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Question i3-14100 vs i5-14500 vs i5-14600 for average usage in new build?

Coyle

Senior member
I was ready to buy an i3-14100 as I don't really game (would like the option to) but am wondering if going with an i5-14500 or even a i5-14600 would be worthwhile. I see the i-5 has 770 graphics over the i3 730 (I may add a graphics card but not sure yet.) Do you think the i3 is a solid cpu for general usage or would one of the i5 be a better choice?
 
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Core counts change dramatically between 3/5/7/9 series CPUs. AMD has some competitive offerings as well and prices are dropping.

For gaming it's easy to just add a GPU later. I added an A380 6GB card for $100 for video processing.

I wouldn't do Intel right now though until arrow lake is released since the board socket will change again and Intel has been using the same socket for 3 generations now. The modest updates and refreshes don't hold much value either.
 
The pricing on most of the CPUs with UHD IGP are terrible. A $140 for 4 core Raptor Lake in 2024? That's a tough sell. If you already committed to the LGA 1700 build the 12400 for $152.70 is the best value including IGP IMO. Unless you need quick sync, Newegg has the 12600KF for $125 (6P+4E will be great for productivity and handling ever increasing OS and app demands) which I'd combine with a cheap used dGPU as a display adapter.

Or as was recommended pair it with an A380 if you need full media support. The Sparkle is $100 on sale at Newegg and Amazon. Amazon being higher volume is backed up and won't ship for a week or 2, so da egg would be my choice. The A380 can play most games great at 1080. It is only the latest couple of years of AAA stuff where it struggles. Even then a little upscaling makes most enjoyable and hardware XeSS is impressive. I was able to play the Spiderman games with ray tracing on using XeSS and have it fully playable with acceptable visuals. 14100 would probably choke at times in those games due to demands of ray tracing and asset streaming. The 12600KF would be buttery smooth.

Tech Junky is right though, the platform is dead. And the high end Intel CPUs always hold value because of that constant platform change. Owners looking for that one last CPU upgrade without swapping boards and reinstalling the OS with a new license, usually pay a premium for the convenience.
 
Why not consider the 12600K?
Full UHD 770 IGP. Frequently under $170 but not too far behind 14500 in performance.
 
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