When it comes to pure gaming processors, the I5 line up of CPUs are the first thing to come to mind, this is because they have an amazing price to performance ratio in terms of gaming performance.
While they aren’t multicore beasts like the I9s, they can often hold up quite well in gaming situations, this is because the single-core performance differences aren’t actually as big as you’d think they are.
With that being said, I know how difficult it is to find a processor, so I’m here to help you find the best I5 processor for you. I’ll point out what the latest I5 processors are, and whether going for the previous gen I5s would be a good choice.
In a hurry? No worries, I’ve compiled the list in a table down below!
Intel I5 13600K | Best I5 Processor For Gaming
Specifications
- Core Clock Speed: 3.5 GHz(base) 5.1 GHz(boost)
- Core Count: 14(performance + efficiency cores) 20(performance + efficiency threads)
- Microarchitecture: Golden Cove
- Socket: LGA1700
- Max Memory Support 128GB
- Integrated Graphics: Yes
- TDP: 125W(base) 181W(turbo)
Reasons To Buy
- Best gaming performance on a budget
- Supports DDR4 motherboards
- Integrated graphics is available
- Supports PCIE 5.0
Reasons To Avoid
- Poor single-core performance compared to I9 and I7.
- No stock cooler
Review
It is common fact that the I5s are one of the best gaming CPUs, this is mostly because I5s allow for top tier gaming performance whilst maintaining a respectable price. This is why you will see many strict gamers gravitate towards picking up an I5 instead of something like an I7 or an I9 which is more multipurpose focused.
Multicore performance isn’t the I5 13600K strong suit, the I5 is more known for its strong single-core performance which is quite impressive. It has a boost clock speed of 5.1 GHz, this is the first time an I5 has reached 5 GHz out of the box.
In many gaming scenarios, the I5 13600K will out-perform the I9 12900K, this is absolutely insane because the I9 12900K was known as the strongest processor for gaming long too long ago. So it’s evident that the I5 processors can hold up easily with the top tier processors in terms of single-core performance.
In such gaming scenarios, we will see the I5 13600K out-perform the I9 12900K by at least 5 FPS. While it isn’t a lot, if you compare the price to performance ratio, the I5 13600K is clearly the winner. But it still may lose when it comes to multi-core performance.
Competitor wise, the I5 13600K competes directly with the Ryzen 5 7600X for the title of the best budget gaming processor. In many gaming scenarios, the I5 13600K will outperform the Ryzen 5 7600X and vice-versa. So, it can definitely be a tricky decision when picking between the two.
There’s one main downside, the fact that the I5 13600K doesn’t have a stock cooler. If the I5 13600K came with a stock cooler, then it would be one of the best budget processors. This saves the user from having to spend additional money on a cooler.
Alternatives: The best alternative would be the I7 13700K, I can recommend this processor if you want to game, but perform other tasks such as video editing.
I5 12600K/KF | Best 12th Gaming I5 CPU
Specifications
- Cores: 6+4
- Threads: 16
- Base Clock: 3.7 GHz
- Boost Clock: 4.9 GHz
- Overclockable: Yes
- L3 Cache: 20MB
- TDP: 125W
Reasons To Buy
- Superior gaming performance(single core) to the I9 11900K
- Great multicore performance
- Overclockable
- Supports DDR5 memory
Reasons To Avoid
- Pricey for an I5
- Power hungry
- No stock cooler
The I5 12600K is the perfect mid tier Alder Lake processor for gaming, it has the single-core performance gamers look for, as well as the overclockability in case you want to take things further.
Whilst the I5 12600K is the previous gen of I5s, it still hold up well in most gaming scenarios, and if you already own the 12600K, I wouldn’t recommend upgrading just yet.
Furthermore, it supports DDR5 memory which has the potential to be significantly faster and better than DDR4 memory. So, once DDR5 improves as a technology, you can benefit from its additional performance.
The main downside to the I5 12600K is that it’s power hungry, so you’ll have to invest into a decent power supply to supplement the CPU. Secondly, if the I5 12600K came with a stock cooler, it would suit budget seekers even more, it will save you money which could be invested on better things.
Alternatives: The best alternative would have to be the I7 12700K, you get a little more single-core performance. It absolutely destroys the Ryzen 5 5600X which is priced similarly.
I5 11600K/KF | Best 11th Gen Gaming I5 CPU
Specifications
- Cores: 6
- Threads: 12
- Base Clock: 3.9 GHz
- Boost Clock: 4.9 GHz
- Overclockable: Yes
- L3 Cache: 12MB
- TDP: 125W
Reasons To Buy
- Still viable for 1440P
- More affordable than 12600K
- Overclockable
- Great gaming performance
Reasons To Avoid
- Previous gen
- Worse than 12600K at multithreaded tasks
- High TDP
- Small L3 Cache
The I5 11600K is an older I5, but it’s still competent and pretty strong, thanks to its decent single-core performance. It’s still viable today if you’re looking to game at a reasonable resolution, and you don’t pair it with an overkill GPU like the RTX 4090.
The I5 11600K is able to play games pretty well at 1440P without imposing any bottlenecks, so you could save money going with the I5 11600K over I5 12600K, or the 13600K.
However, the biggest downside with the I5 11600K is that it lacks multi-core performance which can be an issue if you intend to do multiple things at once.
Separately, it does have a really high TDP of around 125W, so as a precaution, ensure you have a decent CPU cooler, and enough power.
Another downside I know about is that the I5 11600K is starting to fall behind when compared to the 13th gen I5 processors. It’s known that the 13600K is roughly 25% faster in single core performance, and 60% faster in multicore performance.
Alternative: The best alternative to the I5 11600K would be the I7 11700K, you’ll be able to game and stream at the same time due to the superior multi-core performance.
I5 12400/F | Best Budget I5 CPU For Gaming
Specifications
- Cores: 6
- Threads: 12
- Base Clock: 2.5 GHz
- Boost Clock: 4.4 GHz
- Overclockable: No
- L3 Cache: 18MB
- TDP: 65W
Reasons To Buy
- Affordable
- Decent single-core performance
- Low TDP
- Free stock cooler
- Supports DDR5
Reasons To Avoid
- Locked clocked modifier (no overclocking)
- Lacklustre multicore performance
Keeping it to the 12th generation, the 12400F is the best budget I5 processor with a price of around $180. The 12600K has a retail price of $289 for comparison.
The only reason I recommend this processor is because it’s an amazing choice for a purely gaming focused machine with no intentions to stream or video edit with, however, it’s not completely impossible to pull it off..
However, it does support hyperthreading which gives it 12 threads, this gives it a slight edge when it comes to multitasking. So, if you’re looking to stream, and video edit on the side, the SMT capabilities will definitely help.
Also, a great benefit is that it comes with a stock cooler, so you also save money if you choose to stick to the stock cooling solution. The fact it comes with a stock cooler makes this processor a true budget option, you save money on a cooler which could be invested into getting a better GPU.
The downside to the 12400F is that it does not support overclocking which means you’re locked to how much performance you get out of the box. So, if your GPU is getting bottlenecked, unfortunately, there’s no reasonable way to relieve it without upgrading the CPU.
Alternative: The best alternative to the 12400/F would have to be the Ryzen 5 5600X which is cheaper, and still plays games well due to the single-core performance.
I5 12600 | Budget I5 CPU For Gaming
Specifications
- Cores: 6
- Threads: 12
- Base Clock: 3.3 GHz
- Boost Clock: 4.8 GHz
- Overclockable: No
- L3 Cache: 18W
- TDP: 65W
Reasons To Buy
- Low TDP
- Cheaper than 12600K
- Decent single-core performance
Reasons To Avoid
- Locked clocked modifier (no overclocking)
The 12600 is a very different CPU to the 12600K, it has a few differences such as fewer cores, and lower clock speeds, but it’s still a great CPU for gaming. You will definitely have fewer frames, but it isn’t game changing if you pair it with the right GPU.
It also has a low TDP which aids in cooling as well as power consumption, so you can benefit more from the free CPU cooler that it comes with. This means you can invest the money into getting more RAM, or upgrading the graphics card.
So if you have no intentions on overclocking, and want a CPU that’ll run cool and not consume a lot of power, then the 12600 is perfect. It just means you’ll be stuck at its base performance, and if you’re suffering from a lack of performance ,the only way to relive it is to upgrade.
So, the biggest downside is the fact you cannot overclock, but this is fine if you’re fine with stock performance, and you pair it with a nice budget motherboard which doesn’t support overclocking like a B660M.
Alternative: The 5600G is the best alternative to entry level gaming, they both come with free CPU coolers.
How To Pick The Right CPU For Gaming
Picking the right CPU for gaming usually involves identifying the key specifications that matter the most for gaming.
The key specifications are single-core performance, core count, and L3 cache. If you take these three things into consideration, you’ll be fine.
Why Is Single-Core Performance Important For Gaming
For gaming, single-core performance is important because most games benefit from how well a single-core performs.
If multi-core performance was really important, then we’d see gamers prioritize CPUs with huge core counts such as Ryzen Threadrippers or I9 processors.
But that simply isn’t the case, games can run perfectly fine on I5 or even I3 processors if the single-core performance is good enough.
Single-core performance is made up of clock speed, and IPC. IPC is generational, and will usually improve with each CPU generation.
Why Core Count Is Important For Games
While the core count doesn’t directly contribute to the FPS, games are still coded to work off multiple cores.
Also, multiple cores helps with multitasking which many gamers tend to do as they’d like to stream or play music in the background.
So having multiple cores can help significantly with background tasks, and running the operating system.
Why L3 Cache Is Important For Games
The L3 cache is important for games because the L3 cache is responsible for fast data exchange as it’s significantly faster than the RAM.
When you don’t have enough L3 cache, the CPU will have to get its instructions from the RAM which is significantly slower than the L3 cache.
So, the L3 cache reduces the RAM/CPU bottleneck, take a look at the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, it performs extremely well in games because of the huge L3 cache it has.
