What CPU should I get?

FierceDeityNathan · October 27, 2017

Hi, I'm currently parting out my first build and i'm trying to decide what CPU to get. I am primarily between the core i5-8400 and the core i7-8700. I definitely want a coffee lake processor because I like that they have 6 cores. I would consider the i5-8600k but I dont really think that I'm going to overclock because I want my PC to last as long as possible and I also don't feel super confident in my ability to overclock (let me know if you think I should still do it, and I might consider it). As stated before, whats most important to me is that the PC lasts a long time and can run any game at UHD settings with good framerate. I will primarily be using the PC for gaming and web browsing, but I will also be studying engineering in college within the year so if anyone knows of anything that an engineering students/ Engineers computer should be able to do feel free to let me know. i also want it to be capable of running VR well, if that's important to know.

Here is the link to my part list on PC part picker if that helps with the processor choice https://pcpartpicker.com/user/natedog1248/saved/. Thanks for the help!

Crunchy Dragon · October 27, 2017

Get an 8700K so you can take advantage of overlocking if you ever want to. Otherwise, definitely get an i7, the extra threads will help you out quite a bit.

Also, there are different kinds of engineers and the workloads put on engineering PCs can vary quite a bit

hconverse02 · October 27, 2017

I recommend the highest you can afford, so the 8700, but gaming performance is almost the same on both. Get the 8700 and it will perform better in workload, or get the 8400/8600k (if you want to overclock) for just gaming. If you decide on a non-k processor, wait for b360 boards so you aren't getting cheaped out on z370 with a locked processor (thanks intel)