Intel Core i5-8400

Core i5-8400 vs. Overclocked Ryzen 5 1600: I'd consider buying the Ryzen 5 1600 because it's cheaper overall including platform costs and the savings could buy you a decent cooler or some flashy RGB lights. And I'd consider buying the Core i5-8400 because it's the stronger gaming CPU for the vast majority of titles available right now. Stronger low resolution performance could point to it being a better CPU down the track and a better pairing for future generation GPUs.

Battlefield V is playable on quad-cores but you can expect frequent frame dips, resulting in less consistent frame rates. For the most part, we've found that the older Core i5-7600K has been hanging in there pretty well with AAA titles released in...

Intel Core i7-8700K, i5-8600K, 8400 versus AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, R5 1600X, 1500X: For now, if you're just looking for solid performance out of the box at a great price, the Core i5-8400 looks like the best bet. Ryzen is of course still a worthy alternative and for those gaming at 1440p with a GTX 1070 or Vega 56 graphics card, the difference between a Ryzen 5 CPU and the Core i5-8400 will be negligible. Which platform will prove to be the best investment over the next five years is anyone's guess.