i5-12400F vs Ryzen 5 5600 (NZ) — which should I choose for a budget 1080p/1440p setup?

Hey everyone,

I’m building a budget PC in NZ and deciding between two CPUs:

• Intel Core i5-12400F — $249 NZD
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600 — $260 NZD

I’ll be using DDR4 (2×8GB = 16GB) since DDR5 is too expensive right now.(Main reason why I'm not going for an AM5 build)

What I plan to use the PC for:

• Gaming, hoping for

• 1080p → 120 FPS+

• 1440p → 60 FPS

• Watching YouTube, general use

• Light photo editing

• Editing short (~8 min) YouTube videos

• Some coding + basic cybersecurity stuff

• Possibly using it as a storage server (not 24/7)

Other parts:

• RAM: 16GB DDR4 (will upgrade later if needed)
• Storage: 800GB -1TB NVMe
• GPU: Planning to buy a used 8GB/12GB card (not sure which yet)
• Stock cooler

My concerns:

• Is the 32MB cache on the Ryzen 5 5600 vs 18MB on the i5-12400F actually noticeable?
• Which CPU will last me 5–8 years for my type of usage?
• Does the Intel platform (LGA1700) make more sense for future upgrades, or is AM4 still fine?

Which CPU would you recommend for my specific use case?

Any motherboard recommendations for the winner would be awesome.
Thanks in advance!