Last Updated on December 1, 2023 by Daniel Osakwe
The best gaming processors or CPUs are hard to find these days, however, after profound research and verification, we’ve been able to identify the best gaming processors in the market today.
So, irrespective of which type or model of processor you need (AMD or Intel) we’ve got you covered. So, if you’re one of those looking for the best gaming processors to buy, you just found the right place.
Table of Contents
Buyers Guide: Things to Consider Before Buying a Gaming Processor
AMD or Intel: So long as you’re thinking of the current-generation parts, the introduction chitchat is basically a wash. Some Intel processors enhance gaming, and AMD handles tasks like video editing speedier (due to extra cores and strings).
Clock speed: Higher gaming CPU clock speeds translate to snappier execution is clear, essential endeavors, for instance, gaming, while more cores will help you with beating dull residual loads speedier.
Budget for a full system: Don’t pair a strong CPU with weak storage, RAM, and graphics.
Overclocking: For the individuals who need to just get to gaming, it looks good to consume $20-$60 more and buy a superior quality chip, rather than consuming money on a superior quality cooler and contributing lots of energy tweaking to achieve to some degree better.
Best gaming processors Compilation Chart
Name | Features | Where to Buy |
Intel Core i7-8700K desktop gaming CPU |
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Get it on Amazon |
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Desktop gaming CPU |
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Get it on Amazon |
Intel Core i5-9400F |
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Get it on Amazon |
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X |
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Get it on Amazon |
Intel Core i9-9980XE |
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Get it on Amazon |
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X |
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Get it on Amazon |
Intel Core i5-10600K |
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Get it on Amazon |
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G |
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Get it on Amazon |
Best Intel CPU for Gaming
Intel Core i7-8700K
Cores: 6 | Threads: 12 | Base Clock: 3.7GHz | Overclocking: Yes, 4.9-5.0GHz typical | L3 Cache: 12MB | TDP: 95W | PCIe 3.0 lanes: 16
Faltering marvelously on the equality line among cost and execution sits Intel’s eighth-age Coffee Lake Core i7-8700. It’s a stunning, current processor that will happily manhandle any gaming-related assignment your item throws at it, yet it won’t anticipate that you should take out an ensuing home advance to oversee.
At present floating right around the $300 esteem point, the 8700 is an exceptional offer and will keep your contraption before any CPU bottleneck for a long time to come. Squeezing six hyper-hung core and Intel’s display improving, spillage lessening 14nm++ strategy, the eighth-gen Coffee Lake lead regardless of everything offers a great deal of ability to investigate gaming’s most trying endeavors and handle any of your extraordinary weight/’super entrusting’ needs.
Pros | Cons |
Powerful and efficient | Expensive |
Tailored for gaming |
Intel Core i9-9980XE
Cores: 18 | Threads: 36 | Base Clock: 3GHz | Overclocking: Yes, up to 4.5Ghz | L3 Cache: 24.75MB | TDP: 165W | PCIe 3.0 lanes: 44
If Intel’s 8700X is a superhuman bristling with rough power, the 9980XE is Thanos. Its insane 18 core and 36 strings give an over-the-top level of execution that is, to be completely forthright, tremendous unnecessary abundance beside the truly focused (and incredibly rich). It’s a gaming CPU extraordinarily intended for early adopters who demand the most cutting-edge execution accessible.
For those with the money-related support to hold up under its expense, regardless, the 9980XE is an unbelievable work of imaginative workmanship, the fastest work territory processor-accessible, and getting in now ensures that you won’t need an upgrade for quite a while to come. It’s difficult to imagine even the exceptional time of games beginning to challenge the 9980’s capacities until late in the cycle, if whenever, which implies for gamers it’s the last gaming CPU you’ll need to buy for an unfathomably, long time.
Pros | Cons |
Absurd power | Expensive |
provide a ludicrous level of performance |
Intel Core i5-9400F
Cores: 6 | Threads: 6 | Base Clock: 2.9GHz | Turbo Clock: 4.1GHz | Overclocking: No | L3 Cache: 9MB | TDP: 65W | PCIe 3.0 lanes: 40
The Core i5-9400F is to some degree speedier than the past model – the Core i5-8400 – be that as it may, it thoroughly sheds itself of the Intel coordinated graphics. That isn’t an issue for games, and all in it’s a phenomenal choice that won’t go through each and every penny. You won’t have the choice to overclock this processor – yet you can occupy the money you extra to a beefier motherboard like an H370 load up – in any case, a lot of mobos will cheerfully run the 9400KF at 3.9GHz, which gives you no inspiration to be stressed over the low base clock.
At any rate, you get a cooler thrown in the carton which isn’t oft seen with processors. While the i5-9400F may not be as brisk as various CPUs it is up ’til now a strong model on the off chance that you’re gathering a machine on a strict financial plan. More prominent, greater, and progressively ordered future games may be a ton for its 6-focuses, yet likely not before you’re set up for an update. Thusly, on the off chance that you’re ensuring to something that is sensible, reliable, and astounding enough, look no farther than the i5-9400F.
Pros | Cons |
Cooler included in the package | No potential to overclock |
Affordable | Only 6 cores |
Intel Core i5-10600K
For gamers searching for the edge of execution, and fans who like to tune their processors without costly supporting parts, the Core i5-10600K slips in as the new standard champ. Intel’s Core i5-10600K accompanies six cores and twelve strings, a multiplying of the string tally contrasted with the past gen Core i5-9600K, however spaces in at the equivalent $262 value point for the completely prepared model and $237 for the designs less KF variation.
The expanded string checks, combined with generously higher lift frequencies in all cases, likens to a lot quicker interactivity than the past gen Core i5 and for the most part, coordinates the past gen Core i7-9700K. That makes this chip a lot for gamers who prize high refresh rates, especially in the event that they intend to push ahead to the new AMD or Nvidia graphic cards that become accessible in the not-so-distant future.
The Core i5-10600K’s twelve strings additionally lessen the hole among it and contending AMD processors in intensely strung outstanding tasks at hand. All things considered, AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 5 3600 are feasible other options in case you’re searching for a chip that accompanies a packaged cooler and a lower value point. You’ll have to get another LGA1200 motherboard and have a perfect cooling answer for running the Core i5-10600K (it doesn’t accompany a packaged cooler, however, LGA1151 coolers work fine). Be that as it may, the Core i5-10600K offers the best gaming exhibition in its value section, conveying past gen Core i7 gaming execution at Core i5 estimating.
Pros | Cons |
Relatively easy to cool | Requires new motherboard |
Overclocking headroom | No bundled cooler |
Best AMD CPU for Gaming
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Cores: 12 | Threads: 24 | Base Clock: 3.8GHz | Boost Clock: 4.6GHz | Overclocking: Yes, though PBO is better | L3 Cache: 64MB | TDP: 105W | PCIe 4.0 lanes: 16
Impacting out of the latest collection of AMD’s most noteworthy and best gaming processors, this third-generation CPU has quickly gotten one of our top options. While it may not be the blisteringly speediest of all gaming-focused CPUs, it’s right up there when cutting-edge suitably and with the right settings and objectives ticked. Outside of gaming, it’s basically the snappiest, regardless, which is an extraordinary prize. The Ryzen 9 3900X solicitations a generous retail cost anyway the expense regardless of everything packs you a fair cooler (Wraith Prism) and you get 50 percent more cores and strings.
This suggests there’s a remarkable extra lift in execution on involved outstanding jobs that needs to be done away from gaming like 3D delivering and video editing. Regardless, on the off chance that you’re simply worried over gaming – and that is likely given you’re on this page – the trade-off you have to endure (around an 8 percent all the more moderate gaming execution as demonstrated by our sidekicks at PC Gamer) just shows itself and makes itself known on lower settings and a lower resolution with the fastest GPU available (RTX 2080 Ti).
Such complexity may well potentially be of worry in the event that you’re a virtuoso gamer concentrating on the stratospheric areas of c.240fps at lower quality, at any rate for each other individual, this is a fine gaming CPU that will pass on heavenly execution.
Pros | Cons |
Brilliant for non-gaming requirements | Limited overclocking |
Great gaming performance |
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Cores: 8 | Threads: 16 | Base Clock: 3.6GHz | Turbo Clock: 4.4GHz | Overclocking: Yes, 4.2-4.3GHz | L3 Cache: 32MB | TDP: 65W | PCIe 4.0 lanes: 16€420
To some degree in the shadow of its more noteworthy kin the 3900X, the Ryzen 7 3700X is up ’til now wonderful. It is on a very basic level as brisk in games and still offers the different points of interest of AMD’s Zen 2 building – some of which may get important during the coming years. The 3700X is a sensible choice, considering at its cost tag, you pack an extra Wraith Prism cooler with an 8-focus/16-string CPU.
Appeared differently in relation to a close-by Intel rival – Intel’s i7-9700K. If you go for an appropriate realistic card mate like AMD’s RX 5700 XT, the differentiation will be in a general sense insignificant and random. For other mentioned endeavors and applications like 3D delivering and video editing, you’ll get a better than average increment in 18 percent, so the sum of that merges to make a really nice group.
Just for gaming, you may pass on the 3700X, yet taking everything onto a record and its motivator for money, it is verifiably likely the best gaming CPU you can buy right now.
Pros | Cons |
Excellent multi-use CPU | Limited overclocking |
Brilliant performance to value ratio |
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Architecture: Zen 2 | Socket: AM4 | Cores/Threads: 6/12 | Base Frequency: 3.8GHz | Top Boost Frequency: 4.4GHz | TDP: 95W
Out of the case, the Ryzen 5 3600X is one of the best gaming processors, and it’s worth the run for gaming and proficiency, indicating a tremendous move in the mid-run. At stock settings, the Ryzen 5 3600X reliably beat the more expensive Core i5-9600K in the two classes, however by meager edges in gaming, pivoting the since quite a while a prior held example of Ryzen being best for benefit while Intel dealt with the gaming roost.
On the off chance that you’re into overclocking, the Intel processors will pass on more execution, in any case, you’ll have to give your own imposing cooler to show up, on a very basic level adding to the cost, while AMD fuses a capable, engaging cooler in the carton. The vast majority of fans looking for a brisk set-it-and-disregard it processor that can manage essential figuring tasks with no sweat will find stunning a motivating force in the Ryzen 5 3600X.
Pros | Cons |
Unlocked multiplier | Extremely limited manual and auto-overclocking headroom |
Leading gaming and application performance | Requires expensive X570 motherboard for PCIe 4.0 |
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
The Ryzen 3 3300X opens another degree of execution for spending gamers with four cors and eight strings that can push low-to mid-run graphic cards to their fullest. This new processor uses the Zen 2 design matched with the 7nm procedure to push execution higher than ever while empowering new highlights for low-end processors, similar to access to the expedient PCIe 4.0 interface. The 3300X’s four cores tick at a 3.8 GHz clock rate and lift to 4.3 GHz, giving smart execution in delicately strung applications, similar to games. AMD incorporates a packaged Wraith Spire cooler with the processor.
In any case, you should seriously think about planning in a superior low-end cooler to open the full execution, especially on the off chance that you are overclocking. Talking about which, the Ryzen 3 3300X can overclock to the most noteworthy all-center frequencies we’ve seen with a Ryzen 3000-arrangement processor, making it an extraordinary chip for lovers. Not at all like AMD’s other current-gen Ryzen 3 processors, you’ll have to match this processor with a discrete GPU, yet the low-value point leaves additional room in the financial plan for a more competent illustrations card.
You can stay with the worth topic and drop this fit chip into the existing X470 of B450 motherboards, however, you’ll lose access to the PCIe 4.0 interface in return at a lower cost point. Even better, AMD will have its new B550 motherboards on offer in 2020. These new motherboards support the PCIe 4.0 interface however give lower section level evaluation that is a superior fit for this class of processor.
Pros | Cons |
Power-efficient | Lackluster bundle cooler |
Great gaming performance |
How We Picked
We relied on the opinion of experts and feedback from clients based on two major factors: AMD and Intel CPUs.
Before publishing this post, more facts and data about these best gaming processors were gotten from further research and online reviews (both positive & negative). With the result and feedback we got, we were able to rank each product according to the standard we set.
If you observe the reviews carefully, you’ll see that each processor has been carefully categorized according to our research result. However, take note that the gaming processors that didn’t meet our standard were not included in this list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Now that you’ve read our review on the best gaming processors, we believe you must have found what you were looking for. However, ensure you check the necessary features, pros, cons, and compear prices before buying.