Microcode is used very heavily in modern CPUs. It has been since the 90s.

For gaming: single threaded performance is usually better to prioritize.

For everyday use (web browsers, etc): both, but generally prioritize single threaded performance first. Multithreaded performance is usually already more than good enough on modern chips that have fast single threaded performance.

For heavier workflows: multithreaded performance is usually better to prioritize (particularly on workloads that inherently use a lot of threads). Single threaded performance still matters, but most modern CPUs are good enough on this front.

For gaming: single threaded performance is usually better to prioritize.

For everyday use (web browsers, etc): both, but generally prioritize single threaded performance first. Multithreaded performance is usually already more than good enough on modern chips that have fast single threaded performance.

For heavier workflows: multithreaded performance is usually better to prioritize (particularly on workloads that inherently use a lot of threads). Single threaded performance still matters, but most modern CPUs are good enough on this front.