[SOLVED] What is the BEST Gaming CPU For Area-51 Desktop?

[Mikey520]

Here is a list of CPUs available for the Alienware Area-51 desktop from DELL. The i9-9980XE is the most expensive, but I have learned that this CPU is better used as a workstation CPU. I know the i9-9900K is the best gaming CPU out there, but there is no option to choose that CPU on the customization page for the Area-51 desktop. So all things considered, out of all the CPUs listed below, which one will achieve the best gaming performance? Thanks!

Intel® Core™ i9 9980XE (18-core, 24.75MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i9 9960X (16-Core, 22MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i9 9940X (14-Core, 19.25MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i9 9920X (12-Core, 19.25MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i9 9900X (10-core, 19.25MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i9 9820X (10-core, 16.5MB Cache, up to 4.2GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

Intel® Core™ i7 9800X (8-Core, 16.5MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

 

[DSzymborski]

I gotta say, do you have to go this route? Because your cost-to-gaming-benefit ratio is absolutely horrifyingly large. At the high end of this range (the $5500 i9-9980XE), there are going to be people who better perform in gaming than you for $3000 less.

 

[hftvhftv]

Well, the 9800X or whatever is the cheapest will do you just fine for gaming, it's the graphics card that will affect frame rates the most. I'd honestly get an Alienware Aurora with the 8700 and an RTX 2080 Ti if you MUST have an Alienware PC, otherwise I'd get an Origin PC or a "boutique" pre-built PC. Linus has a great video about pre-built PCs:

Finally, if you have the time to do it, assembling a PC can be far more rewarding than buying one.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9dBg8Y

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($329.00 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($105.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 2 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($222.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB Black Video Card ($1078.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT - H500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.90 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $2350.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-07-19 12:34 EDT-0400

^This list is loosely put together, everything would be compatible but you could save money on the motherboard, and add a CPU cooler if you wanted, and change the case for something you like.