2600 still a better budget option than 1700?

[sgoaty]

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on the above 2 CPUs for a budget gaming build? I know there are lots of factors to consider, GPU selection, gaming resolution and refresh rate.

Most of the reviews sway towards the 2600 for the higher clocks better memory controller (and small IPC gain?)but I really struggle to look past the extra 2 cores of the 1700 though especially as the consoles now use 8.

I understand that 6 fast cores are better than 8 slow ones ( thinking 5600x but that's in a different league) what would you guys chose if they could both be had for the same price and had to last you another 3-5 years?
Thanks
Scott

 

[defoerate]

I'd probably go with the 1700 as the 2 extra cores will pay off in 3-5 years.

 

[Tetras]

I'd go for the 2600, but if you want 3 - 5 years I'd up the budget, because if buying new, it isn't much of a discount from a 3600 or 10400F.

 

[andy_mk3]

I'd be swayed towards the 2600 to be honest. By the time games are actually bottlenecked by a 6-core CPU then current gen stuff will be cheap enough to upgrade to.

 

[sgoaty]

Second hand parts around £80

I'd go for the 2600, but if you want 3 - 5 years I'd up the budget, because if buying new, it isn't much of a discount from a 3600 or 10400F.

Basically all the information says 2600 but I want to be convinced the 1700 is a better bet

 

[Tetras]

Second hand parts around £80

Basically all the information says 2600 but I want to be convinced the 1700 is a better bet

Wait, seven is a bigger number than six, therefore it... oh, 2 is bigger than 1. Nope, I've got nothing.

 

[Joxeon]

The current best bang for buck gaming CPU is the 10400F.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £139.99

Total: £148.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)​

​

 

[Grimley]

My take on this: Gaming only = 2600. I built my sister's youngest a PC last year around this CPU with a RX570 & he's happy with it so far at 19 years old.
1700 for Gaming & anything else including streaming at the same time.

 

[sgoaty]

The current best bang for buck gaming CPU is the 10400F.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz (Comet Lake) Socket LGA1200 Processor - Retail= £139.99

Total: £148.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)
​

Still significantly over the £80 and not sure I could get it to work in the b450 motherboard lol

 

[Joxeon]

Still significantly over the £80 and not sure I could get it to work in the b450 motherboard lol

You never mentioned that you had a motherboard already or that your max budget was £80.

Personally I'd go with the 2600 and replace it with a cheap 5600X in 2 or 3 years.

 

[sgoaty]

I did mention the £80 part but not the motherboard it seems ha

 

[blaineoliver]

2600, I'm using a 1700x and there are few use cases where the 1700 will help with the extra cores most games are still not well threaded and the IPC improvements of the 2600 will help in games.

 

[Holst1981]

I built a cheap system for a guy I work with on a low budget.

Ended up with an OEM 3500x due to availability.

Performance seems perfectly fine and the CPU and cooler were under £150

 

[butter30]

I would go 2600 if you can push your budget get 3600.

 

[sgoaty]

I did think about the 3500x but hardware unboxed did a review on it that put me off that idea.

I've bought both and will sell on one of them on again after testing both. It's only for another system I'm building to mess around with/keep me entertained.
Thanks
Scott