[SOLVED] Intel 9400F or Ryzen 2700?

[maziech]

Hey! I have a dillema.

Friend asked me to configure new PC for her son. PC is strictly for gaming and it won't be overclocked or used for multitasking work.

I don't know what to pick?

• i5 9400F <- Faster in games, but less cores and no HT for the future
• Ryzen 2700 <- Slower in some games, but 8c 16 Threads.

Setup will work on RTX 2060 in full HD Resolution, GPU might be upgraded later.

Budget is at the limit, so i can't change anything from other components. Both options cost the same money.

Which one should i pick for gaming PC?
If it's intel, what RAM frequency should i go for with this?

 

[mdd1963]

if won't be overclocking, the 2600X would cost less than the 2700, still be about as fast in gaming because of clock speed, and still have 12 threads....

I dislike the 9400f's having only 6 threads, personally, especially for those pondering streaming...

 

[maziech]

In shop that i buy, Ryzen 2700 is 30$ more than 2600x and 2 extra cores, so i won't save on that. Performance 2600x vs 2700, from what i know, is similar with slight advantage of 2600x. Still i'm on 2700 if it is Ryzen

 

[NightHawkRMX]

With an RTX 2060, both will perform very close in most titles.
Both the I5 9400f and R7 2700 have a max turbo of 4.1ghz, so the gaming differences are purely down to the I5 9400f's architectural benefits. Keep in mind, the Ryzen 7 2700 has 10 more threads, 7mb more L3 cache, and overclocking support compared to a 9400f. I would buy the Ryzen 7 2700 because of the above benefits, cheap overclocking motherboards available with no memory limits, and a better upgrade path to Ryzen 3000 cpus.

 

[maziech]

2:0 for Ryzen, anybody else? 😎

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Also, what motherboard are you thinking of pairing a 9400f with if you are going intel? Some motherboards will have a 2666mhz limit.
Ryzen should be paired with a 3000-3200mhz ram kit in dual channel. No AM4 mobos have any ram speed limitations so this will work in any board.
Intel will work with a minor performance deposit with a 2400-2666mhz ram kit on locked B or H mobo. You will need a Z series motherboard to run ram over 2666mhz.

Keep in mind pairing any CPU with slow ram in single channel will drop its 1 thread performance. If you pair a 9400f with a sub $100 B or H board you will be limited to 2666 memory which negates the 1 thread advantage over the 2700. If you pair a 2700 with a sub $100 B450 board you can overclock the CPU and ram past 2666.

 

[maziech]

I was thinking about Ryzen 2700 for now, so haven't pick any motherboard for Intel yet. The money saved on Intel CPU will be put on Intel mobo, cuz they are a lot more expensive. Budget for mobo, if it was Intel, would be like 110 - 120 EUR.
For Ryzen 7 i picked Gigabyte Aorus B450 Elite for about 80 EUR (good price, and AFAIK pretty good mobo for the money - budget is very limited).

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Yup, I would suggest the Ryzen 7 2700. 3rd generation Ryzen is said to bring a great future upgrade path for AM4 setups. B450 Aorus Elite is a good board for the money.
Both 9400f and 2700 offer great performance but I think Ryzen offers the best value for a mid range system.

 

[AllanGH]

The reasoning is sound thus far....

 

[TechyInAZ]

If you can buy the 2700, buy it. Makes no sense to buy the 9400F when the 2700 is in reach, because the Ryzen 7 2700 has a HIGHER base clock and an equal boost clock to the 9400F. Making it either equal or better in games.

 

[maziech]

Okay, i had to confirm what was on my mind - looks like everyone agree that 2700 is a better choice.

Actually, on benchmarks that i checked, 9400F performs a bit better in gaming (0-15%, depending on title), but still it's not worth to buy, when You can buy setup based on 8c/16t CPU for the same price.
I was worried, that You will never use those extra cores when all You do is gaming, but You never know what future brings.

Thank You everyone for Your suggestions.

Solved, R7 2700 will be ordered.

 

[AllanGH]

Well, if the kid gets into statistical modeling, or 3D rendering, the extra cores will come in handy....

 

[maziech]

Well, if the kid gets into statistical modeling, or 3D rendering, the extra cores will come in handy....

This will never happen - that's a lazy type ;-) Only gaming, nothing more

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Haha. Still think ryzen 2700 is the right choice.

 

[AllanGH]

This will never happen - that's a lazy type ;-) Only gaming, nothing more

🙄 Kids these days.....

 

[TechyInAZ]

Even if the 9400F is better today, games are using a lot more cores these days so the 2700 makes so much more sense for the future. BFV is a great example of a CPU hog, it will eat cores up.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Yup, a i7 7700k even struggles in BF5 in some cases since it is only a 4c/8t.

 

[maziech]

This is complete setup (if anyone is interested)
https://www.x-kom.pl/lista/kp87qv974

1EUR = ~4.23 PLN

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Looks like a great setup. Everything should work together very well and do everything you need.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Looks good OP. Absolutely solid build.