Best CPU 2024: The top rated processors

February 21, 2024

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The CPU is often thought of as the brain of your PC. From browsing the web to gaming, almost every workload will depend on the speed of your processor for a smooth and seamless experience. But what is the best CPU you can find?

Our team of experts have thoroughly tested all of the latest desktop processors from AMD and Intel, using benchmark tests to get an accurate gauge of performance. While performance is certainly important, there are plenty of other important factors to consider, so we’ve made sure to also test the likes of power consumption and thermal performance.

Every processor that receives a high score in our review is considered for this list. We’ll also be reviewing plenty more desktop CPUs as they become available, so we’ll be continuously updating this list to keep you up to date.

Can’t find a CPU to your liking? Then make sure to check out our Best Gaming CPU list, as well as our Best Intel Processor guide.

Best CPU at a glance:

How we test

Learn more about how we test CPUs We always review multiple CPUs at once to compare data, using consistent components for fair testing where possible.We use a mix of both synthetic and in-game benchmarks to gauge performance, while also considering additional features and pricing.We also measure the likes of power consumption and peak temperature under stress to get an idea of performance efficiency.

Intel Core i9-14900K

Best CPU overall

Pros

Impressive gaming performanceVersatile across multiple fieldsAPO could be a game changerNo price increase compared to last gen

Cons

Insane temperatures & power drawFar better value CPUs availableLittle difference compared to last gen

According to our tests, the Intel Core i9-14900K is the most powerful consumer desktop processor you can buy. It excels at both gaming and content creation, making it an excellent all-rounder for any task.

It packs in an astonishing 24 cores, although they are made up of a mix of performance cores and power-efficient cores thanks to Intel’s hybrid design. Nevertheless, this absurd number of cores enables the processor to juggle multiple complex workloads simultaneously, which is especially useful if you’re a professional creator working with animation or 4K video.

Our gaming benchmark tests also saw it consistently beat the competition. It’s admittedly not too much more powerful than the preceding Intel Core i9-13900K since they’re based on the same architecture, but the i9-14900K shares the exact same price point, making it great value for money.

The Intel Core i9-14900K certainly isn’t perfect, as our tests show it to have a high temperature and power draw under stress. But if you’re happy to invest in a top-notch cooler and PSU, then you’ll be treated to the absolute best performance you can get from a consumer CPU.

Reviewer: Zak StoreyFull review: Intel Core i9-14900K review

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

Best AMD CPU

Pros

Fantastic multi-core performanceTop class gaming speedsFuture-proofed with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5Great power efficiency

Cons

Requires a powerful cooling systemCan find better value gaming CPUs elsewhereWorth waiting for Intel Raptor Lake before buying

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is our top recommended processor from AMD. It’s not the fastest option, beaten by the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, but we believe it represents the best balance of performance and affordability. The Ryzen 7000 Series runs on AMD’s new Zen 4 architecture that not only brings a performance boost, but also support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, enabling you to upgrade to the latest and greatest RAM and SSDs.

AMD claims the Ryzen 9 7900X has a max boost clock speed of 5.6GHz. The only part that seemingly hasn’t been upgraded is the amount of cores and threads from the previous gen – there’s still 12 cores and 24 threads.

Those specs didn’t seem to hold back multi-core performance though. In Cinebench R23, a program which simulates CPU-heavy and intensive tasks such as rendering, AMD’s latest flagship chip managed to beat off Intel’s older generation Alder Lake chip (the i9-12900K) by some margin. The AMD chip has since been taken over by the Intel Core i9-14900K in terms of performance, but the Ryzen 9 7900X consumes considerably less power under stress, making it the more efficient option.

In testing, the Ryzen 9 7900X offered outstanding performance for both gaming and intense creative workloads. If you want even more speed, then AMD also offers the Ryzen 9 7950X which packs more cores, while the Intel Core i9-14900K tops the charts for all of our benchmark tests.

Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X review

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D

Most powerful AMD CPU

Pros

Strong overall gaming performanceDecent in multi-threaded tasks3D V-cache is still a game changerTemps and power draw solid

Cons

Can’t quite keep up in pro workloadsNot all games benefit from V-cacheNo support for DDR4

If you’re loyal to AMD and want the most powerful chip that the company has to offer, then look no further than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D. This takes the excellent performance power of the preceding AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and then boosts it with the clever AMD 3D V-Cache technology that further boosts performance for supported applications and games.

In general, the Intel Core i9-14900K saw a faster performance than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D in our benchmark tests. This was the case for both content creations and gaming workloads, although it fared better for the latter scenario thanks to its excellent single-core performance and 5.7GHz max clock speed.

Select games will also be given a great performance boost by the AMD 3D V-Cache technology, potentially even leapfrogging its Intel rival. But this is very dependent on the game, and there’s no easy way to know which games will benefit beforehand.

Arguably the Ryzen’s biggest trump card is its superb power efficiency, as our tests showed that it drew far less power than the Intel Core i9-14900K. It also impressed in terms of thermal performance, remaining relatively cool under stress. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X arguably offers better value, but if you want the fastest possible AMD chip, this is it.

Reviewer: Zak StoreyFull review: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D review

Intel Core i5-14600K

Best value for gaming

Pros

Strong performance in gameBest value processor right nowReasonable temps and power drawPrice remains the same as last gen

Cons

No major hardware advancementBetter professional picks elsewhereLacks Intel’s APO tech

The Intel Core i5-14600K offers remarkable value for money, even outperforming more expensive desktop processors such as the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X.

Its single-core performance is especially impressive, with our benchmark results showing it to excel at gaming. This is no one-trick pony either, with its 14 cores and 20 threads ensuring a great performance for multi-threaded workloads such as 3D animation and editing 4K video. It’s still far behind the Intel Core i9-14900K in this regard, but it’s in a league of its own at its price point.

The Intel Core i5-14600K also offers support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, which means you’ll be able to team this processor up with the latest and greatest RAM and SSDs to drive up the overall performance ceiling of your PC.

So if you’re looking for a versatile desktop processor that can handle both content creation and gaming at high speeds, but without spending a huge chunk of your savings, then the Intel Core i5-14600K is the current best option.

Reviewer: Zak StoreyFull review: Intel Core i5-14600K review

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

Best value gaming CPU

Pros

Outstanding gaming performanceSupport for DDR5 and PCIE 5.0Great power efficiencyAffordable price

Cons

Subpar multi-core performanceRequires a high-end coolerWorth waiting for Intel Raptor Lake

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X offers the benefits of the Zen 4 CPU architecture at an affordable price, supporting both DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, enabling you to make use of the speediest RAM and SSDs.

The Ryzen 5 7600X shines at gaming performance. In testing, it beat off a pair of formidable Intel Alder Lake processors, including the flagship i9-12900K. This is all thanks to the high frequency speeds, hitting a peak of 5.3GHz without overclocking.

While this chip may excel with its price-to-performance ratio for gaming, the same unfortunately can’t be said for its multi-core performance for tasks such as rendering. This is evident when taking a look at the results for Cinebench R23. In this benchmark, the 7600X’s result put it behind Intel 12th gen options (Intel Core i9-12900K and Intel Core i5-12600K).

In more general computing benchmarks such as PCMark 10 though, the 7600X performed very well, which suggests it’s a great cheap for general computing and gaming, although we suggest looking elsewhere for high-end content creation.

Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X review

We also considered…

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

Can this jack-of-all-trades processor compete with Intel Rocket Lake?

FAQs

How much RAM is enough? We recommend having at least 8GB of RAM for general tasks, but if you’re looking to play games or edit video etc, then we suggest upping that to 16GB of RAM and beyond. What is better: GHz or cores? It really depends on your workload. Having high frequency speeds is obviously very important, especially for intensive tasks such as gaming and content creation. But it’s also important to have multiple cores to improve the efficiency of multi-tasking, especially when using apps such as Adobe Premiere Pro. Can CPU affect FPS? Yes, a more powerful CPU can have a positive impact on your FPS when gaming, but a GPU will be more influential here.