Which cpu should I pick?

[Barry g]

I am building a lower end pc for my cousin and I have two cpu choices a Core I7 2600 or a Core I5 3470. I'm not sure which one to use. I'm leaning on the I7 because of more threads but the I5 is an improvement on the nanometer size. Any help would be appreciated. 

I understand that the better option is to buy more modern parts, but these are parts I already own. I'm just wanting to put a computer together for him and was just wonder the best pick of the two.its being paired with a gtx 960 2gb.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Do you have a motherboard for them? id suggest just getting a low end modern cpu, boards for old cpus are expensive

[Fasauceome]

The i7 would be preferable because the single thread performance difference is small but neither is ideal unless you are getting an extremely favorable price

[YoungBlade]

The i7 is still faster, because while the IPC boost for Ivy Bridge was decent, the lack of HT is going to be a problem for gaming today. The 2600 has held up surprisingly well, and it can handle most games, but it still gets obliterated by cheap modern quad-core parts like the i3 10105 and R3 3300X.

 

An i3+B560 or R3+B550 combo only costs around $250 and would give not only much better performance today but also offer a decent upgrade path for an 8-core i7/R7 in a few years. So unless you're getting the CPU+mobo for less than $100 or so, I think going with modern parts would be better.