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The Best CPUs for Gaming of 2024

Paul Syverson
  Mar 19, 2024 10:32 AM

If a graphics card is the muscle of a gaming PC, the CPU can be considered the brain of the operation. More and more generations of central processing units are produced, and they provide more calculating power and energy efficiency for computer systems.

Here’s the list of Best CPUs for Gaming for every budget to make the best of gaming PCs. Let’s take a look and make the best choice for yourself.


Reviews

1. AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked

The most reliable CPU at a mid-range price 

Specifications:

  • Cores: 6

  • Threads: 12

  • Base clock: 3.6 GHz

  • Turbo clock: 4.2 GHz

  • Overclocking: 4.2 GHz

  • L3 Cache: 32 MB

  • TDP: 65 W

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Reasons to buy

  • Come with the cooler

  • Affordable price

  • Great performance

Reasons to avoid

  • May not deal with high-end GPUs

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 comes with an AMD Wraith Stealth cooler. The kit works fine with six cores and 12 threads, making it better than Intel gen 10th. Moreover, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is the first processor supporting PCIe gen 4 to deliver double graphics bandwidth. 

The massive game cache memory onboard supports higher speed and higher gaming performance. Additionally, your gaming experience is also improved thanks to the ability to deliver ultra 100 fps, bringing the smoothest and sharpest motions ever. 

For the mid-range CPUs, we do not recommend you pair AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with the latest graphics card generations such as RTX 3080 or RX 6900, as it might cause a bottleneck throttling. You can pay a bit more for a step-up Ryzen 5 3600X

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 5000 series replacement of the Ryzen 5 3600. It is more powerful and energy-efficient but pricey. When its price is more affordable, The R5 5600 will be a hot pick for mid-range PC builds.

2. Intel Core i5-10400 6 Cores LGA1200

Best gaming CPU for value: Intel choice

Specifications

  • Cores: 6

  • Threads: 12

  • Base clock: 2.9 GHz

  • Turbo clock: 4.3 GHz

  • Overclocking: No

  • L3 Cache: 12 MB

  • TDP: 65 W

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Reasons to buy

  • Affordable price

  • Cooler included 

Reasons to avoid

  • Do not support overclocking 

Intel Core i5-10400 is an excellent choice for those who are looking for a friendly budget processor. It is not much more expensive than the Intel Core i3 and faster than the previous-gen i5-9400. You can get up to 4.3 GHz clock speed, and the base clock speed is 2.9 GHz.

Although there’s no overclocking, Intel Core i5-10400 still ensures stable performance. You can still play well-known games at Full HD resolution as League of Legends, Rocket League, or Monster Hunter World. 

Empirical tests show that Intel Core i5-10400 is equivalent to AMD's last-generation 3900X. It may not handle future games well, but it is still a great choice before you can find a processing unit worth upgrading. 

3. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core, 16-Thread Unlocked 

Best superb desktop CPU

Specifications:

  • Cores: 8

  • Threads: 16

  • Base clock: 3.8 GHz

  • Turbo clock: 4.7 GHz

  • Overclocking: 4.7 GHz

  • L3 Cache: 32 MB

  • TDP: 105 W

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Reasons to buy

  • Great performance

  • PCIe 4.0 support on X570 and B550 motherboards

  • 4.7 GHz overclocking 

Reasons to avoid

  • May get hot if it is overloaded 

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X owns excellent and incredible features like the boost clocks of up to 4.7 GHz, eight cores, 16 threads, and 32 MB of cache. It is built with gen 3rd architecture and PCIe gen 4, which means you can use it for the future when Xbox and Playstation launch new games. 

You can compare the R7 5800X with an Intel core i7 gen 10th. Both can deal with heavy and demanding games very well. However, Intel Core i7 seems to be the winner in this competition in terms of price. You can upgrade the Ryzen 7 to Ryzen 9 5900X, but it will cost much more.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X can hit the performance since it has eight cores and 16 threads, bringing a great 4K gaming experience. Nevertheless, it may get hot (the temperature can reach up to 80°C) if you play games for such a long time. 

4. Intel Core i9-11900K 8 Cores up to 5.3 GHz Unlocked LGA1200 

Best Intel CPU overall 

Specifications

  • Cores: 8

  • Threads: 16

  • Base clock: 3.5 GHz

  • Turbo clock: 5.3 GHz

  • Overclocking: Yes

  • L3 Cache: 16 MB

  • TDP: 125 W

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Reasons to buy

  • Great gaming performance

  • Provide more frame per second than AMD

  • PCIe 4.0 support

Reasons to avoid

  • Expensive 

  • No thermal solution included 

The Intel Core i9-11900K features Intel Thermal Velocity boost technology, delivers fast clock speed to play more demanding and AAA game titles. The maximum clock speed can reach up to 5.3 GHz, the same as the i9 10900K. 

This latest Intel processor delivers a higher frame rate than AMD products, creating a smooth motion, thereby enhancing the gaming experience. Although Intel Core i9-11900K supports PCIe gen 4, it works at low performance. It is one of the weaknesses that Intel should fix soon. 

Note that the processor is compatible with motherboard 400 and 500 series. If you do not have enough money to pay for this CPU, plenty of choices can replace Intel Core i9-11900K and have excellent performance. For example, the Intel Core i9 10900F with ten cores and 20 threads can be a perfect choice. 

5. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, 16-Thread Unlocked

The best 8-core gaming CPU

Specifications

  • Cores: 8

  • Threads: 16

  • Base clock: 3.6 GHz

  • Turbo clock: 4.4 GHz

  • Overclocking: Yes

  • L3 Cache: 36 MB

  • TDP: 65 W

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Reasons to buy

  • Affordable price 

  • PCIe gen 4.0 support

  • Great performance

Reasons to avoid

  • May be slow in heavy games

In terms of gaming, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X can run most games at 1080p well. The frame rate nearly reaches 3900X. With the support of PCIe 4.0, this processor can double the graphics bandwidth to deliver better quality of images. 

The leading edge 7-nanometer technology enhances the thermal transferring performance. Furthermore, the included AMD Wraith Prism cooler comes with color-controlled LED lighting, which makes your gaming space fancier. 

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is overall a great choice as it is reasonably priced and performed well. You can spend your budget on other essential components like graphics cards, storage, or motherboards.  


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Last update on 2024-03-19 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API


Buying Guides

  • Intel or AMD: It depends on your budget. If you plan to build an entry-level gaming PC, you can use Intel CPUs. When it comes to mid-range and high-end gaming PCs, AMD CPUs have a better performance-price ratio.

  • The number of cores: The more cores and threads the CPU has, the better performance the gaming PC has. You need at least a 4-core CPU for acceptable gaming performance. However, not many games can use more than eight threads (logical cores) at a time. So don’t overpay for a CPU with too many cores. Pay attention to CPU clock rate also.

  • Try to pick up products with high clock speed: Clock speed can boost your gaming performance to a new high level. Therefore, instead of looking for CPUs with multiple cores, you should pay attention to get one that has the highest clock speed possible. 

  • When choosing a processor, determine the quality of your whole system: A great processor can not work at its highest performance if you do not have a high-end computer system. Therefore, don’t waste money buying an expensive CPU if the other parts don’t match.


FAQs

 

1. Which CPU is better, Intel or AMD?

To determine which CPU is better, you have to know what your purpose is. AMD is a better choice if you want a mid-range machine that can support you in work because it delivers the best top-tier performance at a more affordable price.

If you want to mix up between working and playing, AMD is still the best choice. It can support you to deal with all heavy workloads while you can play games. 

If you’re looking for an entry-level gaming system, Intel holds the edge. Additionally, if your games support Intel CPUs better, go for an Intel CPU. 

2. How important is a CPU?

The CPU (Central processing unit) is responsible for processing the instructions and power that the PC needs to work. The stronger your CPU is, the faster your PC completes the tasks. 

A great processor can maximize the potential of RAM, improving the performance of the whole hardware system. 

3. Which is more important for gaming, a CPU or a GPU?

Both CPU and GPU are essential in their ways. CPUs can deal with specific tasks that GPUs can not do well, such as the artificial intelligence functionality of NPC (non-player characters). Some games are designed to run with several cores; some just use one core. 

On the other hand, GPU can handle 2D and 3D graphics quickly. The faster GPUs process information, the more frames you will get. Of course, you have to equip a great monitor to be compatible with the graphic card and handle the high frame rate.


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