I am thinking of buing one of these cpus for my upcoming server and I need some help in deciding which to buy.
As a precursory information, I already have a Noctua NH-L9x65 at hand, so I would like to use it for this project.
I am going to run software such as Nextcloud and Jellyfin and maybe some game servers every now and then.
The processors seem to be quite similiar in performance (same number of P and E cores), but Noctua compatibility centre (https://ncc.noctua.at/coolers/NH-L9x65-19) says the cooler could handle the 12600k better than the 14400 which I find weird, since the 14400 has lower TDP as well as lower base and boost clocks.
I prefer power efficiency over plain power in somewhat similiar products.
Which cpu would suit my needs better do you think?
consider a 14th i5-14500T (35w base tdp) off ebay instead. the lower tdp doesn't sacrifice much performance over the i5-14400 (the higher sku i selected has more cores and cache), but its max ~ 100w tdp will be better handled by your relatively smallish top-down cooler--which i don't think will be quite good enough to let either cpu you're looking at really shine with their max tdp of ~ 150w.
Thanks, an interesting option!