i5 or i7? 8gb or 16gb ram?

alexe277 · April 3, 2020

I'm just about to buy my computer but just trying to decide on some final specs. I'll start off by saying what exactly i'll be using this computer for. I'm going to be doing a bit of gaming at 1440p 60fps. My monitor only supports 60fps so I don't need anything above that, but I would like to be able to play in 1440p, i'm okay if my fps goes down under 60 for some of the more demanding games, but as long as I can get stable framerates at 1440p i'm good. I'm also going to be doing a bit of typing and watching occasional videos and that type of thing, but generally speaking only have like 3 windows open at once. My question is if I should opt for an i5 9600k or the i7 9700k based on my needs, as well as if I should opt for 8gb of memory or 16gb. I don't want to spend a ton of extra money on specs I don't need of course, so if an i7 or 16gb of ram won't benefit me at all then I won't get them, but if i'll get noticeable increases from upgrading then I will. Sidenote, i'm planning on getting an RTX 2060 super for the graphics card, is this sufficient for my needs? Or is it not powerful enough/ too powerful, cause if I can get a lower end graphics card that will suffice for what i'm doing then I will. Just trying to get the specs that will best suit me without paying extra money for higher specs than I need!

One last thing, will the specs change if I want to add a second monitor? (also 1440p 60hz) Would I need a higher end graphics card or cpu or anything to do this, or would my current specs already be enough to support this? I've considered adding a second monitor but not sure yet, but I think I want my machine to be powerful enough to support it if I do decide to!

Thanks for any help you can give!

WaggishOhio383 · April 3, 2020

I don't know much as far as Intel CPUs go, so I couldn't really tell you what CPU to get. I'm more of an AMD fan myself. However, 16 GB of RAM is definitely worth getting. I use well over 8 GB of RAM all the time playing games. The RTX 2060 should be fine for your purposes if you really want ray tracing. If you don't care about ray tracing, you could step down to something like a GTX 1660. You won't need a better graphics card for a dual monitor setup. Just expect your GPU temps to run a bit higher if you do, so you'll want to get a good airflow case and some quality fans.

April 3, 2020

The better option for the CPU would be a R5 3600 with 16GB of RAM, it's cheaper and better than a 9600k.

The 2060 Super is good for 1440p gaming. You don't need a stronger GPU to run a 2nd monitor.