I'm building my first PC with a budget of $900 AUD, and I have an RX 6600 GPU paired with 32GB of DDR4 RAM. I'm trying to decide between the Intel i5-12400F and the i3-13100F. The i3 is about $50 cheaper and has similar performance, but I'm concerned about whether it will bottleneck my GPU. Is it worth spending more on the i5, or will the i3 suffice?
3 Answers
Go for the i5. Yeah, the i3 might seem like a good deal now, but when games start using more than 4 cores, you'll regret not spending that extra $50. The 12400F has 6 cores and provides better performance per core, plus you'll be better set for future games!
Honestly, the i3 isn't going to keep up with more demanding games these days. You’ll likely hit a performance wall sooner than if you went with the i5. If you can swing it, I’d recommend the i5 – it just offers better performance overall, especially in games that utilize more threads.
The i5-12400F will give you a smoother experience for sure. I’ve had mine for a couple of years now, and it runs cool without bottlenecking my RX 6700. I’m even considering upgrading, but that’s more about wanting the latest than needing it. It’s a solid choice!
Ok thanks for the advice!