₹8,499 against ₹8,500. These two cost the same rupee, and the choice is genuinely about what you do with the PC - not which is 'better'. The 5500 gives you 6 cores and 12 threads; the 12100F gives you 4 cores and 8 threads that are individually faster.
For pure 1080p gaming with a budget card, the 12100F usually feels better - games still lean on per-core speed and its Alder Lake cores are quicker. For anything that runs many things at once, streaming, browser tabs by the dozen, light editing, the 5500's two extra cores earn their keep.
The real decision, though, is the platform underneath. The 5500 is AM4 - a mature, cheap DDR4 platform whose strongest practical gaming upgrade is the 5700X3D. The 12100F sits on LGA1700, with DDR4 and DDR5 board options, but any later CPU upgrade still depends on the exact board's BIOS support, VRM capability and memory type. Price the complete platform and verify the board support list before treating either socket as an upgrade promise.
At this price the CPU is barely half the decision. An AM4 build on a cheap B450 with DDR4 is usually the lowest total cost in India today, and boards are everywhere. LGA1700 asks slightly more up front but keeps DDR5 and a real upgrade path open. Price the CPU and board together before you decide - the ₹1 difference between these chips is noise.
Faster cores where games actually use them. Four cores is enough for gaming alone with a budget GPU.
Six cores handle browser tabs, Discord, a stream and a game at once far better than four.
Both platforms have stronger drop-in CPUs, but the exact BIOS, VRM and memory support decide whether an upgrade is sensible.
For gaming alone the i3-12100F usually edges it, because games favour its faster individual cores. The 5500's advantage appears when you are doing other things alongside the game - streaming, recording, or heavy multitasking.
The 5500, generally. AM4 boards with DDR4 are the cheapest complete platform available here. LGA1700 costs a little more up front but supports DDR5 and much stronger future CPUs.
For gaming with a budget GPU, yes, though it is the floor rather than a comfortable position. If you stream, keep many applications open, or plan to keep the machine for years, six cores is the safer choice.
Yes, both come with a stock cooler adequate for their 62-65W ratings. Neither needs an aftermarket cooler unless noise bothers you.
Ryzen 5 5500
Budget AM4 six-core best near ₹7K to ₹7.5K. No integrated graphics or PCIe 4.0; compare the Ryzen 5 5600X above ₹10K.
i3-12100F
The cheapest modern quad-core. Excellent for budget builds under 40K. DDR4 compatible keeps platform cost low.