Could the i5-10600K be the new gaming king? I guess there’s only one way to find out: put together a build that pairs it with some of the best gaming hardware!
Competition is the Best!
It wasn’t so long ago when the vast majority of gamers were rocking dual- and quad-core CPUs. Then AMD decided to fire back into the market with Ryzen and have kept on pushing Intel these past 3 years.
The new i5-10600K is quite possibly the best result of that competition. So let’s take a look at a breakdown to see why.
CPU: Intel i5-10600K
Cores/Threads: 6/12
Base Clock: 4.1GHz
Boost Clock: 4.8GHz
Cache: 12 MB Intel® Smart Cache
TDP: 125W
RCP: $262
So there’s a few things nice generational improvements we are seeing here.
Firstly, this is a surprisingly cool-running CPU from Intel. Although previous generations ran quite hot, the i5-10600K looks like an honest attempt at improving on Intel’s design to provide better thermal performance. This allows us some more overhead for overclocking, and the majority online are seeing no issue just setting this to 5GHz and calling it a day.
Secondly, it seems like Intel has finally caved from the pressure of AMD’s growing popularity. This is now the first time Intel are adding in hyper-threading to the i5 range, which (along with giving us the great single-core gaming performance we expected) now branches the i5-10600K into being more capable for productivity tasks.
However, for this build we’re going with a fully equipped gaming rig—a build that can provide breathing room for the i5-10600K’s absolute maximum possible gaming performance, even when overclocking it. You might remember back in December when we talked about How Many CPU Cores You Need. Well, back then, we advised that you would need 6+ cores for high framerate gaming, and this is exactly what we’re aiming for with this build! So let’s get into some parts to complement the i5-10600K.
The Build
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i RGB PRO XT
Possibly one of the overall best All-In-One CPU coolers on the market for a while now, the RGB PRO XT version of the H100i comes complete with an improved fan design, which results in even better heat dissipation. A great option for an overclocker looking for a 240mm radiator design.
Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus (WiFi)
Although this is nowhere near the most expensive Z-series board out there, the TUF Gaming board gives us plenty of what we need for a seriously solid gaming build. Everything from faster wifi if you need it to re-inforced PCI-e slots, this has it.
RAM: G.Skill RipJaws V 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3600MHz
We’re going with some decently fast RAM for the build. 16GB is still plenty for gaming, and getting this as a pack of two allows us an easy way to double this if needed further down the line.
Storage 1: Seagate BarraCuda 2TB
Acting as a large storage drive, this inexpensive 2TB drive from Seagate will be perfectly sufficient.
Storage 2: Samsung 970 EVO 500GB
For our big primary AAA games, we’re opting for the impressive Samsung 970 EVO M.2 SSD. This gives us blistering fast speeds for loading, while being an excellent drive for storing more intensive programs.
Storage 3: Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Finshing up the storage section, we’ve got a boot drive and standard program drive in the form of the highly rated Samsung 860 EVO. If you’re looking for a bit of savings, you can skip this drive and put the OS on the M.2 SSD above.
GPU: MSI RTX 2080 TI GAMING X TRIO
Okay, we did say fully equipped gaming rig. And if you’re wanting more frames than you know what to do with, or to play at 4K, then there is only really one choice. The GAMING X is one of the better standard models… y’know, before you get to the AIO water cooled ones!
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2
Possibly one of the best power supplies on the market, the SuperNOVA P2 comes with exceptional power delivery under full load, as well as having every possible safety feature you could think of. A serious PSU for a serious gaming build.
Case: LIAN LI PC-O11 Dynamic Razer Edition
I’m not usually one for special edition cases, but just look at this thing! What says ‘gamer’ more than a big ol’ Razer logo and RGB!? Nothing, that’s what. Seriously though, this is based on the standard version, which is very highly recommended for building with, so you can’t go wrong here.
Total i5-10600K Build Cost: $2685
A cheap build, this is not. Between the various high-end storage drives, the graphics card, the case, and the power supply, the i5-10600K will have more than enough power at its fingertips. The thing is, too, that the CPU itself has sufficient horsepower to take advantage of all that grunt.
The price puts this squarely in the Enthusiast bracket of our main page, and although the i5-10600K won’t quite be able to keep up with the multi-tasking power of that AMD Ryzen 9 3900X, it makes up for it in single-core gaming performance.
Go Forth and Build!
Now before you go all bonkers spending every saved up penny you have on these components, there are extras that you might need to finish off this i5-10600K build:
- A copy of Windows. If you are a student or work for a big business, you might be able to get a copy for free or at a significantly lower cost. If not, we recommend Windows 10 on disc ($90) or USB ($120).
- An optical drive—critical if you are wanting to install Windows 10 via disc. Good thing here is DVD-RW drives are cheap these days (here’s one for $21).
We also have general recommendations for:
If you want to see other builds with even higher performance (a short list at this point!), check out the main page at Logical Increments.
There you have it—a high-end gaming build to utilize the best out of the new i5-10600K!
If you have any questions or suggestions about this build, then let us know in the comments.