Core I9 PC for gaming in 2024

Hardware

Ezekiel Arfo
June 18, 2024

The Core I9 is a top of the line CPU from Intel, that’s the best consumer grade CPU available, a gaming beast no doubt, but should you get it?

The Intel Core i9 was first unveiled back in 2017, toppling the Core i7 as the best consumer CPU money can buy on the market. Core i9’s are are top tier performance CPU, geared towards tech enthusiast, gaming/streaming, programming, animating and 3D designing. If you desire a top tier performer for your workload, given that “money is no option” of course.

Core i9’s are quite rare to see in a lot of places, Nigeria included. Most PC’s used for gaming are normally spotting a “core i5” which is quite really the sweet spot between performance and price. A modern Core i9 gaming PC will deliver arguably the best gaming performance on any video game, although of course that will come at a steep premium.

Core i9 Cpus

There are 6 generation of the Core I9 currently in existence, each with different configuration of cores/thread and frequency among other variables.

The Core i9 CPU in any gaming PC is a true power house, with even the older 1st gen I9’s are still delivering a decent performance on most games. These CPU’s deliver nothing less than 60FPS on newer games, going up to 300FPS depending on the variant, ensuring that despite what generation of I9 you go for, they can still deliver an unparallel level of performance.

Is the Core i9 right for you?

We have already establish that the Intel Core i9’s are phenomenal, but is the Core i9 gaming PC right for you? well… most likely not. This CPU is practically overkill for the “Average gamer”, so unless you are a competitive gamer, you’re into Esport, streaming and other heavy productive workload. You should be looking at a Core i5, I7 or even a Core I3 if you don’t do much. In gaming, more often than not, the GPU is what limits the gaming performance. Investment in a good dedicated graphic card will have a more significant effect on gaming performance than going with a high end CPU like an i9.

For the price a core I9 commands, it isn’t worth it for most, but if you are among the “few” that can actually utilize the true power of a Core I9, the gaming experience is truly unchallenged when paired together with a high end GPU and sufficient RAM.

Desktop vs Laptop

The Intel Core i9 comes in both workstation and mobile variants. While there exists pro’s and con’s for going with either configuration, it largely boil down to the same laptop vs Desktop has already been debated to infinity. But to largely summarize, apart from the portability, there isn’t much benefit going with a laptop in this senario. The smaller laptop form factor will greatly diminish the performance of the I9 CPU, it will be held back by the smaller cooling potential and lower power delivery of the Laptop. An I9 based laptop will largely be bulky and weight quite a bit, given the its larger chasis to help cool the CPU and its internals, its initial advantage that lies in portability isn’t quite as significant as once percieved, but apart form that and its “all in one” package, it isn’t adviceble to go for the laptop form factor, no need paying for expensive hardware that will never realise its full potential.

Where to buy a core i9 gaming pc in nigeria

When it comes to buying a high end gaming PC in Nigeria, your choices become quite limited. Given that the prices of these machines are practically more than what the average Nigeria makes in a year, or two. This makes physical locations a very unlikely avenue for finding these PC. But luckily we live in the digital age, the pocket rectangle devices we constantly have in hands can remedy this problem. A handful of websites exist with Nigeria, as well as some reputable Instagram vendors which will be listed below.

Jumia: This is practically the biggest online store in Nigeria, if what you are looking for isn’t here then you are in for some disappointment. But fortunately this outlet contains a number of core i9 gaming PCs are different price point.
Konga: This is the runner up to Jumia in almost all regards, it doesn’t quite offer as much merchandise, but it is a close send. Luckily as well, it does contain a number of Coire i9 gaming PCs
Instagram: Funnily enough Instagram is on this list, but rightly so. Legitimate vendors can be found on many social media platforms but non more so than Instagram. The standout advantage to this approach is the comment section that lets you know all you need to about the authenticity of the seller and product from former patrons.