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Trying to figure out the best CPU for your next desktop upgrade or DIY build? With apologies to Robert Frost, it’s the classic two roads that parted in the wood. Today’s PC processor market is dominated by just two companies, AMD and Intel, and buying a processor from either will lock you into a platform for the next several years—for better or worse.There are many questions to answer in your decision process: Are you trying to maximize speed or value? Does the maximum number of cores matter more, or does clock speed? Are you upgrading, or building a whole new PC? Are you gaming? Not gaming? Still awake?All these questions are crucial in landing the right chip. No single CPU is the absolute best across the board for all users, especially considering the costs. We objectively measure CPU performance across a range of use cases, and if you have the dough, it’s easy enough to determine the best processor from both camps. But if budget is a concern, then the best CPU for you will likely be something a bit lower-end—or possibly even last-generation. Find our best picks below across a range of categories, followed by a detailed guide to understanding desktop processors and platforms. (Note: This guide is solely about CPUs for desktop PCs. See our laptop processor explainer for the rather different nuances of selecting a CPU in a notebook PC.)
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
AMD Ryzen 5 7600
Best Mainstream CPU (AMD)
Why We Picked ItAMD’s Ryzen 5 7600 is arguably the best-value mainstream processor that the chip maker currently sells, with impressive performance for its appealing price. This chip has six CPU cores with thread-doubling SMT support, and it can hit speeds of up to 5.1GHz. The processor is also equipped with a low-end integrated graphics processor (IGP) that isn’t up to running games but works fine for any non-gaming display task. It’s also notable that AMD ships this model with a Wraith Stealth cooler. This cooler is a bit lackluster but it does save you from having to purchase one for basic operations.Who It’s ForThis processor is suitable for a wide range of everyday tasks, but it’s arguably best if you just need a basic PC for gaming and work tasks that won’t cost a fortune. You’ll find plenty of faster alternatives, but simply put, not everyone needs or will benefit from that added speed. In our lab tests, it performs well in gaming frame-rate trials, and it will undoubtedly work well in a gaming PC.
PROS
Most affordable Ryzen 7000 chip to date
Includes stock cooler in the box
High-efficiency operation
CONS
Close to same street price as higher-binned 7600X
Bundled Wraith cooler is a step down from the one with the 7700 and 7900
Beat in testing by lower-priced Core i5
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
6
Thread Count
12
Base Clock Frequency
3.8 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.1 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD AM5
Lithography
5 nm
L3 Cache Amount
32 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
65 watts
Integrated Graphics
AMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
2200 MHz
Bundled Cooler
AMD Wraith Stealth
Learn More
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Review
Intel Core i5-12600K
Best Mainstream CPU (Intel)
Why We Picked ItWith its Core i5-12600K processor, Intel combines exceptional performance and lower prices to offer a CPU that remains hard to beat. This is still true even after the release of Intel’s newer 13th Gen “Raptor Lake” processors, and the release of the Core i5-12600K’s excellent direct successor, the Core i5-13600K. Though there is certainly more performance available if you opt for a 13th Gen Intel Core CPU, it’s more power than most people will need for everyday tasks, and this is especially true in games.Who It’s ForThe Core i5-12600K stands out as a superb option for gamers. Though you’ll need something faster to get the best performance out of the likes of cutting-edge cards like AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX or Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080, most other graphics cards won’t be bottlenecked by the Core i5-12600K. As gaming hardware, especially graphics cards, are costly items to buy, it makes better sense to opt for the lower-priced Core i5-12600K over its newer counterpart—especially if you are on a budget. Likewise, if you are just wanting to build a relatively fast modern PC for myriad other non-gaming tasks, the Core i5-12600K is a hard option to beat for its price.
PROS
CPU performance punches above its station in bench testing
Reasonable price-per-core
High overclock ceiling
CONS
Testing games with integrated graphics was bumpy, and slower than AMD’s competition
Z690 platform demands high cost of adoption, versus CPU purchase price
At launch, not compatible with some games that use Denuvo DRM protection
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
10
Thread Count
16
Base Clock Frequency
3.7 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
4.9 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
Intel LGA 1700
Lithography
10 nm
L3 Cache Amount
12 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
125 watts
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
300 MHz
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
Intel Core i5-12600K Review
AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Best Budget CPU (AMD)
Why We Picked ItAMD’s Ryzen 5 5500 is priced aggressively, given its MSRP, but you can find it often on sale for far less than that. The chip is equipped with six CPU cores that are clocked at 4.2GHz. Having this many cores at this price significantly undercuts AMD’s Ryzen 3 and Intel’s Core i3 processors, which leaves the Ryzen 5 5500 with little in the way of competition. It’s a stretch to say it has none at all (it certainly does), but from our time testing the Ryzen 5 5500, it stands out as the best AMD option in its price range…if you own a video card.Typically, the Ryzen 5 5500 is priced low enough to make it a better option than AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600G, which has basic built-in graphics; there is $100 between their MSRPs. But depending on sales and street prices, the latter might be a better option. At times, we have seen the Ryzen 5 5600G for as little as $20 more than the Ryzen 5 5500, and it’s the better option if you see it at this price. Sale prices change at any moment, though, so we opted not to pick the 5600G for the best budget AMD CPU and only list it here as a strong alternative.Who It’s ForIf you’re looking to build a budget PC, you should consider the Ryzen 5 5500, which is best for everyday tasks like homework, web browsing, and media consumption. But it’s also more than up to the job of handling complex spreadsheets and doing some image editing work. The Ryzen 5 5500’s test scores in games, paired with a high-end discrete GPU, were a bit lacking due to the processor’s smaller pool of L3 cache, but 1080p gamers on a tight budget will be more than satisfied. Plus, with the Ryzen 5 5500 and 5600G being on AMD’s older AM4 platform (not the latest one, AM5, used by its Ryzen 7000 series chips), the compatible motherboards and memory tend to be lower in price. Just bear in mind the lack of graphics on this chip, and keep an eye on the price of the Ryzen 5 5600G.
PROS
Low $159 price point
Decent performance in CPU-intensive tasks
CONS
A step down in gaming performance
Surpassed by slightly more expensive chips
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
6
Thread Count
12
Base Clock Frequency
3.6 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
4.2 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD AM4
Lithography
7 nm
L3 Cache Amount
16 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
65 watts
Integrated Graphics
None
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
Bundled Cooler
AMD Wraith Stealth
Learn More
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 Review
Intel Core i5-10400
Best Budget CPU (Intel)
Why We Picked ItYes, this processor is a few generations old now. But that doesn’t mean the Core i5-10400 still can’t perform adequately in many scenarios. The processor has six Hyper-Threaded CPU cores that boost up to 4.3GHz, which gives it more than sufficient power for office work or everyday tasks, like heavy multitasking and web browsing. As it’s grown older, its price has dropped, and so has the cost of motherboards that support it, which makes it a more affordable option than many newer solutions.Who It’s ForWe’d hesitate to recommend the Core i5-10400 to gamers, but its reduced price makes it a worthwhile option for businesses and families to consider. Realistically, it would probably be best to buy a newer solution, but if budget is the number one thing driving your hardware purchases, then the Intel Core i5-10400 is a strong value option. (Note that the Core i5-10400 has a workable Intel UHD Graphics built-in display solution; if you don’t have a graphics card, avoid the similar-sounding, slightly cheaper Core i5-10400F, which has the on-chip graphics disabled.)
PROS
Decent frame rates for a midrange CPU in gaming runs
Low TDP
Workable bundled cooler
CONS
Slower than comparatively priced AMD options in nearly every CPU-centric test
LGA 1200 adoption is mandatory
Integrated graphics are there, but still Intel UHD Graphics
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
6
Thread Count
12
Base Clock Frequency
2.9 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
4.3 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
Intel LGA 1200
Lithography
14 nm
L3 Cache Amount
12 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
65 watts
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 630
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
350 MHz
Bundled Cooler
Intel Stock Cooler
Learn More
Intel Core i5-10400 Review
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Best High-End CPU (AMD)
Why We Picked ItIf you want to build a PC around an AMD processor capable of the best possible performance that AMD has to offer, regardless of the cost, then the Ryzen 9 7950X is the right option for you. At the moment, it is unquestionably AMD’s fastest consumer-oriented processor, packing 16 CPU cores, 32 threads, and a blistering-fast 5.7GHz clock speed. It’s also on AMD’s new AM5 platform, the first socket revision for AMD desktop chips in many years, and thus can bring the benefit of DDR5 memory on compatible boards.Who It’s ForThe Ryzen 9 7950X is the best option from AMD for you if you do a lot of work that is CPU-intensive. This includes compiling software, heavy multitasking, and content creation work, like rendering videos and editing images. The Ryzen 9 7950X could be an option for a high-end gaming PC, too, but realistically, it’s overkill for that purpose in most scenarios, unless you use the same PC for professional content work, too.
PROS
Excellent performance
Support for 16 full-power cores and 32 processing threads
Reasonably priced for the core count
Now includes a basic integrated graphics solution
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
16
Thread Count
32
Base Clock Frequency
4.5 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.7 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD AM5
Lithography
5 nm
L3 Cache Amount
64 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
170 watts
Integrated Graphics
AMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
2200 MHz
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Review
Intel Core i9-13900K
Best High-End CPU (Intel)
Why We Picked ItOne of Intel’s fastest processors to date, the Core i9-13900K is equipped with eight high-performance P-cores, 16 E-cores, and support for a total of up to 32 processing threads between them. This chip is also able to hit speeds as high as 5.8GHz, and this—combined with its high core counts—enables it to dominate our test charts with the best test scores in almost every test. It’s also reasonably priced relative to its performance.Who It’s ForAnyone who wants the best performance possible from a desktop PC should consider buying an Intel Core i9-13900K. Know that it’s overkill, to an extent, for gaming PCs unless you own a dedicated graphics card on the level of AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX or Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080. However, if you do have one of these graphics cards, or something in their elite neighborhood, then it’s arguably the best option for you as a gamer, too. If you do a lot of content creation or programming work, the Core i9-13900K should be high on your list of possible options as well. But don’t buy one if you just need it for casual office work—like writing Word docs, checking email, or having online meetings—as you simply don’t need this much performance for those tasks.
PROS
Exceptional performance
Competitive price
High core count
Integrated graphics can game
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
24
Thread Count
32
Base Clock Frequency
3 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.8 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
Intel LGA 1700
Lithography
7 nm
L3 Cache Amount
36 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
253 watts
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
1.65 MHz
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
Intel Core i9-13900K Review
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Best Gaming CPU (AMD)
Why We Picked ItThe Ryzen 7 5700X was introduced towards the end of the AM4 platform’s life as AMD’s flagship mainstream processor, and it launched with a price that undercut many existing Ryzen 7 5000-series chips. In spite of its lower price, this eight-core CPU offers similar performance to most other Ryzen 7 5000-series processors. The lower price without any appreciable change in performance made it an alluring option at launch, and this still holds true today, especially as its price has dropped further.Who It’s ForAs mentioned above, the Ryzen 7 5700X can be picked up today for less than its entry price, but even then it was already a highly attractive option. Its performance is among the best of the Ryzen 7 5000-series, and it manages games in a particularly excellent fashion. This makes it one of the best options to consider if you want to build a gaming PC and save a few bucks on the processor, which will help you stretch your budget for a better graphics card.
PROS
Strong performance
Better value than Ryzen 7 5800X
Compatible with most AM4 motherboards
65-watt TDP
CONS
Falls behind the more affordable Core i5-12600K
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
8
Thread Count
16
Base Clock Frequency
3.4 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
3.6 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD AM4
Lithography
7 nm
L3 Cache Amount
32 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
65 watts
Integrated Graphics
None
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Review
AMD Ryzen 9 7900
Best AMD Gaming CPU (Alternate)
Why We Picked ItEasily one of AMD’s most balanced options, with 12 CPU cores supporting SMT technology to run a total of 24 threads at a time, the Ryzen 9 7900 is one of the most appealing processors in its Ryzen 7000 product line. The chip is also set with a boost clock of 5.4GHz giving it exceptional speed in both single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks. Even better, this processor also has a passable integrated graphics chip for everyday use, and it comes bundled with one of AMD’s best stock coolers. The AMD Wraith Prism is quite capable, easily keeping this 65-watt processor from overheating, and it can even be used to do some overclocking without worry. Who Its ForAs one of the most recommendable processors AMD has launched to date in its Ryzen 7000-series product line, the Ryzen 9 7900 is well worth considering for many tasks from office work and image editing to heavy web browsing and gaming. Since this is our pick for the second-best AMD processor to put inside a high-end gaming PC, we recommend it to most AMD-loyal PC gamers.
PROS
Exceptional performance per watt
Includes effective stock cooler in the box
CONS
Same street price as higher-binned 7900X
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
12
Thread Count
24
Base Clock Frequency
3.7 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.4 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD AM5
Lithography
5 nm
L3 Cache Amount
64 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
65 watts
Integrated Graphics
AMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
2200 MHz
Bundled Cooler
AMD Wraith Prism
Learn More
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 Review
Intel Core i5-13600K
Best Gaming CPU (Intel)
Why We Picked ItIntel always aims to offer more balanced solutions as part of its Core i5 product lines. These chips aren’t as fast as the Core i7 or Core i9 chips of the same generation, but they also cost a good deal less, too. Intel’s Core i5-13600K launched with a notable advantage over its predecessor. Its increased core count, consisting of six P-cores and eight E-cores, and its max 5.1GHz clock speed, enabled it to not only outperform the older Core i5-12600K but also the Core i7-12700K! This chip’s gaming performance is also exceptional, rivaling the Core i9-13900K in many titles.Who It’s ForGiven its price of $329 and exceptional gaming performance, it’s hard to recommend anything other than the Core i5-13600K for gaming PCs. Faster options, like the Core i9-13900K, cost more without yielding sufficient gains in games to justify the added cost. The Core i5-13600K lets you get the most out of most graphics cards without paying too much.
PROS
Strong performance for a midrange CPU
Competitively priced
Generous core count for the money
Heat stayed in check under stress, albeit with a 240mm water cooler
CONS
Price higher than equivalent last-gen chip
Power-hungrier than before
Runs hotter than Core i5-12600K
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
14
Thread Count
20
Base Clock Frequency
3.5 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.1 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
Intel LGA 1700
Lithography
7 nm
L3 Cache Amount
24 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
181 watts
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
1500 MHz
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
Intel Core i5-13600K Review
Intel Core i7-14700K
Best Intel Gaming CPU (Alternate)
Why We Picked ItIntel’s Core i7-14700K is one of the best overall processors that money can buy, with excellent performance in all areas. The i7-14700K delivers notable improvements over the Core i7-13700K, with four additional E-cores, raising the total core count to 20. The processor also has slightly elevated clock speeds compared with its predecessor, giving it a slight edge in single-threaded tests. The price isn’t half-bad either, with it undercutting the more costly Intel Core i9 options and AMD’s Ryzen 9 competition while providing almost the same level of performance as these higher-end chips in most situations. This processor’s gaming performance is also exceptional, rivaling the Intel Core i9-13900K in many titles.Who It’s ForFor pure gaming purposes, it can be a little difficult to justify the Core i7-14700K over the Core i5-12600K or the Core i5-13600K, which are lower-priced and produce comparable performance in games. In non-gaming tasks, however, the Core i7-14700K delivers a sizable performance advantage, making it a clearly superior choice if you plan to do more than just game on your PC. This can come in especially handy if you do things like record your gameplay, stream while gaming, or anything with that content in terms of rendering or encoding.
PROS
Excellent performance
Four more E-cores than predecessor
Increased cache
No price increase
CONS
Power hungry
Overheats with 240mm water cooler
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
20
Thread Count
28
Base Clock Frequency
3.4 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.5 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
Intel LGA 1700
Lithography
7 nm
L3 Cache Amount
33 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
254 watts
Integrated Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
1600 MHz
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
Intel Core i7-14700K Review
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X
Best HEDT Platform CPU (AMD or Intel)
Why We Picked ItAMD’s return to the high-end desktop (HEDT) market with its Ryzen Threadripper processors means that Team Red now technically offers the fastest single processors for consumers. (Its Threadripper Pro chips of the last two generations were primarily enterprise fare.) These chips’ huge core counts make them often multiple times faster than the closest competing processors on other consumer platforms. The Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, in particular, stands out on value. At $2,499, it’s half the price of the Ryzen Threadripper 7980X while offering still-mighty performance. It doesn’t have quite as many cores, which hurts it in heavily threaded applications versus the 7980X, but its higher clock speeds partially make up for this deficit in multi-threaded workloads, and give it an advantage when fewer than 32 cores are in action. That’s going to be most of the time, unless you are running heavily threaded applications like software compilers or image-rendering programs. Even then, unless you do that a lot, the Threadripper 7970X’s price advantage may make it a better choice.Who It’s ForMake no mistake: These aren’t casual-user or gamer chips. The 7970X is best suited for extreme multi-tasking on multiple demanding applications. Like all Threadrippers, its true potential comes out in heavily threaded programs like Photoshop and other content-creation fare, as well as for CAD work, scientific analysis and modeling, or advanced research and development applications.
PROS
Excellent multi-threaded performance
32 cores with 64 threads
Faster clock speeds than Threadripper 7980X
Solid price-for-performance equation
CONS
Runs hot
Needs registered RAM
SPECS
Name
Value
Core Count
32
Thread Count
64
Base Clock Frequency
4 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock
5.3 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket Compatibility
AMD sTR5
Lithography
5 nm
L3 Cache Amount
128 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating
350 watts
Integrated Graphics
None
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
Bundled Cooler
None
Learn More
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X Review
Buying Guide: The Best CPUs for 2024
CPU Consideration No. 1: Goals and UpgradesIt’s important to set a goal for what you want to achieve with a change of desktop CPUs. Obviously, what you’re after is better performance, but is this performance boost desired to run games better? Is it for a system you will work on? Or do you simply have an older computer sitting around that you’d like to spiff up for internet use and watching videos? We can’t stress enough the importance of knowing what you want out of your system, to make sure you don’t end up with a disappointing amount of horsepower in the end, whether that’s due to overspend or underspend. This also will largely help you to determine if you want to upgrade your PC, or build a new one.
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)
First, we should be clear that upgrading is often a viable option, especially if you just want the system for light-duty use like web browsing. Technically, even antique PCs based on AMD’s Phenom and Phenom II are still suitable for this task, as are Intel’s Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad systems, but these would certainly show a good deal of slowdown if you pushed them very hard. These aforementioned chips certainly aren’t worth upgrading or purchasing now—there are simply far better options available for the money.If your computer is relatively modern, it might be better for you to upgrade your current PC instead of buying a new one. This makes your choice of processor far simpler, as there will be a limited number of chips that will work with your current system. Upgrading isn’t always an option, as you might already have the best CPU that your current motherboard supports. But as long as that’s not the case, upgrading is often the most affordable way to end up with a faster PC, as you won’t need to purchase other components.As to whether it’s worthwhile to upgrade your system, a good rule of thumb is to consider the age of the system you’re using. If that system was made within the last 10 years and doesn’t already have the fastest CPU available for it (or close to it), upgrading may get you the performance boost you desire. Nothing older than this is remotely worth upgrading, as it becomes more practical to save for a newer system instead. And even with a system that’s around 10 years old, it’s only worth considering if you have something like an old Intel Core i3 or worse and you are upgrading to an old Core i7—but this is also only worth considering if you can find that processor for a cheap price.A quick search shows that for older Intel LGA 1155 systems, which was the platform used by Intel’s second- and third-gen Core “Sandy Bridge” and “Ivy Bridge” processors (now more than a decade old), you can buy second-hand Core i7-3770 processors for around $30 to $50 from take-your-chances sources like eBay. This processor today would lag behind a modern Core i3, but it would still be capable of web browsing or even use in a low-end gaming PC. Again we must stress, however, that this sort of upgrade only makes sense if you have one of the slower CPUs for that platform and are upgrading to one of the faster ones. Even if you had a Sandy Bridge Core i5, it would likely make more sense to save for a new system instead of upgrading.Upgrading more recent systems also follows this same logic, i.e. it only makes sense to upgrade if you are making a substantial jump on the same platform—and you can do so cheaply. Even on an almost new system, we would be hesitant to upgrade from, say, an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, or from an Intel Core i5-12600K to an Intel Core i7-12700K. It’s not that there isn’t a noticeable and measurable performance boost to be had here (our reviews show that there clearly is), but the gains you receive for the cost of upgrading often don’t make it worthwhile. This makes it exceedingly important that you buy the right processor for you from the start rather than waiting and trying to upgrade later.If your goal is to simply fix up your old PC for web browsing or low-end gaming, then you may want to stop reading here and go see if an affordable upgrade option is available for your system. Each motherboard, including the one in your PC, has a list of supported processors that you should be able to find on the manufacturer’s product page. If none of the processors supported on your current motherboard is affordably priced or a significant step up, then just forget about upgrading and start thinking about building or buying a new system instead. If your goal was instead to get a faster system for work or high-end gaming, or if upgrading just won’t cut it for you, then keep reading.System Planning 101: Keep Your Motherboard, CPU, and RAM From FightingIf you’re going to build a new system, then you’ll need to pick mostly new parts. If you had an older system, you might be able to re-use a few items, notably the power supply, case, or storage device, but everything else you’ll likely have to buy. Some parts, like the ones we just listed that you could possibly reuse, are compatible with a wide range of systems and can last for several generations. But motherboards, CPUs, and main system memory (RAM) are the opposite.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
These items will only last for a few generations at most. All motherboards have a socket that the CPU is designed to be mounted in, and at the chip maker’s level, that socket’s design has to be changed every so often to allow for the addition of new features. As a result, motherboards only support CPUs that will fit in (and are explicitly compatible with) their sockets, and the same is true vice versa for CPUs. (Sometimes a chip will physically fit, but isn’t supported.) RAM, similarly, has a custom set of slots in which it mounts on a PC motherboard, and these slots only support one type of RAM and won’t work with any others. (The latest types are known as DDR4 and DDR5.)
(Credit: Molly Flores)
Due to sockets and, thus, motherboard platforms changing every few years, you will typically need to buy a new motherboard and, possibly, a new set of RAM if you want to buy a new CPU that succeeds your current one by more than a few years. The only time this won’t be the case is if you are upgrading on the same platform, like in the possible scenarios discussed above. If you upgrade frequently, it’s possible your old RAM might remain compatible with your new system. In that vein: When buying parts, you’ll want to make absolutely sure the parts you get will be compatible with each other. CPU sockets are typically numbered; for mainstream CPUs bought by most consumers, the latest are AMD’s AM4 and AM5, and Intel’s LGA 1200 and LGA 1700, and both motherboards and processors will be identified by this number to make picking a matching pair easy. Still, you’ll want to make certain that a given CPU is explicitly supported by a given board according to the board maker’s website.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
RAM for several years now has also followed a simple numbering scheme as we’ve progressed from DDR to DDR2, DDR3, DDR4, and now DDR5. None of these will work in RAM slots made for the other, and this is pointed out on the motherboard specs page, which again makes finding a matching compatible part relatively easy.Don’t Build With Plans of UpgradingOften, people consider the idea of building a PC with plans of upgrading it in the future. The idea is that if you get a motherboard and CPU now and can later upgrade to a faster CPU, this might help you avoid having to build another computer and save costs down the road the next time you feel your PC slowing down.The problem with this train of thought? It rarely works out as planned. Intel over the last decade has changed to a new CPU socket every two or three years, typically once every two CPU generations. AMD postpones changing sockets longer, and it only recently introduced its AM5-socketed motherboards as a successor to its AM4 motherboards. AM4 was first launched in 2017, giving it a five-year reign during which time AMD pushed out four primary generations of processors for the platform. We don’t know how long AM5 will be AMD’s main platform at this time, but there’s good reason to believe it will be used for roughly the same stretch of time as AM4 was.
(Credit: John Burek)
Even with AMD’s extended platform lifespan, you aren’t overly likely to upgrade processors on the same motherboard. Compatibility remains a question mark even with AM4, as not all processors made for the platform are supported on all motherboards. AMD made efforts, especially towards the end of AM4’s reign of dominance, to encourage board makers to push out updated BIOS versions for older motherboards to extend support for their newest AM4 CPUs to older motherboards. But this effort still relied on AMD’s board partners to implement the new BIOS versions on dozens or even hundreds of boards. Long story short: You cannot buy a motherboard today and have absolute confidence it will support processors released a few years down the road, even if they are released for the same socket as the motherboard you are buying today.Even if you can upgrade the CPU on an existing board, strong reasons may arise why you might not want to. Newer motherboards with updated chipsets have their own inherent benefits. These might include things like support for faster RAM, faster USB and storage connections, faster PCI Express slots and underlying buses, faster internet support, and myriad other potential benefits. Plus, after you upgrade, you’ll be left with an orphaned CPU to then resell or put into a new motherboard, and it starts to make a lot more sense to just think about selling your old PC or giving it away and building new most of the time when you need something faster.If you are buying into an Intel platform, this is doubly true; unless you buy a really low-end CPU to begin with, you aren’t likely to want to upgrade in just one or two years before Intel introduces a whole new platform. Though there is some merit in the idea of doing just that (buying a low-end CPU to upgrade next year, when high-end prices drop), overall it still raises costs as you now have a low-end CPU you paid for in addition to a high-end CPU. You’d be better off just buying a high-end CPU to begin with.All in all, though some may view platforms that are aging out or about to be replaced as dead ends, it’s best to view all platforms in this same frame of mind. That’s not to say that none of them is worth buying (that’s clearly not true), but upgradability shouldn’t be first on your mind when selecting a motherboard and CPU to use in your new PC. Some things can be easily upgraded later, like the RAM, storage, or graphics card, but this is not an advantage that motherboards or processors have.When you do buy a system, unless you are getting an exceptional deal, you should still buy into the newest platform available with the best processor you can afford that fits your needs. Currently, Intel’s newest platform is the LGA 1700 platform, and AMD’s (as mentioned above) is AM5. There’s no harm in getting an AM4 system or a last-gen Intel LGA 1200 system, but, unless you’re getting those steeply discounted from their launch prices, you’re going to get a better system and more bang for your buck by going with what’s newest.Buying Basics: Four Key Concepts to Know About CPUsNow that we’ve covered the basic considerations of whether to upgrade or buy new, and the other hardware you’ll need to consider when buying a CPU, let’s talk about what differentiates one processor from another. A multitude of factors need considering here, but the most important ones are the microarchitecture, core count, thread count, and clock speed.MicroarchitectureThis is by far the most important aspect of any CPU, and indeed the same is true for just about any piece of technology. It’s the design and internal blueprints of how the device is built and what makes it work. Due to differences in architecture, you can have multiple CPUs that operate at the same speed but still perform drastically differently. It might be helpful for you to picture each architecture in a similar vein as you might consider different makes of cars or airplanes. In the same way that you can have multiple cars with their engines running at 2,000rpm and get drastically different performance and speeds out of the cars, the same is true for CPUs.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
Judging architectures is exceedingly difficult, as they are incredibly complex, with billions of transistors and a multitude of other external factors that bear on their performance. To gain an idea of how different architectures perform, it’s best for you to read our reviews that touch on the subject and also compare processors utilizing different architectures against each other.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
An important detail about microarchitectures that you should know, and that is easy to understand, is how to identify products based on different architectures. This is surprisingly easy if you learn the numbering systems used by AMD and Intel. If we take AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X as an example, for desktop chips the numbers break down like this…7 = Generational number. AMD’s microarchitectures of recent years are named “Zen,” followed by a number. All modern AMD processors that start with a “7” utilize the Zen 4 microarchitecture. All modern AMD processors that start with a “5” utilize the Zen 3 microarchitecture. AMD has no desktop processors that begin with a “6”; these were mobile only. 9 = Product tier. AMD makes Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 processors, which are included after “Ryzen” in the product name and as the second digit in the product number.5 = Sub-product tier placement.0 = Sub-product tier placement. Rarely used.X = “Extreme” or higher-end variant of a processor. May or may not have a non “X” variant.(Note that AMD is moving to a wholly different processor numbering scheme for its very latest mobile CPUs. See the details here; the guidelines above will not apply to them.)Intel utilizes a similar coding scheme for its desktop processors. Let’s take Intel’s flagship CPU the Core i9-14900K as an example…14 = Generational number. Number “14” is assigned to Intel’s 14th Gen “Raptor Lake Refresh” processors. 13 = 13th Gen “Raptor Lake.” 12 = 12th Gen “Alder Lake.” 11 = 11th Gen “Rocket Lake.” 10 = 10th Gen “Comet Lake.”9 = Product tier. Intel makes Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 processors, which are included after the “Core” in the product name and as the third digit in the product number (or the second digit, in processors older than 10th Gen).0 = Sub-product tier placement.Second 0 = Sub-product tier placement.K = Indicates a higher-end variant of a processor with overclocking support. Several other “suffix” letters are used by Intel to indicate other differences, but the most common ones you will encounter are “K” (indicating overclockability), “F” (indicating no integrated graphics processor), and “KF” (indicating both aspects).Using these numbers, you can also compare processors that are part of the same generation to each other in terms of relative performance with some accuracy. It’s always best to check reviews when possible and compare other details about the processor to more accurately compare CPUs.Core CountInside all mainstream desktop processors today are multiple CPU cores. In the past, processors only had one CPU core, but as technology has improved, more cores have been pressed into processors to increase performance. Each CPU core operates as a semi-independent component inside of the processor and is capable of completing tasks.The advantage of having more CPU cores is simply that you are able to get more work done at a time. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think of the CPU cores as workers and the processor as the building in which they work.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
Traditionally, all of these CPU cores would have been identical to each other, but this changed starting with Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake processors. Intel now employs two different types of CPU cores inside most of its processors. Processors based on this design have what Intel calls “P-cores”, which are built on a high-performance microarchitecture. Alongside the “P-cores,” Intel also adds “E-cores”, which utilize a different microarchitecture that enables these cores to be physically smaller and more energy-efficient.If we return to our comparison of CPU cores to employees, you could think of Intel’s P-cores as higher-level workers with larger offices that are able to complete more work due to their more extensive experience and larger workspaces. At the same time, the E-cores could be thought of as lower-level workers with smaller offices to work in and lesser skill sets. They may get less done, but you can cram more of them in for the money, and they take up less space.Though the E-cores are slower, they still improve the performance of the processor by a significant amount. AMD hasn’t adopted a similar scheme as of yet, which means all of the cores in an AMD processor are identical to each other.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)
Core count contributes greatly to a processor’s overall performance, but this alone does not determine whether one processor is faster than the other. It’s entirely possible for a quad-core processor to be faster than an octa-core processor, and vice versa.
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MultithreadingWork that needs to be performed on the CPU cores comes into the processor in a somewhat chaotic fashion. Some processors take the work orders as they come in and simply proceed to work on them in the order they were received. Processors that do this implement what we know as an In-Order execution design. This has been shown to hamper a processor’s overall performance.Each work order sent to the processor requires instruction information and raw data for the work to be completed. When an In-Order CPU core goes to work on a task, it must have both of these; otherwise, it will sit and wait while the needed instruction information or data is fetched.Processors that implement an “Out-of-Order” or “OoO” execution design largely circumvent this issue by re-ordering tasks as they come in. That can place work orders that have everything they need to run ahead of work orders that don’t. Inevitably, some work orders still get to the CPU cores without everything they need, though, and this still leads to a stall while the required data gets fetched.That is, unless a processor implements simultaneous multithreading (SMT, for short). Essentially what this technology does is open up a second line for work orders to come into the CPU. The processor isn’t able to work on two work orders at once, so when everything is running smoothly, the processor continues to run through work orders from each line in order back and forth. When a stall occurs, however, SMT technology enables the processor to set the stalled work order aside and work on items in the other line until the required data is fetched.This technology significantly reduces processor stalls and drastically improves performance as a result. Processors that implement SMT will show as having two threads for each CPU core that supports it. This is why an AMD processor with eight cores and SMT technology will be sold as a 16-thread processor. The same is true for Intel processors, with the most notable difference being that Intel calls SMT “Hyper-Threading” on its processors.Just like with core count, thread count doesn’t tell you enough alone to determine which processor is best, but it can give you an idea as to which processor is better in a given line. A processor with more threads may well have a performance advantage over one that has fewer threads supported, in applications that can take advantage of the technology. But as we said with the core count, all of these factors need to be taken into consideration to know for sure.Clock SpeedThe last and easiest to understand of the key defining characteristics of a processor is its clock speed. This directly relates to a processor’s overall speed and is measured in hertz. Processors today are so fast that this is typically reported in gigahertz (GHz).
(Credit: AMD)
A processor’s clock speed is sometimes reported as the total number of operations that it can perform at any given second. For example, a one gigahertz processor can theoretically perform 1,000,000,000 operations each second. Modern CPUs operate at multiple GHz with some, like Intel’s Core i9-14900K, peaking at 6.0GHz.In truth, this description is inaccurate, as some operations require multiple clock cycles (multiple hertz) to complete, and this is where architecture comes in, coming full circle. When comparing processors that are part of the same generation and product line, it’s safe to think the one with the most cores and the highest clock speed will perform the best. Comparing across different architectures and product lines, however, this is not always the case.On modern processors, you’ll often see a base clock listed, as well as a “Boost Clock” or “Turbo Clock.” You can essentially ignore the base clock listing if you see either of these other clocks listed. A base clock is a processor’s true speed, but modern CPUs are designed to increase their clock speed to a point, as long as the right conditions are met; those conditions are based on thermal and power-draw limitations.Modern processors will run at these elevated clock speeds most of the time when under a heavy load, which is why they are far more important for determining performance than the base clock. It is also possible on some processors to increase the clock speed yourself by what is called overclocking, but that’s for another guide.In order to overclock, you’ll need a lot more specific information on the topic, beyond the scope of this article. You’ll also need special hardware for overclocking. We point out which processors can overclock in our reviews and while talking about specific products on this page, so you will know which to buy if you want to try your hand at overclocking. But you should make sure you do plenty of research on the topic first, as overclocking can be hazardous to your components.How to Buy the Right CPU: Final Buying AdviceThink carefully about what your computing needs are and pick a processor that fits what you need it for, or buy one a little better if you have extra cash to spare and want to be extra safe.One thing we would recommend against is buying the most expensive processor that money can buy or that you can afford without thinking through the decision. More expensive processors are typically better, in general—AMD and Intel charge more for them for a reason—but that doesn’t mean you need that level of performance.No matter how performant of a processor you buy, you will eventually want to upgrade to something newer and faster. Though you may be able to prolong how long you can use your PC by buying a newer and faster CPU, it might make better sense to opt for upgrading more frequently.The rate at which technology has been improving makes it likely that, in five years or so, you’ll be able to buy a midrange processor that will be just as fast—if not faster than—today’s very fastest processors. If you buy or build a new midrange PC every five years or so, you’ll likely have a faster computer than someone who is still running a 5-year-old PC with a high-end processor.Upgrading more often may not be better financially in the long term, as there is a definite cost and set of diminishing returns involved, but it does get you the improvements that come with changing platforms. As PC components eventually fail, it can also help to avoid unexpected downtime from old parts breaking. For further guidance, check our processor reviews for more detail on each individual CPU.
