It is better than i5-9400F (6c/6t). Check for compatability and any bios update needed just to be sure.

 

[Phaaze88]

i can get an SSD, but should i get M.2 or NVME?

Same thing really. I think you meant to compare M.2 or SATA SSD.

Whichever is more affordable at the time of your purchase. You will not notice a significant difference between them for gaming purposes.
M.2 does have an advantage of SATA SSD in that it's one less cable running through your PC.

A possible downside, though depending on the model and it's position in the motherboard, is that it could be harder to cool. But M.2s are a bit weird; there's 2 temperature sensors and:
-one is for the drive controller, which actually runs best warm
-the other is for the NAND flash
The worst place for an M.2 on a motherboard is the slot - if present - above the gpu.