Question Which one of these 2 CPUs should I choose?

[tracker39]

Hey guys I am building a PC for my 14 years old cousin and I am wondering which one of these 2 CPUs is the best. Intel i7-8700 or Intel i5-9600K ?
The i7 8700 has 12 threads and i5 9600k has only 6 threads but...
the i7 8700 has base clock 3.2 Ghz and i5 9600k has 3.7 Ghz base clock.
So basically what I ask is... what is most important the threads or the base clock?
Here is a comparison of these 2 CPUs : https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-9600K/3940vs4031

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

i7 8700 will also boost to 4.6 when neeeded , I'd go with the i7.

 

[cryoburner]

I agree, especially if you are not overclocking, the two chips should perform quite similar in tasks that heavily utilize up to 6 threads, and the i7 will handle higher thread counts better. Of course, the 9600K can be overclocked on a Z-series motherboard, while the 8700 (non-K) can not. It should be noted that the stock cooler that comes with the 8700 can't reliably maintain those high boost clocks though, and the 9600K doesn't come with a cooler at all, so you would probably want an aftermarket cooler for either option.

It's worth asking what the other planned specs of this system are though. If the system is intended for gaming, it might be best to spend more on a graphics card than on the CPU, as that will typically tend to have a much larger impact on performance in most games.

 

[tracker39]

i7 8700 will also boost to 4.6 when neeeded , I'd go with the i7.

Ok! Thank you!

 

[tracker39]

I agree, especially if you are not overclocking, the two chips should perform quite similar in tasks that heavily utilize up to 6 threads, and the i7 will handle higher thread counts better. Of course, the 9600K can be overclocked on a Z-series motherboard, while the 8700 (non-K) can not. It should be noted that the stock cooler that comes with the 8700 can't reliably maintain those high boost clocks though, and the 9600K doesn't come with a cooler at all, so you would probably want an aftermarket cooler for either option.

It's worth asking what the other planned specs of this system are though. If the system is intended for gaming, it might be best to spend more on a graphics card than on the CPU, as that will typically tend to have a much larger impact on performance in most games.

Ok! Thank you!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Glad to help!

 

[Rodrigodrt]

I'd go with the cheapest one... while the i5 is just slightly faster despite having less threads, it's worth noting that hyperthreading has no magic involved and unless your 14 yo is going to work with constant rendering i doubt there will be any difference in his everyday usage, the in the other hand can overclock, but if you dont know what you're doing then the innate turbo boost will handle the frequencies on its own just fine.

bottom line... i'd pick the cheapest... and one last consideration is that the motherboard for the 8700 will most certainly sure not accept the ucomping 10th gen intel series so you're limited on any future upgrades, but that may also be true to the 9th gen in the end..