Out of Intel’s 12th Gen CPU line-up, the i5-12400F remains a personal favorite. Sure, it’s only armed with six cores, and specs appear lacking on paper compared to newer options. However, I can attest to the fact that in most scenarios, this i5 Alder Lake chip can provide enough of a punch to support an RTX 4090 rig, and it’s currently super cheap thanks to Amazon’s Spring Sale.
If you wander over to Amazon right now, you’ll find that the Intel Core i5-12400F is down from $206.25 to $137.03, thanks to a 34% discount. If you happen to be in the UK, you’ll be able to grab an even better deal, as a chonky 43% discount has slashed the chip to just £107.99. That’s pretty respectable when you consider the fact that the newest equivalent, the i5-14400F, is going for $209.99, and while that is undeniably one of the best CPUs for gaming right now, the comparative gaming PC experience might not be as different as you’d think.
