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The tech world moves fast, and keeping up with the latest PC hardware can be tricky. In his recent video, popular YouTuber PC Builder highlights some of the biggest CPU mistakes people make when building a PC in 2024. I watched the 16-minute video so you don’t have to – here’s a complete summary of his key advice.
Avoid Older Intel CPUs
Intel dominated the CPU market for years, but AMD has been catching up recently with their Ryzen processors. Many of Intel’s older CPUs just can’t compete with AMD’s offerings anymore in terms of performance per dollar.
Specifically, PC Builder advises avoiding 9th generation Intel CPUs like the i7-9700K or i9-9900K. They still offer decent gaming performance thanks to high clock speeds, but they lack hyperthreading which really hampers multi-threaded workloads. The small 8-core design also limits future upgradability.
You’re better off looking at 10th/11th gen Intel chips or jumping to AMD instead.
Skip the Low Core Counts
It used to be that 4-6 CPU cores was plenty for gaming and regular use. But modern games and software take advantage of more cores, so it’s best to get at least 8 physical cores in 2024.
With AMD CPUs, this means going for something like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D rather than the 6-core 5600X. For Intel, target the i7-12700K over the i5-12600K. Those extra two cores will lead to much smoother gaming performance and better multitasking.
Watch Out for Power Limitations
PC Builder calls out power limitations as another area to watch out for. CPUs have a power budget that limits how high they can boost clock speeds. Going too low here means leaving performance on the table.
For example, the popular i5-12400F has a puny 65W power limit. Pairing it with a B660 motherboard often restricts that even further to just 45W. This prevents the CPU from maintaining its peak boost speeds.
Pay attention to the rated TDP to avoid power-limited configs, even if it means spending more on a better motherboard.
DDR5 Memory Isn’t Worth It Yet
The latest generation of DDR5 RAM offers blistering speeds over 6000 MT/s. But PC Builder argues that it’s still not a good purchase right now for most PC builders.
DDR5 has huge premiums over DDR4 memory, with a 32GB kit often costing over $300. And in real world gaming, the performance difference is only around 5-10% at most. You can get 90% of DDR5 speeds for a fraction of the price by going with fast DDR4 3600/4000 memory instead.
Until DDR5 prices come down, it’s better to put funds toward a better GPU or CPU.
Watch Out for Fake Multi-Threading
When looking at CPU specs, core count and thread counts can be confusing. Some Intel CPUs like the i7-12700F are listed as having 12 cores and 20 threads. But PC Builder breaks down how 4 of those “cores” are just efficiency cores that don’t boost as high. And hyperthreading is creating fake “threads” that don’t equate to real cores.
So when comparing to AMD, pay attention to real physical cores. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D technically has 8 cores and 16 threads. But each one of those cores is full-powered, making it deliver better real-world and gaming performance than Intel chips with higher listed thread counts.
Avoid Extreme Overclocking
Overclocking your CPU can eke out some extra performance. But PC Builder warns that extreme overclocks often aren’t worth the tradeoffs of massively increased power draw, heat, and instability.
He uses the example of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D – an already power-optimized chip for gaming. Manually overclocking destroys the efficiency, pushing over 200W power consumption versus the stock 88W. For only a 5% performance gain at best.
Light overclocking is fine. But don’t push things to extremes chasing benchmark numbers.
Get a Budget CPU Cooler
You definitely need some kind of aftermarket CPU cooler for any mid-range or high-end processor. The included stock coolers just don’t cut it. But PC Builder says you don’t need to go crazy spending $80-150 on a high-end air cooler or AIO liquid cooler.
Budget tower coolers in the $30-50 range like the Deepcool AK400 or ID-COOLING SE-214-XT will enable moderate overclocks while running cool and quiet. Fancier coolers often sacrifice noise for only a couple degrees better thermals. So they aren’t worth it unless you’re an extreme overclocker.
Match Your CPU to Resolution
Finally, PC Builder reminds us that you need to pick your CPU based on your monitor resolution and GPU choice. There’s no reason to pair an RTX 3090 Ti with a cheap Ryzen 5 3600X CPU. But going overkill on a CPU for 1080p gaming is also wasteful.
For 1080p gaming, something like the Ryzen 5 5600 or Core i5-12400F is plenty. 1440p is a nice balance point for mid-range CPUs like the Ryzen 7 5800X. Only look at the most high-end CPUs like the Core i9-13900K if you’ll be gaming at 4K.
Matching your components properly ensures you don’t have imbalanced bottlenecks while also avoiding diminishing returns.
Key Takeaways
That sums up PC Builder’s top CPU advice for 2024 system builds! Stick to modern processors, get enough cores, watch out for power and thermal limits, skip DDR5 for now, pay attention to real multi-threading, avoid extreme overclocking, get a good budget cooler, and match your CPU to your resolution.
What CPU are you using right now? Do you agree with these tips? Let me know in the comments! I’m hoping to build a new PC later this year and still deciding on parts.