Intel i9 vs. i7 Processor for gaming?

[DaveTN]

My grandson ask me about building him a gaming PC. I have built several PC’s but its been a few years. I’m considering supervising him building one. I know I could probably buy for close to the cost of what it would be to build one, but I think that’s a skill set people need to have.

In checking things out lately I see a lot of conflicting info on the i9 for gaming. Some appear to be trying to justify the i7 because of the substantial cost difference of the i9. Others have said the i9, while performing better in a workstation for CAD or graphics intense applications, be may be slower than the i7 for gaming.

Taking the price out of the equation, I would think a i9 should perform better than an i7. But I’m not a gamer.

What do you guys think? Anyone built their own gaming PC based on the i9?

[MacGyver]

While there’s a conversation to be had about future proofing on the i7 vs i9, if you’re looking at price differentials - most of the performance that a gamer would probably care about would come from spending that money upgrading the graphics card.

Memory and processing power offloaded to that discrete card are likely to net him a lot more than just the CPU itself. 

[hkusp40cal]

Have you consider the AMD Ryzen CPUS.  AMD has stepped up their game in the last few years.

 

[DaveTN]

50 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

While there’s a conversation to be had about future proofing on the i7 vs i9, if you’re looking at price differentials - most of the performance that a gamer would probably care about would come from spending that money upgrading the graphics card.

Memory and processing power offloaded to that discrete card are likely to net him a lot more than just the CPU itself. 

Yes, the graphics card will be the key and I don’t expect to skimp. I don’t mind paying the money for the i9, I just want to make sure I’m not picking the wrong processor for gaming.

[DaveTN]

43 minutes ago, hkusp40cal said:

Have you consider the AMD Ryzen CPUS.  AMD has stepped up their game in the last few years.

I think I want to stick with Intel. 

[Trekbike]

I'm not a gamer nor a IT person so I can't add value to your processor question, other than totally agree the video card is the key to a good system just based on what I know for CAD workstations.  Just wondering if the PC will be used for other things (school work, etc.), or will it be just for gaming?    If just for gaming, is there an advantage of a PC over a game console?   

[Daniel]

2 hours ago, Trekbike said:

I'm not a gamer nor a IT person so I can't add value to your processor question, other than totally agree the video card is the key to a good system just based on what I know for CAD workstations.  Just wondering if the PC will be used for other things (school work, etc.), or will it be just for gaming?    If just for gaming, is there an advantage of a PC over a game console?   

Self respect.


.. I kid, I kid... kind of.

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by Daniel

[Chucktshoes]

3 hours ago, Trekbike said:

I'm not a gamer nor a IT person so I can't add value to your processor question, other than totally agree the video card is the key to a good system just based on what I know for CAD workstations.  Just wondering if the PC will be used for other things (school work, etc.), or will it be just for gaming?    If just for gaming, is there an advantage of a PC over a game console?   

Even a next gen gaming console is several years behind current gen PC gaming machines. 

[DaveTN]

3 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

Even a next gen gaming console is several years behind current gen PC gaming machines. 

Grandpa told him that. But of course he wouldn’t believe it until one of his friends told him, and showed him their set-up.

[MacGyver]

Don’t discount the AMD Ryzens outright. It’s probably worth reading up.

I know you’re probably like me and have an opinion on Intel vs AMD formed in the 90’s. But, there are a bunch of diehard gamers on that platform.  

[DaveTN]

4 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

I know you’re probably like me and have an opinion on Intel vs AMD formed in the 90’s. 

Correct. They were always fast, but they were quick to burn up or have other problems.

[MacGyver]

Just now, DaveTN said:

Correct. They were always fast, but they were quick to burn up or have other problems.

That’s no longer true. Times are definitely changing. 

[Chucktshoes]

It’s a shame that Apple has always dismissed the gaming market. I’ve got the wife a new MacBook with that new M1 chip on order. I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do. It’s supposed to be a crazy powerful chip. 

[DaveTN]

2 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

It’s a shame that Apple has always dismissed the gaming market. I’ve got the wife a new MacBook with that new M1 chip on order. I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do. It’s supposed to be a crazy powerful chip. 

Apples give me an upset stomach; so I stay away from them. 

[DWARREN123]

I do not think you will go wrong with either or AMD but like said the graphics card is what will be the big gain.

Cooling on is also a big factor when you go heavy with graphics or high end CPU's or both.

Just what little I know.

Hopefully you will have much fun doing and learning together.

[Grayfox54]

I asked my son the tech guy who works Geek Squad at Best buy. He's also a huge gamer and built his own computer just for gaming. The i9 is the better processor. However, the question is do you need that much power? The i7 will handle everything currently out there.  He sees no real advantage to getting the i9 unless you plan to use the computer for other serious work requiring the extra power.