THE OUTRIGHT BEST CPU for you isn’t all about raw frame rate metrics—most of us game at resolutions where our graphics card is the dominant player in terms of deciding game performance—so, while AMD is undoubtedly the best for top-end gaming, Intel’s chips are superb all-rounders for the money. We’re also happy to report that there’s a great affordable processor out there right now, too. This list covers off all of the CPUs worth considering in both high-end and budget categories, with our number one pick offering the best price-to-performance overall.
5 INTEL CORE I9-13900K
Forget about the latest, and arguably fastest Intel chip, the 14900K. The 13900K is a little cheaper, and performs pretty much identically. For pure gaming, the value proposition isn’t great here, and AMD’s 7800X3D is the obvious pick. But if you’re after more of an all-rounder with productivity thrown in, this last-gen Intel chip might just be the best. You get eight monster Performance cores for gaming, plus 16 Efficiency cores to tear through multithreaded workloads. It’s quite the combo. $549, www.intel.com
4 AMD RYZEN 7 5800X3D