List of Top i5 CPUs Which You Can Buy for Gaming, Rendering & Video Editing

Report Data Collected On: 1/Nov/2018

A Processor is an electronic chip which mainly situated on the Motherboard of every Computer System. It’s fully responsible for all Data Processing of your computer and that’s why a processor is called a brain of the Computer.

Every computer must need a single processor in order to display anything on the Monitor Screen;

The speed of a processor is determined by its ability to perform a task in one second. It was measured in Megahertz (MHz), but now as you know the technology is getting advanced day by day and because of the higher number of MHz in processors, nowadays we measure the clock speed in Gigahertz (GHz) because 1000MHz is equal to 1GHz (just like MB and GB).

Even comparing two different processor, there are numbers of factors which can determine the actual performance of the CPU. Some of the main key factors are like Clock Speed, Turbo Clock Speed, Number Of Cores, Cache Memory, Numbers of PCI lanes and etc.

A lot of people get confused by these terms, and if you think you have some confusion about these terms too, then you can feel free to read me this article where I have written a complete guide on >> “How To Buy A Processor (CPU) For Desktop PC?“.




OK, that’s enough about the CPUs. Let’s start with the i5 now!!!!

A lot of people using i5 Processor because it’s low priced, providing great performance and allows you to do more of your extra work with an easy.

In this article, I only going to talk about the i5 Processor, why it’s great and different from the other processors, also about some of the gaming results and a list of best i5 Processors available in the market in this current month.

So, let’s get started;

The i5 processors were released in September 2009 and the main reason why the i5 CPU is most popular than the other is just because of it’s great performance as per price ratio which anybody can easily afford.

The i5 Processors are released in many different generations, mainly eight. In 1^st Gen. there are 7 processors, in 2^nd Gen. or Sandy Bridge there are 5 processor, in 3^rd Gen. or Ivy Bridge there are 5 processor, in 4^th Gen. or Haswell there are 5 processor, in 5^th Gen. or Broadwell there are 3 processor, in 6^th Gen. or Skylake there are 7 processors, in 7^th Gen. or Kaby Lake there are 8 processor and in 8th Gen. or Coffee Lake there are 7 processors in the series. But right now, not all the 8^th Generation i5 CPUs are available in the market.

A lot of people ask me why i5 is great when I suggest them to buy an i5 for a Mid-level build, and the reason is:

• In my point of views: The i5 is a great processor for any kind of min range PC workload. It can do a lot of things which other processors in the same class aren’t capable enough to perform that well.
• i5 is the great low-cost processor: If you are a normal PC user, then this processor is perfect for you. It can do all of your work at the ultra-high speed because it has 6 cores which can handle the ultra-load of any heavy software or game and I believe it will definitely satisfy you to the maximum while working on this series of CPU.
• Best for gamers: This processor can run all the latest games at 4K on Ultra-Setting but I can’t say it can handle 4K gaming that well. While running the game on 4K, the CPU usage remains high all the time but If your budget is low and gaming is your life, then you can totally rely on this processor.
• Entry level Video Editing: You can also use this processor for your graphical work too. As compare to i7, this processor is slow while processing or rending a high-quality video. But still, you can able to do all the basic and normal editing but not any High-End Kind of Stuff.

And if you still wanted something more, then you can prefer an i7.

Suggested Link >> Best Intel i7 CPU (Processor) For Desktop – Monthly Updated!!

Something Important About The List;

There was a time when i5 processor bottleneck with all the high-end graphics cards, but last year Intel changed the whole game by releasing it’s first 6 cores 8th generation i5 processors, where the previous one has only four.

Now you can run 1080ti with the 8th generation i5 CPUs, by spending the same old price;

And the next big thing is 4K, I really can’t believe when I played my first 4K game on my friends latest i5 desktop. It looks amazing because it was more than 60 FPS (with 1080ti) which is more than enough for a mid-range CPU like this, but you’ll do get the average of about 55FPS in 4K.

The gaming performance of all those best processors of my list is tested with the Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB & 1070 8GB Graphics Card because these are the two most common models out there who perfectly fit under the budget.

The game I used for the benchmark is the Ubisoft’s latest Far Cry 5 which is perfect to test out this mid-range series.

So, Let’s See How Many Best i5 Processors Are Available In The Market, In This Month:

This is the first time when you can see the 30% performance increment over the generation. The latest 8th generation i5 even they beat the upper-class previous gen CPUs (i7 7700, 7740X & 7700k).

Since the 8^th Gen Series has the best in class performance, I only add 8^th Gen Processor in my list for the top CPUs of this month.

In case, if you are looking to upgrade your desktop computer’s processor to the i5 then make sure you also buy the latest motherboard too with the CPU. I’m only saying this because previous generation motherboard won’t support the latest 8 Gen processors.

Let’s see the list now;

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Top 3^rd CPU – Intel® Core™ i5-8500 Processor

• Numbers of Cores and Threads: 6 Cores / 6 Threads
• Processor Base Frequency: 3.00 GHz
• Max Turbo Frequency: 4.10 GHz
• Cache: 9 MB SmartCache
• Max Memory Size: 64 GB DDR4-2666
• Max Numbers of PCI Express Lanes: 16
• Socket Support: LGA 1151

About it: This is an 8^th Gen or Coffee Lake processor who’s having 6 cores in it, each core has a Clock Speed of about 3.0 GHz which can be increased up to 4.1 GHz by the Turbo.

Till now, this is the best budget processor of the i5 Series CPU. It also has the Cache Memory of about 9 MB, and not just some simple cache memory this processor comes with the SmartCache. It’s a level 2 or level 3 caching method for multiple execution cores, which can help to increase the Caching Performance.

As being a gamer, most of you people may demand to install some extra memory sticks in your PC and with this CPU you can increase the memory of your PC anytime even without having any hesitation as this CPU support all the latest DDR4 Memories up to 64 GB.

Just like all other Processors, this CPU also comes with the Integrated Graphics Chip. Intel used “Intel® UHD Graphics 630” graphics in all of the 8^th Gen CPUs of I5 Processors. The graphics chip can be able to set at Max Dynamic Frequency of 1.10 GHz, which is sufficient even if you didn’t want to add any dedicated graphics card into your PC.

It can support the latest DirectX version, which is DirectX 12. It has 16 number of PCI lanes, which means you can feel free to connect any graphics card or any other PCIe Interface Card into your PC.

Let’s come to the gaming performance now;

When I tested this CPU with 1060, I got the average frame rate of about 80 FPS, with the average CPU usage of 95% (and with 1070, I got 105 FPS average with 100% CPU usage). The game run pretty smoothly with Ultra-Graphics Setting, which is great for a low budget CPU of our list.

In My Opinion: Mainly perfect for any budget user because it’s actually 50$ cheaper as compare to the top 1^st CPU of my list. But in case, if you are a gamer then I won’t recommend you to use this CPU because the Top 2^nd CPU of our list is just for around more 25 dollars, but that can really fix the gaming issue.

Click To Check Out The Price Of “Intel Core i5-8500“:  @Amazon, @Newegg

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Top 2^nd CPU – Intel® Core™ i5-8600 Processor

• Numbers of Cores and Threads: 6 Cores / 6 Threads
• Processor Base Frequency: 3.10 GHz
• Max Turbo Frequency: 4.30 GHz
• Cache: 9 MB SmartCache
• Max Memory Size: 64 GB DDR4-2666
• Max Numbers of PCI Express Lanes: 16
• Socket Support: LGA 1151

About it: This one also is an 8^th Gen or Coffee Lake Processor but with some more advanced specifications in it.

Just like the above, this one also has 6 Cores in it who has the Clock Speed of about 3.10 GHz. The Turbo Speed of a core can go up to 4.30 GHz, which is actually quite amazing for a 240$ Processor.

This 8600 processor can support up to 64 GB of DDR4 memory, so I don’t think you need to worry about the memory expansion in the future.

Now you can enjoy the amazing 4K quality Gaming with this i5 processor. Isn’t it great? This CPU also comes with the Intel HD graphics 630, but in this Model, the chip’s Max Dynamics Frequency can only clock for about 1.15 GHz, which is enough to run a 4K monitor without using a Graphics Card. It also supports DirectX 12 and the max resolution of 4K at 60Hz just like the i5-8500 does.

The processor has 16 PCI lanes which are enough to connect any Graphics Card, or a LAN card and etc. and just like most of the 8^th Gen i5 CPUs this one also has the 9MB SmartCache in it.

This CPU offers some more extra performance as compared to the 8500 model by only have the little bit increment in the price tag. The gaming on this processor is definitely the one to be noted. I got the average Frame Rates of about 80 FPS with the CPU usage of 86% on 1060, and 105 FPS with 89% CPU usage on 1070, which is quite better as compared to the i5-8500.

#In My Opinion: Simply means the better gaming experience but still not for the better Video Editing, but if you still wanted to do that then just continue and look at the Top 1^st CPU of our list.

Click To Check Out The Price Of “Intel Core i5-8600“:  @Amazon, @Newegg

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Top 1^st CPU – Intel® Core™ i5-8600K Processor

• Numbers of Cores and Threads: 6 Cores / 6 Threads
• Processor Base Frequency: 3.10 GHz
• Max Turbo Frequency: 4.30 GHz
• Cache: 9 MB SmartCache
• Max Memory Size: 64 GB DDR4-2666
• Max Numbers of PCI Express Lanes: 16
• Socket Support: LGA 1151

About it: This processor is the best of all the i5 Series CPUs released till now. According to the all other 8^th generation i5 CPUs, this one has the top class specification to standout the perfect performance. So, if you are looking for a better performance CPU, then I’ll highly suggest you to use this processor in your built.

The special thing is, it has 6 Cores which can clock at the frequency of 3.60 GHz, but by using the turbo, the max frequency of a core can be reached upto 4.30 GHz.

Just like the others this one also comes with the 9MB SmartCache, with the 64 GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 Memory Support. The Integrating CPU’s Graphics “HD graphics 630” can be clocked up to 1.15 GHz and just like the above one, this CPU also has 16 PCIe lanes.

The “K” in the Model Number (i5-8600K) indicated that the processor has unlocked multiplier. By mentioning unlocked processor, it simply means that you can overclock this processor from the BIOS by simply increasing the processor multiplier.

If the model number doesn’t have any “K” mentioned at the end, it means you can’t overclock it properly. Only this processor of our list has the unlock ability in it.

Let’s come to the gaming performance of this CPU, the result I got from it was really unbelievable. The Frame Rates were high up to 82 FPS with the CPU usage of only 80% on 1060, and 110 FPS with 82% CPU usage on 1070.

I also overclock this processor and get the clock speed up to 4.6 GHz maximum, and get the additional 10% hike in the gaming performance too. The overclocking was done easy and nicely and don’t have any problems reported while overclocking.

#In My Opinion: You can go for any processor of our list according to your needs, but this one is the finest piece of the i5 Series CPU which you can buy for just around 250$.

Click To Check Out The Price Of “Intel Core i5-8600K“:  @Amazon, @Newegg

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And that’s our list of top 3 best i5 Processors what you can get for your Desktop Computer. Stay tuned for more! – So, what will you pick, if you wanted one for yourself? Let me know in the comments below:

Happy Shopping!!!