It’s almost Black Friday, and people are already working out to prep their bodies for those Black Friday fights. One of those fights might involve fights over the best CPU deals. Before you try to spend countless hours on research, I’ve done it all of you right here. The CPU you’re looking for is the Ryzen 5 2600.
The Ryzen 5 2600 performs way above its price tag in multiple ways. For one, it has 6 cores and 12 threads for only $210 CAD on Amazon. In comparison, the 6 core 6 thread Intel Core i5-8400 goes for around $250. The Ryzen 5 2600 is also overclockable, enabling it to match the single core performance of the i5-8400. In addition, the Ryzen 5 2600 comes with the Wraith Stealth air cooler which can allow mild overclocking along with a soldered die which will run cooler.
In addition to good performance once you buy the CPU, the platform for the Ryzen 5 2600 is forward and backward compatible with all AMD CPUs using the AM4 sockets until 2020 with a BIOS update. This means that you can buy a Ryzen 5 2600 today, and when the Ryzen 5 3600 (or whatever it’s called) comes out, you can easily swap out the CPU. However, on an Intel platform, you might have to get a completely new motherboard, that other than being more expensive, is also a hassle to take out.
On the other hand, though, the Intel Core i5-8400 sports higher single-core performance out of the box. If you don’t want to overclock your CPU and you want the highest frame rates possible, the i5-8400 is the way to go. But the Ryzen 5 2600 still has the productivity, value, and platform advantage.
In conclusion, if you want very high frame rates, the Intel Core i5-8400 is the CPU for you. But going with the Ryzen 5 2600 is cheaper and you could use the extra money to get a better graphics card. Honestly, the choice is yours. With AMD back in the CPU game, there is only one winner: The consumer.
Marcus Tech Blog 