I5 8400 or R5 1600?

[PCI Express]

I am looking to build a new gaming system for next year. I plan on buying a GTX 1060 3GB and 8GB of DDR4 RAM. The games I will play are Overwatch, Battlefield I, CS:GO, and Star Wars Battlefront II. Currently, my two options are the Ryzen 5 1600 or the Intel Core i5 8400.

The system will be used for gaming most of my time, but with some minor music production.

I am aware that Ryzen has better multi-core performance, while Coffee Lake has better single-core.

Second generation Ryzen processors are set to release next year...

Considering factors such as cost, value, future-proofing, and overall performance for gaming and everyday tasks, which processor is the better option? Should I wait for Ryzen Gen. 2?

 

[MaikuTech]

Go with the i5 8400 the base clock is a good starter for it, learn how to over clock properly from here.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/
You will be able to push it from the base clock to the max oc intel allows if not better with a very good air cooler.
This will perform very well on gaming and if you need to do work at the same time you won't lag very much at all.
If my recent haswell chip "4570" does this well on gaming and desktop productivity without stuttering much at all.
This will do far better, I suggest adding on 16gb to the system
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117824
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813144113
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820236134
Least that way windows won't have a problem, loading over bloated applications like adobe, sonar, visual studio, office.

 

[Strawman]

With the GPU you are going to buy both will perform the exact same. You need a 1080ti to start seeing differences. If cheaper mobos were available for the 8400 I would suggest it hands down. But there aren't any.

Keep in mind you need to OC the 1600 to 3.8ghz, on stock it lags behind the 8400 (though not with a 1060).

But frankly, you can't go wrong with either. And forget about future - proofing, nobody can tell you which one will perform better with future graphics cards on future games. If games become more core aware (like Civ 6) the R5 will take the lead, if not the 8400 will remain at the lead.

 

[HardReset]

If you want machine next year, wait until next year and see what's situation then.

Ryzen 2 probably comes Q4/2018 or later.

 

[delrey]

I think @Strawman has hit it straight on. I have a i7 960 with a 1060 3GB. I can play BF1 almost maxed out. Either processor would do fine. It all comes down to timing and other platform options (pros/cons) that would help make the decision. Like Strawman said, you would do fine with either.

Edit: I would also save for 16GB for help with the future proofing.

 

[DoNotMarket2Me]

If you are concerned about maximizing you saving today, then you would go with a Ryzen 3 at $100 or less, since you only need a Ryzen 3 level performance to drive a GTX1060. See:

https://www.techspot.com/article/1496-pairing-cpu-and-gpu-bottlenecking/

Spend as little as possible on the current Ryzen so you can focus those saving for the Ryzen+ or Ryzen2 whatever it is that will probably show up in 9 months for now, because the AM4 socket will still be good. And you'll most likely need to upgrade the CPU to support faster video card in the future.

However if you expect to upgrade your GPU in the future see, see:
https://www.techspot.com/review/1505-intel-core-8th-gen-vs-amd-ryzen/

And you can wait to January to do your build, assuming prices are where they are now, which is iffy at best, but at $180 the i5-8400 will give you better build, better bang for the buck.

 

[MaikuTech]

Hmm the cpu prices will start shooting up next week as thanksgiving comes and people want to rush christmas.
Expect it to be higher until the 4th week of december.
If some family members close friends give you enough cash during christmas.
I would go ahead and grab the cpu that tickles your fancy best.

That motherboard I showed you maybe abit pricey at the moment.
But I grab it first then grab 1 stick of ddr4 2600 8gb 1.2 voltage a month later.
By the time january comes and no major bill problems grab the cpu last.
I looked at the ryzen chips by the chart here and looked at the i5 8400 I would get that cpu.
If money werent a big thing for me, I would lay down 200.00 bucks and start a sky-lake build.