Type of CPU for Linux Machine?

[halfsohappy]

I do most of my gaming and productivity on an Alienware r17, but I've got some money lying around and want to build a Linux Machine because there's a good few things I do that require Linux, and I'm a pretty competent maker so I plan on making a custom case and doing a mini itx build. 

 

What direction should I go in for CPU? I know for compiling and the like I'm after multi-threaded performance, but what's the best route? I plan to spend around 300-400$ on the components, and wondering what route I should take; something like a 12th gen i3, or an older used i7? I plan to spend around 300-400$ on the components not counting custom materials for the case. Picking a CPU is the part I am least confident on. I want the best performance I can get of course, but to be fair a lot of this build is just for fun  NOT a gaming machine, might use it for media but don't need to crank out those high single core clocks or blazing FPSs.

 

any help appreciated!! 

 

 

 

Budget (including currency): 300-400 USD

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: just a Linux Machine, maybe some media

Other details building a custom case! Plan to use a modular power supply just to make that easier but might not if it hurts my budget too much.

 

[Dutch_Master]

Budget: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 (used, Aliexpress)

Mid-range: AMD R7 3700/5700 (new or used)

High performance: AMD Threadripper

Hard-core: AMD EPYC 3151 SoC (server-grade stuff, usually integrated on a mainboard already, Asrock Rack and Gigabyte have suitable boards)

 

Alternatives include R5 4600G and R7 4750G (both APU's) if you don't (want to) spend money on a GPU.

[aisle9]

"Linux machine" is a very broad term. That could be anything from a Ryzen 9 5900X spending its life doing crazy shit with Arch right on down to Puppy Linux on a Pentium II.

[8tg]

The i3 12100 is the budget king right now, surpassing all previous gen budget build options unlike what was the case in previous years.

It outperforms the immediate go-to, which is an i5 a few generations old to get cheap from the office lease cycle systems like the i5 8500/9500. It’s better than the i5 9500

[ToboRobot]

Low end modern i3 with iGPU.

[Zando_]

You can squeak in around there with an i3 1200 and the lowest tier SFX PSU Silverstone has (I assume you'd want an SFX PSU if the point is to be SFF) and already have a drive to use for boot: 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DFhbwc

CPU: Intel Core i3-12100 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($129.98 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690I AORUS ULTRA LITE DDR4 (rev. 1.0) Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($150.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($46.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Silverstone SX300-B 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($67.78 @ Amazon) 
Total: $395.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-05 17:52 EDT-0400

 

If you don't have a drive you can get a cheap ADATA or SK Hynix SSD for ~$30, they're usually fine for linux box tinkering unless you have a need for more space.