im trying to build my first pc and i have about $1200 saved up but im honestly so lost. i saw the intel i5 and i7 and i9 and i thought higher numbers meant better gaming? but then i saw a video saying i9 is overkill for most people so i was thinking maybe an i5 is enough.

my logic was just get the newest one but then i saw things like 13400 and 14600k and i have no idea what the letters at the end even mean or if the price jump is worth it. i just want to play games like fortnite and maybe some newer stuff without it lagging. what is the go-to middle one that people usually get? sorry if this is a dumb question...