The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (2024)

Table of Contents
Table of Contents Our Top Tested Picks Intel Core i7-14700K AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Intel Core i9-14900K AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Intel Core i5-13600K AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Intel Core i5-11600K AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D AMD Ryzen 7 8700G AMD Ryzen 5 8600G The Best CPU Deals This Week* Intel Core i7-14700K Best Overall Gaming CPU (AMD or Intel) Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Best High-End AMD Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS Intel Core i9-14900K Best High-End Intel Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Best Mainstream AMD Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS Intel Core i5-13600K Best Mainstream Intel Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Best Budget AMD Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS Intel Core i5-11600K Best Budget Intel Gaming CPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Best Future-Proof Gaming CPU for Pairing With a Top-End GPU Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 7 8700G Best Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel) Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS AMD Ryzen 5 8600G Best Budget Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel) Bottom Line: PROS CONS SPECS Clock Speed Is Not Everything for Games Core Count: More Cores Aren't Always Better It Takes Both! First, a Word About Cache Performance Goals and Long-Term Goals Advice for 4K Gamers Advice for High-Refresh-Rate 1080p Gamers Recommended by Our Editors Advice for 1440p (2K) Gamers Advice for Budget Gamers Notes for All Levels of Buyer, and Later Upgrades Compare SpecsThe Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 Like What You're Reading? Further Reading TRENDING About Michael Justin Allen Sexton

Buying the right processor for PC gaming might seem complicated—especially with AMD's multiple Ryzen families and Intel's many Cores and "Lakes." Here's everything you need to know, plus our top picks based on PC Labs' deep-dive CPU reviews.

ByMichael Justin Allen Sexton

Michael Justin Allen Sexton

Analyst

My Experience

For as long as I can remember, I've had love of all things tech, spurred on, in part, by a love of gaming. I began working on computers owned by immediate family members and relatives when I was around 10 years old. I've always sought to learn as much as possible about anything PC, leading to a well-rounded grasp on all things tech today. In my role at PCMag, I greatly enjoy the opportunity to share what I know.

Read Full Bio

UpdatedMay 14, 2024

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Table of Contents

These days, you're not suffering for choice if you're shopping for a new desktop CPU—far from it. With both AMD and Intel pushing out new processors at a rapid pace, and their last-generation parts dropping in price, now is an excellent time to be shopping for a CPU. That's true whether you're buying a new chip to build a gaming rig, to power speedy content creation, or to ace both of those tasks and more.

Here, we'll focus on determining the best CPUs for gaming in 2024 across budgets and brands, which can be challenging. When you're building a PC for gaming (or weighing your chip choices in a prebuilt desktop), selecting a CPU is a balancing act, with the need to settle on components that won't limit each other's performance. The resolution you plan to game at also factors into play here, and, as always, cost is king when it comes to making purchasing decisions. As long as you remain cognizant of these factors and heed our advice, picking the right CPU for your gaming PC should be easy.

Let's look first at our top current picks across the CPU spectrum for PC gamers. We'll follow that with a buying guide to the factors that go into a gaming-processor buy, and finish up with a spec breakout of our top picks.

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Our Top Tested Picks

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (2)

Intel Core i7-14700K

Best Overall Gaming CPU (AMD or Intel)

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$373.99 at Amazon $399.99Save $26.00See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (3)

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Best High-End AMD Gaming CPU

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$486.61 at Amazon $699.00Save $212.39See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (4)

Intel Core i9-14900K

Best High-End Intel Gaming CPU

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$533.99 at Amazon $649.99Save $116.00See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (5)

AMD Ryzen 7 7700

Best Mainstream AMD Gaming CPU

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$246.00 at Amazon $329.00Save $83.00See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (6)

Intel Core i5-13600K

Best Mainstream Intel Gaming CPU

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$259.96 at Amazon $329.00Save $69.04See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (7)

AMD Ryzen 5 5600

Best Budget AMD Gaming CPU

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$116.98 at Amazon $199.00Save $82.02See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (8)

Intel Core i5-11600K

Best Budget Intel Gaming CPU

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$177.99 at Amazon See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (9)

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Best Future-Proof Gaming CPU for Pairing With a Top-End GPU

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$474.97 at Amazon $699.00Save $224.03See It

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (10)

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G

Best Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel)

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The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (11)

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G

Best Budget Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel)

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$199.00 at Amazon $229.00Save $30.00See It

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The Best CPU Deals This Week*

  • AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor$339.99(List Price $449)
  • AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor$178.00(List Price $449)
  • AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor$163.72(List Price $319)
  • Intel Core i5-12400 6-Core Desktop Processor$137.98(List Price $155.85)
  • Intel Core i7-13700K 16-Core Gaming Desktop Processor$309.98(List Price $419)

*Deals are selected by our commerce team

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

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The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (12)

Intel Core i7-14700K

Best Overall Gaming CPU (AMD or Intel)

4.0 Excellent

Bottom Line:

The Core i7-14700K is the best value of Intel's refreshed "Raptor Lake" CPUs, bringing marked improvements at no extra cost. It's an attractive upgrade for older LGA 1700 systems.

PROS

  • Excellent performance
  • Four more E-cores than predecessor
  • Increased cache
  • No price increase

CONS

  • Power hungry
  • Overheats with 240mm water cooler

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count20
Thread Count28
Base Clock Frequency3.4 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.5 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityIntel LGA 1700
Lithography7 nm
L3 Cache Amount33 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating254 watts
Integrated GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock1600 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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Intel Core i7-14700K Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (13)

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Best High-End AMD Gaming CPU

4.5 Outstanding

Bottom Line:

The 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X delivers exceptional performance that blows previous AMD consumer chips out of the water and even outpaces Intel's top competing "Alder Lake" efforts.

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

CONS

  • Power-hungry
  • Runs hot

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count16
Thread Count32
Base Clock Frequency4.5 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.7 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM5
Lithography5 nm
L3 Cache Amount64 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating170 watts
Integrated GraphicsAMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock2200 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (14)

Intel Core i9-14900K

Best High-End Intel Gaming CPU

3.5 Good

Bottom Line:

Intel's Core i9-14900K processor is essentially the Core i9-13900K with a slight clock boost, but a bit more prone to overheating and throttling. If you can find a 13900K for less money, opt for it, as the 14900K is much the same chip in practice.

PROS

  • Fast multi-threaded performance, and field-leading single-core performance
  • 6GHz peak boost clock speed
  • Capable integrated graphics
  • Same launch price as Core i9-13900K

CONS

  • Runs hot under load, at times hitting thermal limit
  • Same design as last year's 13900K, with only minor upticks to base and boost clock
  • Power-hungry

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count24
Thread Count32
Base Clock Frequency3.2 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock6 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityIntel LGA 1700
Lithography7 nm
L3 Cache Amount36 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating253 watts
Integrated GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock1650 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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$533.99 Amazon $599.00 Newegg

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Intel Core i9-14900K Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (15)

AMD Ryzen 7 7700

Best Mainstream AMD Gaming CPU

3.5 Good

Bottom Line:

AMD's Ryzen 7 7700 is a respectable processor with a worthy stock cooler and fast performance, especially in games, but it can't quite topple the Intel Core i5-13600K, which matches it in price.

PROS

  • Decent performance for the price
  • Relatively low power consumption
  • Capable stock cooler in the box

CONS

  • Outpaced by recent Intel competitors due to core count
  • Priced slightly too high
  • Weak integrated graphics

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count8
Thread Count16
Base Clock Frequency3.8 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.3 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM5
Lithography5 nm
L3 Cache Amount32 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating65 watts
Integrated GraphicsAMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock2200 MHz
Bundled CoolerAMD Wraith Prism

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AMD Ryzen 7 7700 Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (16)

Intel Core i5-13600K

Best Mainstream Intel Gaming CPU

4.5 Outstanding

Bottom Line:

Intel's Core i5-13600K is pricier, power-hungrier, and hotter-running than its predecessor, but it's hard to argue with the raw performance this CPU gives you for the money, especially for PC gamers.

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

NameValue
Core Count14
Thread Count20
Base Clock Frequency3.5 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.1 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityIntel LGA 1700
Lithography7 nm
L3 Cache Amount24 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating181 watts
Integrated GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 770
Integrated Graphics Base Clock1500 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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Intel Core i5-13600K Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (17)

AMD Ryzen 5 5600

Best Budget AMD Gaming CPU

4.0 Excellent

Bottom Line:

AMD's six-core Ryzen 5 5600 performs well enough for its price and is a solid midrange productivity and gaming CPU. Just mind the lack of integrated graphics and the street price of its own sterling sibling, the Ryzen 5 5600X.

PROS

  • Alluring $199 price point
  • Competitive with Intel 11th Generation Core i5 processors

CONS

  • Like all non-"G" series Ryzens, no integrated graphics

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count6
Thread Count12
Base Clock Frequency3.5 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock4.4 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM4
Lithography7 nm
L3 Cache Amount31 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating65 watts
Integrated GraphicsNone
Integrated Graphics Base Clock
Bundled CoolerAMD Wraith Stealth

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AMD Ryzen 5 5600 Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (18)

Intel Core i5-11600K

Best Budget Intel Gaming CPU

4.0 Excellent

Bottom Line:

The midrange Core i5-11600K is a six-core, 11th Gen CPU just fast enough to keep Intel's older "Rocket Lake" chips in the game for budget buyers, against tough AMD opposition and Intel's own latest CPUs.

PROS

  • Strong single-threaded performance
  • Doubles most integrated-graphics results of equivalent 10th Generation Intel chips
  • Doesn't run too hot
  • Decent frame rates with a discrete video card
  • Aggressive pricing versus AMD's equivalent Ryzens

CONS

  • Not quite as fast as the Ryzen 5 5600X
  • New platform adoption is pricey
  • No bundled cooler

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count6
Thread Count12
Base Clock Frequency3.9 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock4.9 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityIntel LGA 1200
Lithography14 nm
L3 Cache Amount16 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating125 watts
Integrated GraphicsIntel Iris Xe (UHD Graphics 750)
Integrated Graphics Base Clock350 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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Intel Core i5-11600K Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (19)

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Best Future-Proof Gaming CPU for Pairing With a Top-End GPU

3.5 Good

Bottom Line:

AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X3D is a speedy AM5 processor whose added cache justifies its effective price premium only for owners of the very highest-end graphics cards playing games at lower resolutions.

PROS

  • Large 128MB pool of L3 cache
  • Top-shelf gaming performance with discrete card
  • Energy efficient
  • Now includes integrated graphics

CONS

  • Lower performance in CPU-specific tests than cheaper counterpart
  • High relative pricing
  • Heat issues

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count16
Thread Count32
Base Clock Frequency4.2 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.7 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM5
Lithography5 nm
L3 Cache Amount128 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating120 watts
Integrated GraphicsAMD Radeon Graphics
Integrated Graphics Base Clock2200 MHz
Bundled CoolerNone

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AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (20)

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G

Best Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel)

3.5 Good

Bottom Line:

AMD's Ryzen 7 8700G is an excellent single-chip gaming solution, especially for small PCs that can't house a graphics card, but it just can't beat a conventional CPU and GPU combination on price/performance.

PROS

  • Exceptional integrated graphics performance
  • Decent CPU speeds
  • Low power consumption

CONS

  • Overpriced
  • Just 16MB of L3 cache
  • Stability issues

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count8
Thread Count16
Base Clock Frequency4.2 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5.1 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM5
Lithography4 nm
L3 Cache Amount16 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating65 watts
Integrated GraphicsAMD Radeon 780M
Integrated Graphics Base Clock2900 MHz
Bundled CoolerAMD Wraith Spire

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AMD Ryzen 7 8700G Review

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (21)

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G

Best Budget Processor for Gaming on Integrated Graphics (AMD or Intel)

4.0 Excellent

Bottom Line:

AMD's Ryzen 5 8600G isn't the most muscular CPU you can buy, but it drives competitive integrated-graphics performance for its price. It's an ideal chip for budget gaming PCs.

PROS

  • Powerful integrated graphics
  • Six Zen 4 CPU Cores
  • Low power draw
  • Budget price

CONS

  • Lackluster CPU productivity performance
  • Runs a bit hot

SPECS

NameValue
Core Count6
Thread Count12
Base Clock Frequency4.3 GHz
Maximum Boost Clock5 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier?
Socket CompatibilityAMD AM5
Lithography4 nm
L3 Cache Amount16 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating65 watts
Integrated GraphicsAMD Radeon 760M
Integrated Graphics Base Clock2800 MHz
Bundled CoolerAMD Wraith Stealth

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AMD Ryzen 5 8600G Review

Buying Guide: The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024

Before continuing, if you are relatively new to PC building and aren't familiar with the specifics of what makes up a processor, we'd recommend you first read our general-purpose Best CPUs for 2024 article. We will proceed from here under the assumption that you understand the basics of processors.

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (22)

(Credit: Molly Flores)

When it comes to gaming, you'll see lots of debate online about what is most important in a processor to help you get the best performance. Some argue that clock speed is everything, and the highest-clocked CPU will invariably perform best. (Occasionally, that is correct.) Others argue that having more cores will net you a greater advantage. (Sometimes that helps, too.) You also find a fair bit of consideration around the cache being all-important. (Again: Sometimes yes, sometimes no.)

Like with many things in life, none of these more extreme viewpoints is wholly accurate. Having a balanced mix of cores, clock speed, and cache will get you the best results in the widest sense. Beyond that, the results you get can vary quite a bit from game to game, or from game genre to game genre. There's no magic-bullet solution that will work for all users, all budgets, and all games. Let's get into why below.

Clock Speed Is Not Everything for Games

As everyone knows, higher clock speeds enable a processor to perform better...if everything else is equal. But everything seldom is, and so "clock speed" as a single number or overarching concept is far too simplistic to make decisions on alone, especially due to the influence of different microarchitectures. To help with understanding this concept, imagine a processor as an engine in a car. The clock speed, in this case, would be not the speed the car is traveling at, but the speed of the engine, or how many revolutions per minute (RPMs) that the car is running at. Just like how different engines deliver different amounts of horsepower at the same RPM, different processors will give you different amounts of performance at the same clock speed unless they share the same architecture (and all else is equal, too).

Clock speed, just like the RPMs, goes up and down as more work is called upon by the CPU or engine. Performance and power consumption rise and fall in concert with clock speed, which is a universal truth, but we should never rely solely on clock speed to make a decision on processors. Though we can say the exact same thing about core count.

Core Count: More Cores Aren't Always Better

Just as we cannot rely entirely on clock speed to make a decision, we also cannot rely simply on core count. The architecture that the processor cores is built on has a huge impact on performance here, too, but we also sometimes see processors with more cores running at slower clock speeds than processors with fewer cores. This is often a necessity for running large amounts of cores, as you'll have only so much power to go around. Also, more cores typically generate more heat, forcing the processor to have lower clock speeds to stay within power and thermal limits (again, all else being equal).

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (23)

(Credit: Molly Flores)

We have also seen many debates over the years about just how many processor cores you need for PC gaming. It's often been argued that games, especially older ones, aren't capable of using more than just a few cores and that having additional cores delivers no benefit. These arguments are flawed, however, as they fail to take into consideration two key factors. First, they fail to consider that even if some games are able to use only a few cores, other games, especially newer ones, tend to make use of far more cores.

The second major factor is that a PC is never doing just one thing. Having more cores beyond what a game can use still can improve performance by offloading background tasks to the extra cores. The benefits from this only increase if you like to watch videos on a second monitor while gaming, if you stream your games while playing, or if you record game footage for later use. These factors make the argument against extra cores, at the very least, shortsighted.

It Takes Both!

We could continue to discuss the merits of different processor attributes for gaming at length, as well as the ongoing debates around them, but instead, let's get down to the key points. It's best not to lean too much to any one side of this performance equation between clock speed and cores. Don't overly focus on having the most cores or the very highest clock speed, but instead, look for a chip that is strong in both regards.

Testing data suggests that the current benefits of having more cores diminish as you add ever more cores. Most graphics cards are able to operate at close to their full potential with a CPU at the level of an Intel Core i5 or an AMD Ryzen 5; beyond that, most graphics cards only gain a modest benefit from having faster CPUs, if they benefit at all. The very highest-end graphics cards (like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090) unequivocally do benefit from faster processors, though, especially at lower resolutions, and it's likely that newer games will benefit from faster processors down the road, as well.

Taken together, we get a clear picture that likely the absolute best gaming processor we can buy for today and tomorrow will be the one with most cores and the highest clock speed. This is a good generalization to proceed with, but most folks' budgets are limited, and there is a point of diminishing returns. To determine which CPU will be the best for your specific gaming PC, we need to dive into your specific system goals.

First, a Word About Cache

Ordinarily, we wouldn't delve into processor cache in an overview article like this, as it's a topic a bit deep in the weeds. However, it's also been known for decades now that game performance tends to increase with the size of a processor's cache. Also, we mean cache in general, be it L1, L2, L3, or some other form of last-level cache (LLC). The amount of cache used by AMD and Intel has typically been fairly consistent inside of each product line, though. Due to a lack of deviation inside of product lines, in the past, we could have simply skipped the discussion of cache or worked it into a discussion on microarchitectures. But AMD and its recent 3D V-Cache-equipped processors require us to approach the subject with a bit more depth.

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (24)

(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)

Though large pools of cache can be beneficial to gaming, cache requires a lot of transistors and a relatively large amount of space on a processor die at today's extremes. This makes it relatively expensive to implement, and the addition of excess cache can drive up costs quickly. Cache is also relatively power-hungry and generates a considerable amount of heat. The use of too much cache, therefore, can adversely affect battery performance (in laptops) or power consumption (in desktops), and the added heat can force the rest of the chip to be clocked lower so as to keep the CPU cores from overheating.

With these drawbacks, you might start to wonder if not having cache would be beneficial, but cache is absolutely essential. Without cache, modern processors would be far slower, and adding extra cache, at times, has brought about major performance gains in the past. How much cache a processor needs again comes down to a balancing act, which is why AMD and Intel typically don't vary the amount of cache per core on processors of the same generation.

The notable modern exceptions to this are AMD's processors with 3D V-Cache, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D. Each of these processors has an extra element inside of them that's entirely cache with a total of 64MB. On each of these processors, this is counted as part of the L3 cache, but it's really an LLC that's physically separate with slightly different performance characteristics from the L3.

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (25)

(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)

The cache chip gets stacked on top of the chip that contains the CPU cores in each processor, which mandates some compromises from a chip-design POV. These chips have reduced clock speeds to deal with the extra heat produced by the cache chip. As a result, their peak raw CPU performance is typically lower in most applications than their near-identical counterparts that lack the 3D V-Cache. These processors do have a slight edge in games, but this advantage is mostly seen in games running at 1080p or similarly "low" resolutions. The advantage disappears in many games at higher resolutions, where the limits of frame rates are bound to the graphics card.

There is an aspect of future-proofing to these V-Cache-equipped CPUs, for use with high-end graphics cards that have not yet been released. But generally speaking, we do not recommend the use of AMD's 3D V-Cache processors except if you are buying the best one, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, and pairing it with a high-end graphics card like a GeForce RTX 4090 or RTX 4080, and you intend to game mostly at 1080p, reaching for extreme frame rates for competitive play on a high-refresh gaming monitor. Even then, we would consider different processors for gaming at higher resolutions, especially as many faster equivalent-class processors are also priced lower.

Performance Goals and Long-Term Goals

To determine exactly what processor is best for you and your new gaming PC, you'll need to answer a few questions about what you want from the system. Most likely, you'll fall under one of a handful of groups based on your goals, which enables us to make recommendations relatively easily.

Advice for 4K Gamers

If you want to game at 4K resolutions, then likely your best option is to buy a midrange processor such as an AMD Ryzen 5 or an Intel Core i5, or a Ryzen 7 or Core i7 if you're looking for lots of cores for CPU-intensive work when you are not gaming. Gaming at 4K can actually be "easier," in a sense, than gaming at 1080p, as the graphics card is more likely to reach the limit of its frame-pushing power before the CPU is the component holding it back.

This is especially true in light of the fact that most people gaming at 4K today are aiming to run at 60 frames per second (fps), which has long been considered the ideal baseline refresh rate for gaming when the hardware going gets tough. Enjoying 4K-resolution gaming is still a bit of a rarified level for most shoppers; plus, high-refresh-rate monitors (above 60Hz) with 4K native resolution aren't casual purchases. If you happen to buy a monitor that's able to output a 4K signal above 60fps, and you are also buying a top-tier graphics card, such as an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, you may want to consider stepping up the processor to an AMD Ryzen 9 or an Intel Core i9 just to be safe and to avoid any potential bottlenecks.

Advice for High-Refresh-Rate 1080p Gamers

If you want to run games with exceptionally fast refresh rates, you'll want to opt for the absolute best processor that you can afford, so long as it doesn't cut into your GPU budget. When you are gaming at 1080p, the processor is far more likely to create a bottleneck and hold back the graphics card from achieving its peak performance. This is especially true if you have a high-end graphics card, so the graphics card you own or intend to buy has a significant impact on your CPU choice here.

Recommended by Our Editors

The Best Budget CPUs for 2024

The Best CPUs for 2024

The Best Graphics Cards for 2024

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (29)

(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)

More mainstream graphics cards, like the AMD Radeon RX 6600 or the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, should be able to be kept adequately fed by a modern AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 processor. These mainstream processor solutions are quite capable, and the latest AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Core i5-14600K are able to stand toe-to-toe with faster processors while gaming until you get past cards on the level of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. At that point, these chips fall slightly behind their faster kin in some game tests. With an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti or better, it would be wiser to opt for an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 to avoid any bottlenecking.

Even an AMD Ryzen 9 or Intel Core i9 isn't totally outside of the realm of practicality for high-refresh gaming at 1080p, though you'll likely only need to opt for such a high-end chip if you are purchasing the likes of an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT or 7900 XTX, or an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 or better.

Advice for 1440p (2K) Gamers

If you play games at 1440p or 1600p (aka, 2K), you likely reside somewhere between the two aforementioned camps. Gaming at 2K will be more demanding on your GPU than gaming at 1080p but, at the same time, many 2K monitors support higher refresh rates, with 120Hz and 144Hz models being ever more common. Here again, higher refresh rates put more strain on the processor, as it needs to work faster to keep the GPU fed with data to generate those higher frame rates.

Realistically, we consider AMD's Ryzen 7 and Intel's Core i7 processors the ideal options for 2K gaming, as they have the extra oomph for running higher refresh rates without costing nearly as much as the Ryzen 9 and Core i9 options.

Advice for Budget Gamers

Gamers on a truly tight budget realistically don't need to worry as much about what processor they buy. Buying a capable graphics card is far more important, and even an AMD Ryzen 3 or Intel Core i3 can handle many mainstream GPUs reasonably well. If you can fit an AMD Ryzen 5 or an Intel Core i5 into your budget, though, that would be ideal even if it's a last-gen model like a Ryzen 5 5000-series or an Intel Core i5 11th (LGA 1200) or 12th Gen (LGA 1700) chip. But, if opting for the likes of a Ryzen 3 or Core i3 lets you get even a slightly better graphics card, then that's the better option.

Notes for All Levels of Buyer, and Later Upgrades

Regardless of which of these groups you fit into you, if you're building, upgrading, or buying a PC for serious gaming, always prioritize buying the best graphics card you can over buying the absolute best processor you can. Except in extreme-mismatch scenarios, or unless you game at 1080p with exceedingly high refresh rates, you are more likely to have your graphics card hit its performance limit before your CPU does. This doesn't hold up, say, if you paired an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 with an Intel Core i3. But in most reasonably well-built systems, with most games, the graphics card hits its limit first while gaming.

The Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024 (30)

(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)

Now, that is not to say that you should toss all your money into a graphics card and forget about the CPU. But you would be better off, for example, with a Core i5-13600K and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 than you would be with an Intel Core i7-14700K and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. Our key takeaway here is to prioritize the GPU selection first, and get the best or most appropriate processor to go with it, with what budget you have left.

We should also make it clear that, while we may recommend an AMD Ryzen 5 or an Intel Core i5 as sufficient for gaming above 1080p, we see no harm in buying a faster processor for your gaming PC so long as it doesn't cut into your GPU budget. Buying a faster processor can be beneficial in many scenarios outside of gaming; it will enhance your PC's multitasking ability; and getting a faster processor now could keep the door open to a GPU upgrade in a couple of years without having to build a whole new PC. We know of many gamers who do just this and opt for a reasonably fast CPU beyond what they strictly need in the moment. Then, they then use this processor and motherboard throughout the life of two GPUs before doing another full system upgrade or rebuild.

That's also a valid strategy, if you have the budget to "pay now to enjoy later." But know that chip prices fall over time, and it's possible if you don't buy the highest-end chip for the platform today, you might be able to upgrade in a few years' time—say, to a Core i7 from a Core i5 for a lot less than the initial cost of the i7 today.

To sum up, we've mapped out our top gaming CPUs below, broken out with detailed specs. If you're building a new system from scratch, you'll also want to take a look at our recommendations for the best M.2 SSDs and PC tower cases. Or if you'd rather buy a balanced off-the-shelf model, you can check out our favorite gaming desktops, too.

Compare SpecsThe Best CPUs for Gaming in 2024

Our Picks

Intel Core i7-14700KSee It$373.99 at Amazon AMD Ryzen 9 7950XSee It$486.61 at Amazon Intel Core i9-14900KSee It$533.99 at Amazon AMD Ryzen 7 7700See It$246.00 at Amazon Intel Core i5-13600KSee It$259.96 at Amazon AMD Ryzen 5 5600See It$116.98 at Amazon Intel Core i5-11600KSee It$177.99 at Amazon AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3DSee It$474.97 at Amazon AMD Ryzen 5 8600GSee It$199.00 at Amazon

Editors'Rating

Editors' Choice

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3.5Editor Review

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Core Count

201624814661686

Thread Count

28323216201212321612

Base Clock Frequency

3.4 GHz4.5 GHz3.2 GHz3.8 GHz3.5 GHz3.5 GHz3.9 GHz4.2 GHz4.2 GHz4.3 GHz

Maximum Boost Clock

5.5 GHz5.7 GHz6 GHz5.3 GHz5.1 GHz4.4 GHz4.9 GHz5.7 GHz5.1 GHz5 GHz

Unlocked Multiplier?

Socket Compatibility

Intel LGA 1700AMD AM5Intel LGA 1700AMD AM5Intel LGA 1700AMD AM4Intel LGA 1200AMD AM5AMD AM5AMD AM5

Lithography

7 nm5 nm7 nm5 nm7 nm7 nm14 nm5 nm4 nm4 nm

L3 Cache Amount

33 MB64 MB36 MB32 MB24 MB31 MB16 MB128 MB16 MB16 MB

Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating

254 watts170 watts253 watts65 watts181 watts65 watts125 watts120 watts65 watts65 watts

Integrated Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics 770AMD Radeon GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 770AMD Radeon GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics 770NoneIntel Iris Xe (UHD Graphics 750)AMD Radeon GraphicsAMD Radeon 780MAMD Radeon 760M

Integrated Graphics Base Clock

1600 MHz2200 MHz1650 MHz2200 MHz1500 MHz 350 MHz2200 MHz2900 MHz2800 MHz

Bundled Cooler

NoneNoneNoneAMD Wraith PrismNoneAMD Wraith StealthNoneNoneAMD Wraith SpireAMD Wraith Stealth

Where to Buy

$373.99 at Amazon $399.99 at Walmart $486.61 at Amazon $549.99 at Best Buy $533.99 at Amazon $599.00 at Newegg $246.00 at Amazon $246.99 at Best Buy $259.96 at Amazon $300.00 at Best Buy $116.98 at Amazon $116.99 at Walmart $177.99 at Amazon $474.97 at Amazon $474.99 at Walmart $199.00 at Amazon $199.00 at Walmart

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The Best CPUs for 2024

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About Michael Justin Allen Sexton

Analyst

For as long as I can remember, I've had love of all things tech, spurred on, in part, by a love of gaming. I began working on computers owned by immediate family members and relatives when I was around 10 years old. I've always sought to learn as much as possible about anything PC, leading to a well-rounded grasp on all things tech today. In my role at PCMag, I greatly enjoy the opportunity to share what I know.

I wrote for the well-known tech site Tom's Hardware for three years before I joined PCMag in 2018. In that time, I've reviewed desktops, PC cases, and motherboards as a freelancer, while also producing deals content for the site and its sibling ExtremeTech. Now, as a full-time PCMag analyst, I'm focusing on reviewing processors and graphics cards while dabbling in all other things PC-related.

Read Michael Justin Allen's full bio

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