Best mid-range gaming CPU
Best mid-range « Gaming » CPU :
AM4 Upgrade : Ryzen 5 5600X / New build : Intel Core I5-12600K
Big dilemma with the recent arrival of Intel’s Alder Lake. Whether to go for a 5600X or a 12600K will depend on your philosophy and especially on your financial budget.
- Ryzen 5600X : the right of reason in case of an upgrade.
If you are considering an upgrade while keeping costs down and you are starting with a recent (or not) AM4 platform, the 5600X will bring you satisfaction without destroying your budget. If you can’t keep your AM4 card, you can always find a recent version that can run this CPU. There is no need to go for the overkill references of the biggest X570s of the moment. You will make the right choice going for a B450 chipset motherboard, which is extremely cheap and will perfectly run your CPU and the other parts of your previous setup.
You can pair this CPU with the excellent B450 AORUS Elite to create a coherent computer.
- Intel Core i5-12600K : the undeniable first choice for a new PC
Still a bit difficult to find, the i5-12600K has a very good price positioning and is clearly troubling AMD. In our case, we will pair it with a graphics card, so we will be looking at the KF version (without integrated graphics).
-> Intel Core i5-12600K prices
The comparison with the 5600X (and even its bigger brothers) is painful in terms of performance. On the other hand, Intel is charging a lot its new platform with only Z690 cards available during this time of the year.
The difference is going to be the platform, and for the moment, there’s no way around the Z690. If you also want to have DDR5, the price will climb even higher. The other thing is that even in 10nm, these Alder Lake Ks will all need good liquid cooling…
