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Edited February 4, 2022
at 12:56 PM
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My local microcenter is showing 20 in stock. This is the version with integrated graphics. The i5 12400 seems to be the new sweet spot for budget builds and budget gaming. It is faster than AMD 5600g (the closest direct competitor) and 5600x. From reports, the bundled cooler is a big improvement from previous stock coolers so it is not necessary to spend money on that either. With a ASUS Prime B660 it would be about $300 out the door for a CPU/MB combo with graphics and a cooler or even cheaper if you can get one of the $25 off coupons that was posted on here for uploading a build.
CPU Core - Alder Lake
Processor - Core i5 12400
Operating Frequency - 2.50GHz
Turbo Speed - 4.4GHz
Cores - Six-Core
Number of Threads - 12 Processing Threads
Socket Type - LGA 1700
Level 2 Cache - 7.5MB
Level 3 Cache - 18MB
https://www.microcenter.com/produ...r-included
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If you're looking for the cheapest build option you can find a near-$100 B660 chipset board paired it with the cheapest DDR4 you can find (or some you already have if you're upgrading a more modern system) would get you up and running. That could keep your total bill of materials (incl. RAM) around $300-350 and provide a functioning system with solid performance. You'd have plenty of CPU upgrade path, but unless you're willing to upgrade the stock cooler you're probably leaving a lot of performance locked away inside the CPU.
Do try to avoid motherboards built around the H610 chipset as the pricing seems to overlap with the B660 in the retail channel. The H610 chipset is positioned at the bottom end, and will probably be built into plenty of OEM systems, but there's no obvious value pricing on it available to regular consumers that I've seen (vs. more full-featured chipsets like B660 motherboards).
The next best investment to mention might be a solid air-cooler for $40-60. However, if you want to build the best platform to get every bit of performance out of the CPU you'd have to track down the cheapest Z690 chipset motherboard you can find, which probably adds another $60 or more to the bill for the H610 configuration. There are a lot of CPU tweaking and support features available in that chipset which could help with the current CPU choice or any future CPU upgrades. This is a key feature of the newest CPUs from Intel that could justify the upgrade, though obviously cheaper boards don't always implement this functionality as easily as more properly high-end motherboard manufacturers.
Good luck!
Jon
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However, your statement about stock speed might fail to highlight for some readers the way modern Intel CPUs switch between their base clock speed (2.5GHz for this CPU) and their boost clock speed (4.4GHz single core; 4.0 GHz all cores): the only limiting factor for how long and how fast an Intel CPU can boost are CPU thermals. A better cooler ensures that more cores stay at a boosted speed when required/tasked. Additionally, better cooling also allows that boost to keep the speeds at the highest possible frequency. (Assuming the motherboard also remains cool and stable to supply the CPU power)
Pretty sure that came from an early video here [youtube.com] that did indeed show the good news that may not be obvious to some readers on this thread: even with "only" the stock cooler the CPU didn't hit its upper temperature limit during testing (which would have lead to thermal throttling, where the CPU is slowed to allow cooling). This resulted in the CPU remaining boosted above the base clock during the entirety of the testing runs. However, consider that this CPU might perform differently in a closed system (the case in that test was open) and with a computer with a GPU installed. The channel owner noted the configuration in the comments as follows:
This isn't a big deal for a large number of users, but it does highlight the distinction between the configuration in the video above and the kind of PC many users might actually build around this CPU.
I think your last point might be the most important regarding cost-effectiveness, since a premium cooler with compatible mounting hardware might add some cost. Given the reasonable performance with the stock cooler, that added cost might reduce the price performance of such an upgrade for now. Hopefully in the future that premium would diminish.
Good luck!
Jon
The Noctua Redux is 50 but great performance.
Not just for web browsing. I do lots of VM tests and docker items while working from home.
But I do see like a lot of the comments the motherboard are higher prices and I'm looking for one with built-in wifi and Bluetooth.
It's really time to move on, but ... OMG, is it taking forever for more "mid-price" boards for Alder Lake to show up (obviously someone content to run Ivy Bridge for nearly a decade isn't gonna pay top $ for a MB). Starting to look like I may be waiting til summer too
The 12400 looks sexy, but I'm optiong for the 12600 for the extra ecores, and hoping the extra $100 will lead to another year or two before I have to upgrade. GPU prices are expected to fall dramatically in the next two months, too.
The 12400 looks sexy, but I'm optiong for the 12600 for the extra ecores, and hoping the extra $100 will lead to another year or two before I have to upgrade. GPU prices are expected to fall dramatically in the next two months, too.
As an added bonus it looks like the ASUS B660-Plus motherboard also has a 2.5g ethernet connection which will help with my 1gb+ internet connection going forward. Like I mentioned I've never build a pc before so I'm thinking 16gb of ram (currently have 8gb) and a decent SSD. Does anyone have any recommendations for the ram and a SSD along with a case? What else am I missing for the build?
I have access to a Microcenter but am willing to buy components elsewhere if cost effective.
Thanks,
-Guru
As far as ram, I've always used G.Skill, I don't care about RGB so I look for CAS latency of 16 or lower at 3200+ MHZ
SSD- I've used them all, Samsung, WD, Corsair and haven't had issues. Some will be faster than others. I get what ever is the best deal.
Case is personal preference. Gamer Nexus has good reviews on best airflow cases
I always just buy an aftermarket cooler, since this wont overclock the Cooler Master 212 is a popular pick. You'll need thermal paste as well, some will come with some but I've found buying a good quality paste is better for cooling and I'm going on 10 years with my current tube.
Overall check out Linus Tech Tips, Jaytwocents & Gamer Nexus. They have a lot of information
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