Originally posted by Requimatic:

Don't make the mistake of getting an i5; I see people with them constantly having issues with performance in games ranging from Valheim to numerous others.

Spend a little extra and get an i7+ that can handle multi-threaded operations. Ideally, something 4 Core/8 Thread, 6 Core/12 Thread.. or better. The 8700/8700K is an outstanding CPU that would serve you well. I use an 8086K, which is essentially a cherry-picked 8700K, and have had zero issues with any game since its release. (Paired with a 1080 Ti)

I cannot stress enough to stay away from an i5 if you intend to game at all. Alternatively to Intel, there are always equivalent or better-for-the-price AMD CPUs which would be more than adequate for this game and others. (And also better than an i5)

As far as falling GPU prices are concerned, whenever you decide to buy one, be SURE you aren't getting a "refurbished" or "re-certified" GPU. Chances are it came from a Crypto miner that dumped their 4+ GPUs on to the market with the hilarious crash of Crypto.

Edit: do a little research, check out benchmarks (Passmark Software specifically has benchmarks of basically everything from low to ultra high end on their website), and make sure that whatever CPU you pick is paired with a good motherboard with a lot of supporting features. I also highly suggest an SSD of some kind, be it SATA or PCI-e nVME.

host PLEASE IGNORE THAT POST^^ this is outdated/not great information

He is talking about avoiding i5s as if they lack the multitasking capabilities of i7 CPUs, which is no longer the case since the release of intel 10xxx processors. This is because intel's processors (i3, i5, i7) are all hyperthreaded now (which was the main selling feature of i7s as they were typically the only ones with hyperthreading). In short, his point about i5s is outdated. This is no longer the case. Would also like to throw in 10xxx processors are sometimes cheaper and more readily available than i7-8700.

I cannot stress this enough look at the current intel CPUs and you will see there is no need to only buy an i7 if you are going for intel
Don't worry about tons of motherboard features if you are getting a non-k processor (you aren't going to overclock). Just make sure it has two pci-e slots, 4 ram slots, m.2 slot, and probably wireless internet/bluetooth (i wouldnt even consider these 'features'; theyre bascially essentials)

AMD is a brand, and again the i5s not being as good is misleading. They have a range of CPUs just like intel where clearly some are better than others.
Overall intel gives better gaming performance while amd can multitask and render faster. Not true for every cpu obviously but that's the gist.

I'd rather go with nvdia GPUs for their software/drivers/overlay but that's preference. Again two different brands making cards which vary in performance and price

My recommendation? Build a half decent intel PC and get a cheap gpu off someone (try to snag a cheap 960 or 1060) that will last you basically forever if you plan on playing valheim (look up 1060 benchmarks for games like escape from tarkov, rust, and warzone for demanding games, you wont be able to max these but will still get 60-120fps on low-medium if thats what youre aiming for). Will cost roughly $920us for the whole pc, upgrade gpu at some point and bam you can now play most games at high/max settings
OR
Build a pc with a ryzen 5 5600G and use integrated graphics for a while. For a long time I was skeptical about gaming on integrated graphics but this isn't bad at all for something to tie you over. From memory building a pc like this is $600 **Cant remember if in USD or CAD, keep in mind there is no GPU**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCbybCYLJog

i have no idea if you will be playing anything more demanding than valheim, your budget, if you wanna futureproof, etc but i hope some of this points you in the right direction