Veteran PC gamers have been building gaming computers since before they could walk, and these days it's easier than ever. That doesn't mean the average gamer will have an easy time of it, however. For those who are venturing boldly into their first PC build, or others who have been out of the loop for a few years, it can be hard to figure out what components to select for a build.
2020 has showered gamers with a lot of excellent gaming CPUs designed for a wide variety of user needs and budgets, but which ones are the best? Here's a list of 10 that are leading the pack right now.
10 Intel Pentium Gold G6400
Most gamers will skip right by this one, but it deserves a mention. The G6400 is about as bottom of the rung as one can possibly get, but at $70 dollars, it's an affordable option for those who aren't interested in cranking their games to maximum resolutions and levels of detail.
It's strange to talk about a dual-core CPU in an age when hex-cores are widely becoming standard issue, but don't be fooled. When paired with a GTX1660 video card, the G6400 can net 60FPS in Modern Warfare, 95FPS in Fortnite and 45FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Not bad at all.
9 Intel Core i5 9400F
The 9400F doesn't offer earth-shattering gaming performance, but it's more than enough to handle most games at high settings under 4K. That's important, because the chip itself is priced at an attractive $149 dollars.
For $50 more, one could go for AMD's 3600X which offers anywhere from 15% to 25% jumps in performance in single, dual, quad and octa-core speeds, but that's all relative as far as gamers are concerned.
8 AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
AMD's bottom-barrel gaming CPU is the 3400G, a 4-Core CPU designed for gamers on a low budget who are eager to upgrade to a new machine. Though it may not sound like a heavy hitter, the 3400G is more than capable of hitting an average 100FPS mark with an RTX2080 card running games at 1080p.
Gamers who want to bump up to 2K or even 4K gaming will find this chip a disappointment, so they should continue reading. However, gamers who want a solid, capable machine to play their favorite titles would do well to consider the 3400G as a prime contender for a budget build.
7 AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Mid-range gaming CPUs start off at the slightly lower end with AMD's 3600X. It's very affordable, and offers solid gaming performance for those who don't want to sell a kidney to pay for a monster PC. Pitting this CPU against Intel's 6-Core 10600K reveals some startling surprises.
First, its overclocking performance is slightly higher, and its max core speed is 29% faster, but it lags behind on gaming performance. Still, when paired with a decent video card, it's hard to ignore the allure, especially with a $199 price tag.
6 AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Once again, AMD brings a killer CPU to the game with the 3900X, a 12-Core/24 Thread whopper that can stand against the 10900K and still take names. However, as with CPUs of this type, they aren't necessarily meant for gaming alone, but rather a mixture of gaming and creative applications such as video production or rendering.
Putting that aside, the 3900X is still $100 cheaper than the 10900K, which is great news for that type of user. Dedicated gamers might opt for the 10900K simply for the blisteringly high overclock capabilities, but the 3900X will destroy it in 64-Bit processing performance with a 40% lead.
5 Intel Core i7 9700K
This 8-Core Coffee Lake CPU has been around the block for a while now, and it remains one of the more affordable options for those who want more cores packed into their chip. In terms of gaming performance, the 9700K sits neck-and-neck with the 10600K CPU with very little difference between them.
Still, it's worth pondering whether to pick up an older 8-Core CPU vs a newer 6-Core CPU, especially since both are priced similarly. If you're a creative type, 2 extra cores might be your while.
4 AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
The Ryzen 7 3700X is one of the few AMD CPUs that stands essentially toe-to-toe with its Intel equivalent. There's very little difference between the CPU and say, Intel's 9700K. Gaming performance is essentially identical, and the differences are marginal when it comes to things like MP3 encoding, web surfing and other tasks.
The only true difference with the 3700X is its price tag which is $40 bucks cheaper than the 9700K. For this reason alone, it's the better bet considering how identical both CPUs are when it comes to everything that really counts.
3 Intel Core i9-10900K
Intel's i9-series is no slouch when it comes to ultra-high performance multi-core CPU solutions, and the 10900K is now considered the big daddy in the company's lineup. This 10-Core CPU is an excellent solution for gamers who want to pack a super-powerful CPU beside a behemoth video card and have enough headway to run games at insane resolutions.
However, Intel is not nearly as good at the multi-core game as AMD is, and purchasing the 10900K specifically for gaming duties might be a waste of cash. In the end, this will come down to how much spare cash you have sitting around, and whether you want to invest in a CPU for bragging rights.
2 AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
AMD's Threadripper series continues to shatter records with incredible performance, and the 3rd-gen 16-Core/32 Thread 3950X is no exception. While this CPU wasn't designed specifically with gaming in mind, it can easily handle the duty. The 3950X was designed primarily as an in-between solution for creative types who want to game on the side.
Proof can be seen in the CPU's outrageously powerful multi-core performance which easily mops the floor with Intel's 10-Core 10900K. It's also $200 cheaper. However, gamers tend to focus more on single-core performance where the 10900K holds the lead, which means the final decision rests on one's particular needs.
1 Intel Core i5-10600K
Though it lacks the sheer gaming power of the i9-10900K, there isn't enough of a beef-up in performance to truly justify an extra $600+ dollars when the 10600K can do the trick. All that extra cash can be put towards a hefty video card such as an RTX2080, or even the upcoming 3090 due to hit store shelves by the end of September.
Gaming benchmarks show a difference of approximately 10-15 FPS on average between the 10600K and the 10900K, which makes the former a no-brainer when it comes to narrowing down which CPU to pick. It's the most well-rounded and affordable gaming CPU on the market right now, with the numbers to back itself up. One caveat, however - this being an i5, the 10600K loses its power dramatically during 4K gaming (even when paired with 2080ti), netting around 85FPS.