{"id":54448,"date":"2020-07-27T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/?p=2674952"},"modified":"2020-07-27T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T17:00:00","slug":"the-best-cpus-for-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"The best CPUs for gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"233\" height=\"24\" src=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\" class=\"webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear:both;max-width: 100%;\" link_thumbnail=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<section class=\"deck viewability\">\n<h3>Game on with these picks for every budget.<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"cat-social\">\n<div id=\"sharer\" class=\"cat sidecar show\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2018\/05\/cpu-hub-100758206-large.jpg\" alt=\"cpu hub\" width=\"702\" height=\"395\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"cat sidecar show\">\n<p>Buying a processor for a gaming rig isn&rsquo;t as hard as it used to be. Now that Ryzen 3000-series and Intel&rsquo;s 10th-gen Core&nbsp;<span class=\"vm-hook-outer\"><span class=\"vm-hook\">CPUs<\/span><\/span>&nbsp;come with more performance and cores than ever before, it&rsquo;s hard to buy a stinker these days&mdash;especially because most games favor&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3106426\/components-graphics\/the-best-graphics-cards-for-pc-gaming.html\">graphics firepower<\/a>&nbsp;over&nbsp;<span class=\"vm-hook-outer\"><span class=\"vm-hook\">CPU<\/span><\/span>&nbsp;oomph. All that said, there are specific chips that stand out from the horde as the best gaming CPUs due to their price, performance, or nifty extras.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"sidebar medium\">\n<h3 class=\"body\">Best CPU for gaming cheat sheet<\/h3>\n<p>Our quick-hit recommendations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Best gaming CPU for most people:&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443174\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443174\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443174\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07SQBFN2D\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\">AMD Ryzen 5 3600X<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Best budget gaming CPU:&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558666-REG%2Famd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558666-REG\/amd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">AMD Ryzen 3 3300X<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443570\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443570\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443570\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGHZK8\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\">AMD Ryzen 3 3200G<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Best high-end gaming CPU:&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2Fintel-core-i9-10900k-core-i9-10th-gen%2Fp%2FN82E16819118122&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Intel Core i9-10900K\" data-vars-product-name=\"Intel Core i9-10900K\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.newegg.com\/intel-core-i9-10900k-core-i9-10th-gen\/p\/N82E16819118122\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-bkvndr=\"Newegg\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Newegg\">Intel Core i9-10900K<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Whether you&rsquo;re on a budget or willing to pay for sheer face-melting&nbsp;<em>speed<\/em>, these are the best CPUs for gaming PCs that you can buy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"connatix\">\n<div id=\"cnx-adUnit-overlay\">\n<h2 id=\"toc-1\" class=\"toc\">Latest gaming CPU news<\/h2>\n<p>AMD revealed slightly faster versions of its popular Ryzen 3000 processors on June 16, adopting the &ldquo;XT&rdquo; moniker introduced by the Ryzen RX 5000-series&nbsp;<span class=\"vm-hook-outer\"><span class=\"vm-hook\">graphics cards<\/span><\/span>. The $249 Ryzen 5 3600XT, $399 Ryzen 7 3800XT, and $500 Ryzen 9 3900XT will launch on July 7 with moderate clock speed boosts and no cooler for the two top-end chips.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3562773\/amd-ryzen-xt-series-price-availability-features-no-cooler.html\">Read all about Ryzen XT here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The company kept the pedal to the metal with the announcement of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3567204\/amds-ryzen-4000-g-series-chips-arrive-but-the-company-promises-youll-want-the-next-chip-instead.html\">Ryzen 4000 G chips<\/a>&nbsp;on July 21, which pair 7nm &ldquo;Zen 2&rdquo; CPU cores with more potent 7nm versions of its Radeon Vega GPU cores. They&rsquo;re basically desktop versions of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3534769\/ryzen-4000-review-amds-7nm-ryzen-9-offers-game-changing-performance-for-laptops.html\">game-changing Ryzen 4000 laptop chips<\/a>&nbsp;and culminate in a 8-core, 16-thread model. The bad news? These will only be available in prebuilt systems, though AMD promises that DIY APUs will be released in the future.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Things are looking less rosy for Intel. While its 10th-gen Core chips earn recognition at several points in this roundup, the company announced during its second quarter financial earnings that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3568212\/intel-says-its-7nm-transition-is-running-12-months-behind-expectations.html\">its 7nm transition is running a year behind expectations<\/a>, and Intel&rsquo;s first 10nm desktop chips won&rsquo;t be released until the second half of 2021.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-2\" class=\"toc\">The best gaming CPU for most people<\/h2>\n<p><strong>AMD Ryzen 5 3600X&nbsp;<\/strong>($205 on&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443174\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443174\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443174\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07SQBFN2D\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Intel&rsquo;s ruled the gaming roost for seemingly time eternal, but in 2019, AMD seized the mainstream crown. Overall, the $200 to $235 Ryzen 5 3600X is the best gaming CPU for most people, though&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3543993\/intel-10th-gen-review-core-i9-10900k.html\">Intel&rsquo;s rival 10th-gen Core processors<\/a>&nbsp;compete much more fiercely than 9th-gen chips did. The $275 Core i5-10600K is a faster than the AMD chip at pure gaming&nbsp;<span class=\"vm-hook-outer\"><span class=\"vm-hook\">frame rates<\/span><\/span>, but costs significantly more overall, so the $175 Ryzen 5 3600 provides outstanding value. You can&rsquo;t go wrong with either chip.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \" data-kiosked-context-name=\"kskdUIContext_01ee86m5e7h9v8ex0ys0ayza0v\"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;Gordon Mah Ung\/IDG&lt;\/div&gt;ryzen 9 3900x 3\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_3-100800705-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_3-100800705-large.jpg\" alt=\"ryzen 9 3900x 3\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100800705\" data-license=\"IDG\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_3-100800705-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">Gordon Mah Ung\/IDG<\/small><\/figure>\n<p>AMD bestows its Ryzen parts with simultaneous multi-threading, giving the six-core Ryzen 5 3600X a full twelve threads. That gives some serious productivity chops for a mainstream CPU. But for the first time in recent memory, AMD&rsquo;s mainstream chip hangs tough with its Intel counterparts, too. AMD infused its third-gen Ryzen chips with massive instructions-per-clock (IPC) improvements and faster clock speeds, with the 3.8GHz Ryzen 5 3600X capable of boosting up to 4.4GHz.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"medium right\"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;AMD&lt;\/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The Ryzen 5 3600X comes with AMD&rsquo;s Wraith Spire cooler, while Intel&rsquo;s rival K-series processors require you to bring your own.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/10\/amd-wraith-spire-100816284-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/10\/amd-wraith-spire-100816284-medium.jpg\" alt=\"amd wraith spire\" width=\"255\" height=\"274\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100816284\" data-license=\"Supplied Art\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/10\/amd-wraith-spire-100816284-medium.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">AMD<\/small><figcaption>\n<p>The Ryzen 5 3600X comes with AMD&rsquo;s Wraith Spire cooler, while Intel&rsquo;s rival K-series processors require you to bring your own.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Together, those gains help propel the 3600X past Intel&rsquo;s Core i5-9600K in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomshardware.com\/reviews\/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-review,6245.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Tom&rsquo;s Hardware&rsquo;s<\/a>&nbsp;testing, and the beloved Core i7-8086K in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/reviews\/amd-ryzen-5-3600x\" rel=\"nofollow\">Tech Radar&rsquo;s<\/a>&nbsp;testing. Most AMD motherboards support overclocking for the adventurous if you want to try your hands at even better performance.<\/p>\n<p>You can find the Ryzen 5 3600X for&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443174\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443174\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443174\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07SQBFN2D\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07SQBFN2D%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443174-web-20\">$205 at Amazon<\/a>, and often for as little as $200 online, down from a $250 launch price. Better yet, AMD tosses in three free months of Microsoft&rsquo;s superb Xbox Game Pass for PC with every Ryzen purchase. That&rsquo;s a lot of free gaming goodness to go with a great gaming processor.<\/p>\n<p>The newer 6-core, 12-thread,&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558676-REG%2Fintel_bx8070110600k_core_i5_10600k_processor_12m.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Core i5-10600K\" data-vars-product-name=\"Core i5-10600K\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558676-REG\/intel_bx8070110600k_core_i5_10600k_processor_12m.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">$275 Core i5-10600K<\/a>&nbsp;puts up a tougher fight against AMD&rsquo;s chip than its predecessor, thanks to its high clock speeds and the reintroduction of Hyper-Threading. Intel&rsquo;s chip is actually faster than AMD&rsquo;s at 1080p gaming overall in reviews at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techspot.com\/review\/2031-intel-core-i5-10600k\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">TechSpot<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/articles\/digitalfoundry-2020-intel-core-i9-10900k-core-i5-10600k-z490-motherboard-review\" rel=\"nofollow\">Digital Foundry<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iQVBlCfb72M\" rel=\"nofollow\">Gamers Nexus<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.anandtech.com\/show\/15785\/the-intel-comet-lake-review-skylake-we-go-again\" rel=\"nofollow\">Anandtech<\/a>, though the Ryzen 5 3600 wins a handful of comparisons, and the performance gaps shrinks substantially as you go up in resolution. Intel&rsquo;s chip especially rocks in esports titles. If you won&rsquo;t accept anything but the&nbsp;<em>fastest<\/em>&nbsp;mainstream gaming performance, the Core i5-10600K is your chip. It&rsquo;s on a par with last gen&rsquo;s Core i9-9900K flagship, and Intel&rsquo;s best 10th-gen offering.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \" data-kiosked-context-name=\"kskdUIContext_01ee86m5e7h9v8ex0ys0ayza0v\"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;Gordon Mah Ung&lt;\/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Intel&rsquo;s Core i6-10600K isn&rsquo;t that much slower than the flagship Core i9-10900K in gaming.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_2-100842118-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_2-100842118-large.jpg\" alt=\"core i9 10900k 2\" width=\"617\" height=\"412\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100842118\" data-license=\"IDG\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_2-100842118-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">Gordon Mah Ung<\/small><figcaption>\n<p>Intel&rsquo;s Core i6-10600K isn&rsquo;t that much slower than the flagship Core i9-10900K in gaming.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"kskd01ee86nfrzgzyk4hqmsjx0f6f4\" class=\"kskdDiv kskdCls\" data-kiosked-role=\"anchor\" data-kiosked-type=\"in-line\" data-kioskid=\"01ee86nfrzgzyk4hqmsjx0f6f4\" data-kiosked-cntrid=\"11429_835923319271df822e074211de8327a9\">\n<div class=\"kskdDiv\" data-kiosked-role=\"visibility\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That said, the Ryzen 5 3600X hangs with Intel&rsquo;s Core i5 for&nbsp;<em>practical<\/em>&nbsp;gaming purposes&mdash;reviewers say the performance difference is close enough that you won&rsquo;t see much change with your naked eye, outside of competitive gaming scenarios. We give the edge to AMD due to its lower overall cost: The Ryzen 5 3600X costs $40 to $75 less on the street, and it comes bundled with a Wraith CPU cooler. You&rsquo;ll need to spring for your own cooler with the Core i5-10600K, and the Z490 motherboards you&rsquo;ll need to plop it into tend to cost more than established AMD AM4 motherboards. Plus, if you want to spend up for a newer 500-series AM4 motherboard, the Ryzen chip supports&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3400176\/pcie-40-everything-you-need-to-know-specs-compatibility.html\">blazing-fast PCIe 4.0 storage<\/a>. Intel hasn&rsquo;t jumped onto that bandwagon yet.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"emo emo-sb\">\n<h6 class=\"nav-title\">MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE<\/h6>\n<div class=\"product-details\">\n<figure class=\"productFigure\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41m+krxXiBL.jpg\" width=\"312\" height=\"268\" border=\"0\" data-productid=\"1443571\" data-original=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41m+krxXiBL.jpg\" \/><span class=\"product-name\" data-productid=\"1443571\">AMD Ryzen 5 3600<\/span><\/figure>\n<div class=\"product-lines\">\n<div class=\"product-line2\">\n<div class=\"price-msrp\"><a class=\"product-list-price\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"005\" data-vars-link-position=\"Product Sidebar\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443571\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443571\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGGQ18\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\">$159.99<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"btn-amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"005\" data-vars-link-position=\"Product Sidebar\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443571\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443571\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGGQ18\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\">See It<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"product-line3 vendor\"><a href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"005\" data-vars-link-position=\"Product Sidebar\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443571\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443571\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGGQ18\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-005-1443571-web-20\">on&nbsp;<span class=\"vendor-name\">Amazon (Prime Eligible)<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>If you want to spend a little less cash, or don&rsquo;t mind overclocking, consider the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 instead. The non-X version costs&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443571-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443571\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 5 3600\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443571\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443571\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGGQ18\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443571-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGGQ18%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443571-web-20\">$175 at Amazon<\/a>. It packs the same six cores and twelve threads as the 3600X but runs a little slower, with a 3.6GHz base clock and 4.2GHz boost clock. The reduction in clock speeds drops the Ryzen 5 3600&rsquo;s gaming performance a bit. The chip trades blows with Intel&rsquo;s Core i5-9600K in gaming benchmarks at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techspot.com\/review\/1871-amd-ryzen-3600\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">TechSpot<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamersnexus.net\/hwreviews\/3489-amd-ryzen-5-3600-cpu-review-benchmarks-vs-intel\" rel=\"nofollow\">GamersNexus<\/a>, but it&rsquo;s close. Both sites give the Ryzen 5 3600 a hearty recommendation. It&rsquo;s an outstanding value, though we think it&rsquo;s worthwhile to spend the extra $20 for the 3600X&rsquo;s higher clock speeds if you can swing it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-3\" class=\"toc\">The best budget gaming CPU<\/h2>\n<p><strong>AMD Ryzen 3 3300X<\/strong>&nbsp;($120 at&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558666-REG%2Famd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558666-REG\/amd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">B&amp;H<\/a>) or&nbsp;<strong>Ryzen 3<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;3200G&nbsp;<\/strong>($100 on&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443570\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443570\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443570\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGHZK8\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\">Amazon<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>If you want a gaming CPU that won&rsquo;t break the bank, look no further than the&nbsp;<a class=\"productLink\" href=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-productid=\"1443570\" data-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-product-name=\"AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics\" data-vars-link-position-id=\"000\" data-vars-link-position=\"Body Text\" data-po=\"amazon-ajax\" data-product-id=\"1443570\" data-vars-product-id=\"1443570\" data-bkc=\"PCs\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"Amazon\" data-amazon-ajax-link=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded=\"true\" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin=\"B07STGHZK8\" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag=\"US-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/buy.geni.us\/Proxy.ashx?TSID=14154&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2FB07STGHZK8%3Ftag%3Dpcworld02-20%26linkCode%3Dogi%26th%3D1%26psc%3D1%26ascsubtag%3DUS-001-3273404-000-1443570-web-20\">$100 Ryzen 3 3200G<\/a>&nbsp;if you want modest game-ready graphics included with your chip, or the&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558666-REG%2Famd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3300X\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558666-REG\/amd_ryzen_3_3300x_quad_core.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">$120 Ryzen 3 3300X<\/a>&nbsp;if you plan to BYO graphics card.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;AMD&lt;\/div&gt;amd ryzen\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/amd-ryzen-100842515-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/amd-ryzen-100842515-large.jpg\" alt=\"amd ryzen\" width=\"617\" height=\"347\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100842515\" data-license=\"Supplied Art\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/amd-ryzen-100842515-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">AMD<\/small><\/figure>\n<p>The four-core, eight-thread Ryzen 3 3300X achieves performance equal to or better than Intel&rsquo;s former Core i7-7700K flagship at a fraction of the cost, delivering &ldquo;unprecedented value&rdquo; per&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/articles\/digitalfoundry-2020-amd-ryzen-3100-3300x-cpu-review\" rel=\"nofollow\">Digital Foundry<\/a>. Gamers Nexus is just as glowing in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NM2fFpzPKPg\" rel=\"nofollow\">its review<\/a>, stating that &ldquo;an R3 is enough for gaming.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s only a few paces behind the Ryzen 5 3600 in most games, so if you don&rsquo;t need the more expensive chip&rsquo;s extra cores for productivity tasks, this is a great value for the money.<\/p>\n<p>There&rsquo;s never been a low-budget gaming chip with performance this competitive. Better yet, AMD tosses a cooler into the box, the chip can be overclocked, and compatible B450 motherboards are both cheap and plentiful. Alternatively, if you want to future-proof your system with a pricier 500-series AM4 motherboard, the chip can support PCIe 4.0 storage, though you&rsquo;ll probably want to wait for B550 motherboards to roll out in mid-June if you&rsquo;re going that route.<\/p>\n<p>The step-down&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558667-REG%2Famd_ryzen_3_3100_quad_core.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3100\" data-vars-product-name=\"Ryzen 3 3100\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558667-REG\/amd_ryzen_3_3100_quad_core.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"AMD\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">Ryzen 3 3100 costs $100<\/a>, but it&rsquo;s less compelling. Due to a technical difference in how its CPU cores communicate, it tends to lag behind the Ryzen 3 3300X in both productivity and gaming. Save up the extra $20.<\/p>\n<p>Another option would be to invest $100 in our other budget gaming pick, which can let you game even if you can&rsquo;t spend extra on graphics. The continuation of AMD&rsquo;s &ldquo;APU&rdquo; strategy,&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1485464-REG\/amd_yd3200c5fhbox_ryzen_3_3200g_3_6.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">$100 Ryzen 3 3200G<\/a>&nbsp;blends four Ryzen CPU cores with eight of AMD&rsquo;s powerful Radeon Vega compute units. The end result? A solid-performing chip that can play PC games without the need for a graphics card.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;AMD&lt;\/div&gt;radeon apu\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/radeon_apu-100799075-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/radeon_apu-100799075-large.jpg\" alt=\"radeon apu\" width=\"608\" height=\"324\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100799075\" data-license=\"Supplied Art\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/radeon_apu-100799075-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">AMD<\/small><\/figure>\n<p>It&rsquo;s built using 12nm Zen+ cores rather than the 7nm Zen 2 cores in other third-gen Ryzen processors, but the Ryzen 3 3200G should still deliver enough punch for basic gaming. Its predecessor,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3253306\/ryzen-apu-review-ryzen-plus-vega-saves-budget-gamers.html\">the Ryzen 3 2200G<\/a>, handled e-sports titles like&nbsp;<em>Fortnite, Dota 2<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>League of Legends<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>Rocket League&nbsp;<\/em>with ease and turned in surprisingly good frame rates even in AAA games like&nbsp;<em>Destiny 2<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Rise of the Tomb Raider<\/em>. You might need to alter some graphics settings and maybe dial the game resolution back to 720p for the best results, but you can get the vast majority of games running between 30 and 60 frames per second with some tinkering.<\/p>\n<p>The Ryzen 3 3200G should perform slightly better thanks to faster clock speeds. Its CPU cores are about 300MHz faster than the 2200G&rsquo;s, while the integrated Radeon Vega GPU cores are about 150MHz faster. That said, the Ryzen 3 3200G&rsquo;s older manufacturing process and lack of multi-threading make the Ryzen 3 3300X a better pick if you&rsquo;re planning on jamming a graphics card into your system as well. It&rsquo;s just plain faster as a processor.<\/p>\n<p>If you&rsquo;re buying a Ryzen APU, though, make sure your chosen motherboard includes an HDMI port. Without a graphics card inside your system, you&rsquo;ll be reliant on it for video output.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-4\" class=\"toc\">The best high-end gaming CPU<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Intel Core i9-10900KS<\/strong>&nbsp;($525 on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newegg.com\/intel-core-i9-10900k-core-i9-10th-gen\/p\/N82E16819118122\" rel=\"nofollow\">Newegg<\/a>)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;Gordon Mah Ung&lt;\/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The Core i9-10900K is the fastest gaming CPU ever.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_1-100842115-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_1-100842115-large.jpg\" alt=\"core i9 10900k 1\" width=\"617\" height=\"412\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100842115\" data-license=\"IDG\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_1-100842115-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">Gordon Mah Ung<\/small><figcaption>\n<p>The Core i9-10900K is the fastest gaming CPU ever.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you absolutely, positively need the fastest frame rates possible, price be damned, you&rsquo;ll want Intel&rsquo;s $525 Core i9-10900K. Well,&nbsp;<em>theoretically<\/em>&nbsp;$525. The high-end, ten-core chip just launched, and paired with Intel&rsquo;s ongoing supply constraints, it&rsquo;s hard to find on the street right now.<\/p>\n<p>If you can find one, this 10-core, 20-thread processor comes clocked at 3.7GHz base and can fly all the way up to 5.3GHz under the right conditions.&nbsp;It came out ahead of the Ryzen 9 3900X across all but&nbsp;<em>one<\/em>&nbsp;gaming test we threw at it. The wins usually come in the form of a single-digit percentage performance lead, but it earns more substantial victories in&nbsp;<em>Far Cry: New Dawn<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Gears 5<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3543993\/intel-10th-gen-review-core-i9-10900k.html\">The Core i9-10900K is the world&rsquo;s fastest CPU for gaming<\/a>, full stop&mdash;and thanks to the increased core count, it can now hang near AMD&rsquo;s high-end Ryzen chips in productivity tasks, too.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;IDG&lt;\/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The Core i9-10900K beats the Ryzen 9 3900X across the board in games, although it has two fewer cores and costs $100 more. (The shorter bar is better in&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Civ VI Gathering Storm&lt;\/em&gt;.)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_gaming_performance-100842566-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_gaming_performance-100842566-large.jpg\" alt=\"core i9 10900k gaming performance\" width=\"617\" height=\"352\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100842566\" data-license=\"IDG\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2020\/05\/core_i9_10900k_gaming_performance-100842566-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">IDG<\/small><figcaption>\n<p>The Core i9-10900K beats the Ryzen 9 3900X across the board in games, although it has two fewer cores and costs $100 more. (The shorter bar is better in&nbsp;<em>Civ VI Gathering Storm<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It might not be the most practical option for most people, though&mdash;even gaming enthusiasts with deep pockets. The blazing-fast clock speeds start to matter less when you pair the 9900KS with a high-end graphics card at 1440p or 4K resolutions, which shifts the performance bottleneck over to the GPU in most games. You&rsquo;ll get the most out of Intel&rsquo;s ludicrously fast flagship at 1080p resolution. Because of that, and some other considerations, AMD and Intel both offer some very intriguing alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>It might not be the most practical option for most people, though&mdash;even gaming enthusiasts with deep pockets. The blazing-fast clock speeds start to matter less when you pair the Core i9-10900K with a high-end graphics card at 1440p or 4K resolutions, which shifts the performance bottleneck over to the GPU in most games. You&rsquo;ll get the most out of Intel&rsquo;s ludicrously fast flagship at 1080p resolution. The chip also chugs down a&nbsp;<em>lot&nbsp;<\/em>of power and lacks support for cutting-edge PCIe 4.0 storage. Because of that, and the sky-high cost of the 10900K, AMD and Intel both offer some very intriguing alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s start with Intel&rsquo;s options. If you&rsquo;re on the hunt simply for an optimal gaming experience and don&rsquo;t need a legion of cores and threads for productivity, the 8-core, 16-thread&nbsp;<a class=\"addLink\" href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com\/?id=111346X1569483&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1558672-REG%2Fintel_bx8070110700k_core_i7_10700k_processor_16m.html&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F3273404%2Fbest-cpus-for-gaming.html&amp;xcust=US_001_3273404_000_000000_web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-product-name=\"Core i7-10700K\" data-vars-product-name=\"Core i7-10700K\" data-vars-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1558672-REG\/intel_bx8070110700k_core_i7_10700k_processor_16m.html\" data-product-id=\"000000\" data-vars-product-id=\"000000\" data-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-vars-bkmfr=\"Intel\" data-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\" data-vars-bkvndr=\"B&amp;H Photo\">$425 Core i7-10700K<\/a>&nbsp;might be worth considering. It&rsquo;s just as fast as the pricier Core i9-10900K in gaming loads, per&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_UMMPjqLe8g\" rel=\"nofollow\">Gamers Nexus<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techspot.com\/review\/2030-intel-core-i7-10700k\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">TechSpot<\/a>, but costs significantly less. But the Core i5-10600K discussed previously is&nbsp;<em>essentially<\/em>&nbsp;as fast for over&nbsp;<em>another<\/em>&nbsp;$100 less, however, and Intel&rsquo;s Core i7 chip gets fiercely outmatched by comparable AMD processors in productivity tasks, especially when it comes to performance per dollar.<\/p>\n<p>Gaming isn&rsquo;t all most people do on their computers, of course. If you do a lot of work on your PC, especially resource-intensive tasks like streaming or media editing, one of AMD&rsquo;s third-gen Ryzen chips is probably a better option. AMD&rsquo;s been making aggressive price moves around Intel&rsquo;s 10th-gen launch to be more competitive. Ryzen 3000-series chips also hold an edge in power efficiency and PCIe 4.0 support.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><a class=\"zoom article-gallery cboxElement\" style=\"color: #25a7d7;text-decoration: none;overflow: hidden;max-width: 620px\" title=\"&lt;div class=&#039;credit&#039;&gt;Gordon Mah Ung&lt;\/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;AMD&rsquo;s 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X is the king of mainstream performance CPUs.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" href=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_12-100800714-orig.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_12-100800714-large.jpg\" alt=\"ryzen 9 3900x 12\" width=\"618\" height=\"348\" border=\"0\" data-imageid=\"100800714\" data-license=\"IDG\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2019\/06\/ryzen_9_3900x_12-100800714-large.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><small class=\"credit\">Gordon Mah Ung<\/small><figcaption>\n<p>AMD&rsquo;s 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X is the king of mainstream performance CPUs.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;In the end, AMD still makes it a better choice and a better deal for most, but for those who want higher clock speeds and more performance on lighter workloads, Intel&rsquo;s 10th gen Core i9-10900K and its sibling at least are worth considering,&rdquo; we said in our 10900K review. &ldquo;That, frankly, is a victory from the situation it has been in.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"tags\">\n<div><strong>See Campaign: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3106426\/components-graphics\/the-best-graphics-cards-for-pc-gaming.html\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3106426\/components-graphics\/the-best-graphics-cards-for-pc-gaming.html<\/a><br \/><b>Contact Information:<\/b><br \/>Brad Chacos<\/p>\n<p><b>Tags:<\/b><br \/><a href=\"\"><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/category\/news-category\/wire\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Wire<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/category\/global-regions\/united-states\/\" rel=\"category tag\">United States<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/category\/language\/english\/\" rel=\"category tag\">English<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"image\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" class=\"cwdfimg\" \/><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Contact Information:<\/h3>\n<p>Brad Chacos<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"233\" height=\"24\" src=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\" alt=\"\">Game on with these picks for every budget. Buying a processor for a gaming rig isn&rsquo;t as hard as it used to be. Now that Ryzen 3000-series and Intel&rsquo;s 10th-gen Core&nbsp;CPUs&nbsp;come with more performance and cores than ever before, it&rsquo;s hard to buy a stinker these days&mdash;especially because most games favor&nbsp;graphics firepower&nbsp;over&nbsp;CPU&nbsp;oomph. All that said, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\">Continue reading <span>The best CPUs for gaming<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,22,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-united-states","category-wire"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The best CPUs for gaming - Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best CPUs for gaming - Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Game on with these picks for every budget. Buying a processor for a gaming rig isn&rsquo;t as hard as it used to be. Now that Ryzen 3000-series and Intel&rsquo;s 10th-gen Core&nbsp;CPUs&nbsp;come with more performance and cores than ever before, it&rsquo;s hard to buy a stinker these days&mdash;especially because most games favor&nbsp;graphics firepower&nbsp;over&nbsp;CPU&nbsp;oomph. All that said, &hellip; Continue reading The best CPUs for gaming Continue Reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-27T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bilal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bilal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\",\"name\":\"The best CPUs for gaming - Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-27T17:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/70b05bacee6cf8a877350412fae25e20\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The best CPUs for gaming\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/\",\"name\":\"Business\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/70b05bacee6cf8a877350412fae25e20\",\"name\":\"Bilal\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01d05f3f41cc0f9ca88d2011a983bb3f2e83e3e92e3532188bf201df38d2aea8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01d05f3f41cc0f9ca88d2011a983bb3f2e83e3e92e3532188bf201df38d2aea8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bilal\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/fc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/author\/bilal\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The best CPUs for gaming - Business","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The best CPUs for gaming - Business","og_description":"Game on with these picks for every budget. Buying a processor for a gaming rig isn&rsquo;t as hard as it used to be. Now that Ryzen 3000-series and Intel&rsquo;s 10th-gen Core&nbsp;CPUs&nbsp;come with more performance and cores than ever before, it&rsquo;s hard to buy a stinker these days&mdash;especially because most games favor&nbsp;graphics firepower&nbsp;over&nbsp;CPU&nbsp;oomph. All that said, &hellip; Continue reading The best CPUs for gaming Continue Reading &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/","og_site_name":"Business","article_published_time":"2020-07-27T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Bilal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bilal","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/","url":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/","name":"The best CPUs for gaming - Business","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png","datePublished":"2020-07-27T17:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/70b05bacee6cf8a877350412fae25e20"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4001-logo.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2020\/07\/27\/the-best-cpus-for-gaming\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The best CPUs for gaming"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/","name":"Business","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/70b05bacee6cf8a877350412fae25e20","name":"Bilal","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01d05f3f41cc0f9ca88d2011a983bb3f2e83e3e92e3532188bf201df38d2aea8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01d05f3f41cc0f9ca88d2011a983bb3f2e83e3e92e3532188bf201df38d2aea8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bilal"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/fc"],"url":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/author\/bilal\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54449,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54448\/revisions\/54449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}