If you're a loyal desktop PC user, you know that processors are the driving force of the PC industry. Outside of PC games (where the graphics card rules), processor performance is what you'll notice most in almost every situation, making the CPU arguably the most critical component of any PC. AMD and Intel dominate today's desktop processor market, and we review all their key releases, using a wide range of tests to evaluate performance across various scenarios. Considering architecture, core count, clock speed, platform, and feature set, no single processor is the right one for everyone. Below, we've handpicked the top options we've tested. Our top picks for most buyers are AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel's Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, but we've got alternatives for all budgets and use cases. Check them out, along with a detailed guide to help you determine which processor is best for you.
Overview
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Best Budget CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
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Best Budget CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
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Best Mainstream CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
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Best Mainstream CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
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Best High-End CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
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Best High-End CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
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Best Gaming CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
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Best Gaming CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
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Best Workstation-Grade CPU (AMD or Intel)AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
You Can Trust Our Reviews
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
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Best Budget CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Yes, technically, AMD's AM4 platform is old hat now, but budget shoppers will still find a lot to love. The Ryzen 7 5700X was introduced toward the end of AM4's run as AMD's flagship—packing speeds that could match most other Ryzen 7 5000-series hardware, but at a lower price. That combo of speed and cost keeps the 5700X viable today, especially as its price has dropped further.
Who It's For
Existing AM4 motherboard owners: This is a fine budget processor for anyone who already owns an AM4 motherboard—an excellent upgrade option to speed up your PC without the need to build anew. It's faster than any Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 chip available on the AM4 platform, and it's one of the fastest AM4 Ryzen 7 CPUs. Even better, it's quite affordable these days.
Home PC shoppers: The Ryzen 7 5700X will serve well for a general-use, mainstream family PC. While building an all-new PC around AMD's aging AM4 platform isn't recommended, the Ryzen 7 5700X would do a fine job for budget-strapped families. Although this chip is a few years old, you won't notice the 5700X slowing down while running web browsers and text editors, for instance, if paired with adequate RAM.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.4 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 8 Integrated Graphics None L3 Cache Amount 32 Lithography 7 Maximum Boost Clock 3.6 Socket Compatibility AMD AM4 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 65 Thread Count 16 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Review -
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Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Best Budget CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus is one of the most alluring budget processors that Intel has released recent memory. It features the largest core count of any Core Ultra 5 or Core i5 processor yet produced, and it can reach boost clock speeds of up to 5.3GHz, delivering high performance across many kinds of apps.
Intel also tweaked this processor's design to support better gaming performance compared with other Arrow Lake processors, which makes it one of the best gaming CPUs in its price range. It also has a highly capable integrated graphics processor (IGP) that should satisfy casual gamers who don't want to invest in a graphics card.
Who It's For
Budget-bound PC gamers: This processor is excellent for an Intel-based gaming PC. Its relatively fast clock speed and dense core count help it run modern games smoothly, and the chip's low price frees up funds to put down on a graphics card (which will have an even more noticeable impact on gaming performance).
Bargain-conscious PC builders: The Core 5 250K Plus' excellent performance makes it worthwhile for any system aside from the most high-end builds. Its large core count and fast clock speed will help with far more than just games, and its capable IGP complements a wide range of video formats, including hardware AV1 encode/decode. This IGP can also run many games at an enjoyable pace if limited to 1080p and reasonable detail settings.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 4.2 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 18 Integrated Graphics Intel Xe LPG Integrated Graphics Base Clock 1900 L3 Cache Amount 30 Lithography 3 Maximum Boost Clock 5.3 Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1851 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 159 Thread Count 18 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus Review -
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Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Best Mainstream CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
AMD's highly capable Ryzen 7 9700X comes packed with eight simultaneous multithreading (SMT) CPU cores, giving it a total of 16 threads and a peak clock speed of 5.5GHz. The chip also has a low-end integrated graphics processor (IGP) that works well for most display tasks outside serious gaming. These features place the 9700X in the center of AMD's processor lineup, a great balance of cost and performance.
Who It's For
Home-PC shoppers: This Ryzen processor is a smart choice for a general-purpose AMD PC. It delivers moderate CPU performance at a reasonably low cost and should feel snappy for many common apps, including media editors, web browsers, document editors, and video players.
Average PC gamers: This chip is a decent AMD processor option for playing PC games when paired with a capable graphics card. While far from the fastest option, the 9700X is serviceable and shouldn't seriously weigh down most GPUs.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.8 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 8 Integrated Graphics AMD Radeon Graphics Integrated Graphics Base Clock 2200 L3 Cache Amount 32 Lithography 4 Maximum Boost Clock 5.5 Socket Compatibility AMD AM5 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 65 Thread Count 16 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More AMD Ryzen 7 9700X Review -
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Best Mainstream CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
The Intel Core Ultra 7 processor line, headed by the Core Ultra 7 265K, is a jack-of-all-trades. Targeted at the center of the CPU market, this processor is a fine option for just about any task, including gaming, multitasking on work projects, and content creation. Its gaming performance isn't a strong spot, but the chip is still among the best in the "Arrow Lake" family, with exceptional non-gaming performance for the price. It's almost as potent as the Core Ultra 9 285K—for a significantly lower cost.
The elephant in the room for this chip is, of course, Intel's newer Core Ultra 270K Plus, which is close in price and offers a slightly better value on most fronts, especially for PC gamers. Get that chip instead if the price difference is small and gaming performance is a big factor for you.
Who It's For
Home PC shoppers: This is the best-fit Intel processor for the average family computer. It's competitively priced, and its dense core count makes it excellent at multitasking.
Office workers: If you are building a new PC or upgrading one for work, consider the Core Ultra 7 265K. The chip's high core count helps with multitasking and brings big boosts to content-creation work. It also delivers arguably the best performance relative to its cost in the industry right now, apart perhaps from the Core Ultra 250K Plus and Core Ultra 270K Plus.
Midrange PC gamers: Midrange to enthusiast gamers will like this Intel processor. Its gaming performance isn't top-shelf, but it's no slouch and ahead of some lower-end and last-generation competitors, making it a serviceable option in a gaming PC. While a comparable AMD chip or the Core Ultra 270K Plus may serve you better, this CPU will handle most modern PC games just fine.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.9 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 20 Integrated Graphics Intel Xe LPG Integrated Graphics Base Clock 300 L3 Cache Amount 30 Lithography 3 Maximum Boost Clock 5.5 Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1851 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 250 Thread Count 20 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More Intel Core Ultra 7 265K Review -
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Best High-End CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Want to build a PC around an AMD processor with the best possible performance, regardless of the cost? Meet the Ryzen 9 9950X. At the moment, it is unquestionably AMD's fastest consumer-oriented non-X3D processor, packing 16 CPU cores, 32 threads, and a blistering-fast 5.7GHz clock speed. Based on the Zen 5 microarchitecture, the Ryzen 9 9950X completes more work per clock cycle than its predecessor, delivering better performance across most productivity and creative tasks even at the same clock speed.
Who It's For
High-end gamers: This processor is an excellent option for a high-end gaming PC. Although the Ryzen 9 9950X doesn't feature AMD's 3D V-Cache (a Ryzen 9 9950X3D does exist, see later in this list), it remains one of the fastest processors on the market. Unsurprisingly, this translates to some of the best gaming performance ever seen from a CPU. If you're building or upgrading an AMD-based gaming rig for high-refresh or 4K gaming, start here. (If you're pairing it with a top-end GPU, also consider the X3D variant.)
Content creators: This is also an ideal AMD processor for content-creation tasks. With 16 CPU cores, the Ryzen 9 9950X is a true workhorse for media and other digital asset manipulation. It excels at demanding tasks such as software compilation, heavy multitasking, and content creation, such as video rendering and image editing.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 4.3 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 16 Integrated Graphics AMD Radeon Graphics Integrated Graphics Base Clock 2200 L3 Cache Amount 64 Lithography 4 Maximum Boost Clock 5.7 Socket Compatibility AMD AM5 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 170 Thread Count 32 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Review -
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Best High-End CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
One of Intel's fastest consumer processors to date, the Core Ultra 9 285K offers eight high-performance P-cores and 16 efficient E-cores with boosted performance over the previous generation. Intel dropped Hyper-Threading support on the Ultra 9 285K, but its large core count and architectural improvements let this flagship chip beat out the old Core i9-14900K (even though it is clocked lower, with a max turbo speed of 5.7GHz). The Ultra 9 285K also consumes less power than its predecessor and runs cooler.
The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus will be a better value for most shoppers, given its identical core count and close clock speeds. (The Ultra 9 285K has a slightly faster rated boost clock.) But we expect the 285K to fall in price before too long, and it's a formidable CPU at any price if you see it between its MSRP and the price of a 270K Plus.
Who It's For
Content creators: This is a fitting processor for Intel-based content-creation stations. In fact, anyone who wants the best performance possible from a desktop PC (for non-gaming tasks) should consider the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. While this processor is certainly capable of gaming, too, it falls behind its AMD competition in this area. (The Core Ultra 7 270K is a better gaming option on this platform.) With all other tasks, however, the Ultra 9 285K performs exceptionally well, showing top-tier content-creation performance driven by its dense core count.
Perhaps, eventually, "bargain" hunters: We can't guarantee that the price of the Ultra 9 285K will fall close to that of the 270K Plus, but we'd expect prices to drop over time, given the close core count and other spec similarities.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.7 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 24 Integrated Graphics Intel Xe LPG Integrated Graphics Base Clock 2000 L3 Cache Amount 36 Lithography 3 Maximum Boost Clock 5.7 Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1851 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 250 Thread Count 24 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Review -
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Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Best Gaming CPU (AMD)AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is AMD's top consumer-oriented processor. Its 16 high-performance CPU cores support SMT technology and run at up to 5.7GHz, enabling it to reach speeds few of its peers can match. The chip also uses AMD's second-generation 3D V-Cache technology (thus the "X3D"), which means you get a boost for PC gaming for a bit more cash than the standard Ryzen 9 9950X.
The only aspect of this chip that isn't cutting-edge is the integrated graphics (although they're fine in a pinch if you lack a graphics card). Given what this chip is for, though, most buyers aren't likely to use the integrated graphics.
Who It's For
Top-end PC gamers: This is the best processor for gaming you can buy right now, AMD or otherwise. However, you must use a top-end graphics card, such as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, to get the most benefit from the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. You will still get strong performance with a lower-end graphics card, but it depends on how fast the card is and the kinds of games you play. The CPU, at least, won't get in your way.
Demanding content creators: This is a smart processor choice for high-level content-creation work in an AMD system. Its large core count and fast clock speed make it excellent at running highly demanding applications, and the extra cache can sometimes deliver a small performance boost as well.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 4.3 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 16 Integrated Graphics AMD Radeon Graphics Integrated Graphics Base Clock 2200 L3 Cache Amount 128 Lithography 4 Maximum Boost Clock 5.7 Socket Compatibility AMD AM5 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 170 Thread Count 32 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Review -
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Best Gaming CPU (Intel)Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Intel's Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is one of today's best overall processors, period, with excellent performance across the board. Its large 24-core count helps it excel at heavily threaded processes, the type of work that most games and demanding apps rely on today. This chip also handles gaming capably, as Intel tweaked the architecture to improve speeds there. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus still can't beat some of AMD's 3D V-Cache processors in games, but it competes well with models lacking 3D V-Cache.
Other upsides include the chip's potent integrated graphics processor (IGP) and, especially, its highly competitive price: $299 MSRP. Even as we see it sold for $30 to $50 above that list price, it's still a great deal.
Who It's For
Top-end PC gamers looking to save: Want an elite gaming PC without overspending? The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus keeps pace with most modern GPUs without bottlenecking, so it's potent enough to run the most demanding games. And it costs substantially less than any competing AMD CPU, especially the ones with 3D V-Cache. Take your savings on the 270K Plus and invest in a better graphics card to see frame rates fly.
High-level content creators: This processor also fits well for content-creation tasks of all intensities. The 270K Plus lorded over its competitors in these benchmarks, making it superior for video and image editing. It's especially handy for recording gameplay, streaming while gaming, and other tasks involving rendering or encoding. Intel's IGP supports hardware encode and decode of the AV1 codec, and it's powerful enough that you shouldn't need a graphics card for that.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.7 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 24 Integrated Graphics Intel Xe LPG Integrated Graphics Base Clock 2000 L3 Cache Amount 36 Lithography 3 Maximum Boost Clock 5.5 Socket Compatibility Intel LGA1851 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 250 Thread Count 24 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus Review -
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Best Workstation-Grade CPU (AMD or Intel)AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
Pros & Cons
Why We Picked It
Right now, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is just about the fastest processor that money can buy without entering server-grade territory and considering the company's EPYC-class processors. (The top spot belongs to AMD's own 96-core Threadripper Pro 9995WX.) The 9980X comes loaded with 64 CPU cores and operates up to 128 threads simultaneously while maintaining relatively high clock speeds.
This arrangement enables exceptional performance in multi-threaded workloads and keeps the chip competitive in less heavily threaded tasks. Make no mistake: This is a processor line for professional use, not gaming, and definitely not for casual compute. Supporting motherboards and coolers will cost you, too; Threadripper uses its own oversize socket.
Who It's For
Content creators at the highest levels: This specialized processor is ideal for content creators, programmers, and other professionals in the most computationally intensive fields. It delivers extreme multitasking across demanding applications that scale with as many cores as you can make available. Like all Threadrippers, the 9980X hits its true potential in heavily threaded programs, such as Photoshop and other content-creation tools, but it's overkill unless time is literal money for those pursuits.
Professional users and data scientists: This is more the target for this chip and the 9995WX. Threadripper's got some seriously sweet spots for pro users: computer-aided design (CAD), scientific analysis and modeling, and advanced research-and-development applications. If you need to do that kind of work—and can't get access to something even beefier—you want the 9980X on the job.
Specs & Configurations
Base Clock Frequency 3.2 Bundled Cooler None Core Count 64 Integrated Graphics None L3 Cache Amount 256 Lithography 4 Maximum Boost Clock 5.4 Socket Compatibility AMD sTR5 Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating 350 Thread Count 128 Unlocked Multiplier? Learn More AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X Review -
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Best For | Best Budget CPU (AMD) | Best Budget CPU (Intel) | Best Mainstream CPU (AMD) | Best Mainstream CPU (Intel) | Best High-End CPU (AMD) | Best High-End CPU (Intel) | Best Gaming CPU (AMD) | Best Gaming CPU (Intel) | Best Workstation-Grade CPU (AMD or Intel) | Best Budget CPU (AMD) | Best Budget CPU (Intel) | Best Mainstream CPU (AMD) |
Core Count | 8 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 16 | 24 | 16 | 24 | 64 | 8 | 18 | 8 |
Thread Count | 16 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 24 | 128 | 16 | 18 | 16 |
Base Clock Frequency | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
Maximum Boost Clock | 3.6 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 5.5 |
Unlocked Multiplier? | ||||||||||||
Socket Compatibility | AMD AM4 | Intel LGA1851 | AMD AM5 | Intel LGA1851 | AMD AM5 | Intel LGA1851 | AMD AM5 | Intel LGA1851 | AMD sTR5 | AMD AM4 | Intel LGA1851 | AMD AM5 |
Lithography | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
L3 Cache Amount | 32 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 64 | 36 | 128 | 36 | 256 | 32 | 30 | 32 |
Thermal Design Power (TDP) Rating | 65 | 159 | 65 | 250 | 170 | 250 | 170 | 250 | 350 | 65 | 159 | 65 |
Integrated Graphics | None | Intel Xe LPG | AMD Radeon Graphics | Intel Xe LPG | AMD Radeon Graphics | Intel Xe LPG | AMD Radeon Graphics | Intel Xe LPG | None | None | Intel Xe LPG | AMD Radeon Graphics |
Integrated Graphics Base Clock | 1900 | 2200 | 300 | 2200 | 2000 | 2200 | 2000 | 1900 | 2200 | |||
Bundled Cooler | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
Buying Guide: The Best CPUs for 2026
The First Question in Any CPU Upgrade: When Does Upgrading Make Sense?
When you want to change your desktop CPU, it's important to set a goal for what you want to achieve. Do you want better performance, or are you specifically looking to boost your gaming performance? Is it for a system you will use for day-to-day work? Or do you simply have an older computer sitting around that you'd like to spruce up for internet use and watching videos?
Know what you want out of your system, or else you may end up with a disappointing amount of horsepower in the end—whether too little or even too much. Thinking things through will also help you decide whether to upgrade your PC or build a new one.
First off, upgrading is often a viable option, especially if you only need the system for light-duty use, such as web browsing. Basically, if you have a relatively modern machine, it might be better to swap in a new chip rather than buy a whole new machine. This makes your choice of processor much simpler, since every system has only a limited number of compatible chips. But there's a caveat here: Upgrading isn't always an option, as you might already have the best CPU that your current motherboard supports. As long as that's not the case, though, upgrading can be the most affordable way to get yourself a faster PC, since you won't need to purchase other components.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)Rule of thumb: No system 10 years old or more is worth the upgrade effort; it's more practical to save for a newer system instead. Even with a system that's around 10 years old, it's only worth considering if you have something like an old Intel Core i3 or worse, and you are upgrading to an old Core i7—but this is also only worth considering if you can find that latter processor for a low price.
For more recent systems, it only makes sense to upgrade if you are making a substantial jump on the same platform, and you can do so cheaply. Even on an almost-new system, we would hesitate to upgrade from, say, an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X to an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, or from an Intel Core Ultra 5 245K to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. It's not that you wouldn't see a noticeable and measurable performance boost (our reviews show that there would be one), but the gains you get for the cost of upgrading often don't make it worthwhile. This makes it exceedingly important that you buy the right processor from the start, rather than waiting and upgrading later.
If your goal is simply to fix up your old PC for web browsing or low-end gaming, you may want to stop reading here and check whether an affordable upgrade option is available for your system. Each motherboard, including the one in your PC, lists supported processors on the manufacturer's product page. If none of the processors supported on your current motherboard are affordably priced or a significant step up, then just forget about upgrading and start thinking about building or buying a new system instead. If your goal is instead to get a faster system for work or high-end gaming, or if upgrading just won't suffice, then keep reading.
System Planning 101: How to Pick a Motherboard, a CPU, and RAM That Work Together
If you're going to build a new system, then you'll need to pick mostly new parts. Some parts, such as those we just listed, can be reused, are compatible with a wide range of systems, and can last for several generations. However, motherboards, CPUs, and main system memory (RAM) don't fit that bill.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)These items will likely last only a few generations. All motherboards have a socket for mounting the CPU, and that socket's design must be updated periodically to accommodate new features. As a result, motherboards only support CPUs that fit in (and are explicitly compatible with) their sockets, and the same is true in reverse for CPUs. (Sometimes a chip will physically fit, but it isn't supported.) RAM, similarly, has a custom set of slots for mounting on a PC motherboard, and these slots support only one broad type of RAM and won't work with others. (The latest types are known as DDR4 and DDR5.)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The upshot: if you want to buy a new CPU, you will typically also need to buy a new motherboard and, possibly, a new set of RAM. The only time this won't be the case is if you are upgrading on the same platform. And if you upgrade frequently, your old RAM might remain compatible with your new system.
In that vein, when purchasing parts, ensure the components you select are compatible with one another. CPU sockets are typically numbered; for mainstream CPUs purchased by most consumers, the latest are AMD's AM4 and AM5, and Intel's LGA 1700 and LGA 1851. Both motherboards and processors will carry this number, making it easy to pick a matching pair. Still, you'll want to ensure that a given CPU is explicitly supported by a specific board; verify compatibility on the board manufacturer's website.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)For several years, RAM has also followed a simple numbering scheme as we've progressed from DDR to DDR2, DDR3, DDR4, and now to DDR5. None of these will work in RAM slots made for the other, and this is also detailed on the motherboard specs page, which again makes finding a matching compatible part relatively easy.
While finding a matching memory part may be simple, RAM prices are volatile in 2026 due to cloud providers' heavy investments in AI infrastructure. Read our guide to navigating the RAM crisis if you're buying a new PC or upgrading your current system.
The PC Builder's Dilemma: Plan for Today More Than Tomorrow
Often, people build a PC with the intention of upgrading it later. The problem with this train of thought? It rarely works out as planned.
Over the last decade, Intel has changed to a new CPU socket every two or three years, typically once every two CPU generations. AMD has postponed socket changes for longer, and it only recently introduced its AM5 motherboards as a successor to its AM4 motherboards. (AM4 had a five-year reign and saw four primary generations of processors for the platform.) We don't know how long AM5 will be AMD's main platform, but if it lasts roughly the same period that AM4 did, it still has plenty of life.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Even with AMD's extended platform lifespan, you are unlikely to upgrade processors on the same motherboard. Compatibility remains a question mark even with AM4, as not all processors made for the platform are supported on all motherboards. AMD encouraged board manufacturers to release updated BIOSes for older motherboards, extending support for the latest AM4 CPUs to older boards. But this effort still relied on AMD's board partners to do this across dozens, or even hundreds, of boards.
Long story short: You cannot buy a motherboard today and be absolutely confident it will support processors released a few years down the road, even if the chips are released for the same socket as the motherboard you are buying today.
Even if you can upgrade the CPU on an existing board, you may find strong reasons not to. Newer motherboards with updated chipsets offer benefits—such as support for faster RAM, faster USB and storage connections, faster PCI Express slots and underlying buses, and enhanced internet support. Plus, after you upgrade, you'll be left with an orphaned CPU to then resell or put into a new motherboard. Most of the time, it makes a lot more sense to sell (or give away) your old PC or CPU/motherboard combo and build a new system when you need something faster.
This is doubly true with Intel platforms. Unless you buy a low-end CPU to begin with, you aren't likely to want to upgrade in just one or two years before Intel introduces a whole new platform. Sure, you could buy a low-end CPU that you'll plan to upgrade next year when prices drop on higher-end chips, but that still raises overall costs: You now have a low-end CPU you paid for, in addition to a high-end CPU. You'd be better off just buying that high-end CPU to begin with and enjoying it that much longer.
All in all, remember this. Aging-out or about-to-be-replaced platforms may look like dead ends, but it's best to view all platforms in this same frame of mind. Years-away upgradability shouldn't be your top priority when selecting a motherboard and CPU for your new PC. Some components can be easily upgraded later, such as RAM, storage, or the graphics card, but this is not an advantage of motherboards or processors.
When you do buy a system, unless you are getting an exceptional deal, you should still buy into the newest platform available with the best processor you can afford that fits your needs. Currently, Intel's newest platform is LGA 1851, and AMD's is AM5. There's no harm in getting an AM4 system or a last-gen Intel LGA 1700 system, but, unless you're getting those steeply discounted from their launch prices, you're going to get a better system and more bang for your buck by going with what's newest.
Buying Basics: Four Key Concepts to Know About CPUs
Now that we've covered the basic considerations of whether to upgrade or buy new and the other hardware you'll need to consider when buying a CPU, let's talk about what differentiates one processor from another. A multitude of factors need to be considered here, but the most important ones are the microarchitecture, core count, thread count, and clock speed.
Microarchitecture
This is by far the most important aspect of any CPU: the design and internal blueprints of how the device is built and what makes it work.
Due to differences in architecture, you can have multiple CPUs that operate at the same speed but still perform drastically differently. Think of each architecture like different car makes: You can have multiple cars running at 2,000rpm and get drastically different performance and speeds from each. The same is true for CPUs.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Judging architectures is exceedingly difficult because they are incredibly complex, with billions of transistors and numerous other factors that affect their performance. To gain an idea of how different architectures perform, you should read our reviews that touch on the subject and also compare processors with different architectures against each other.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)It's easy to identify products based on different architectures if you learn the numbering systems used by AMD and Intel.
If we take AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X as an example, desktop chips break down like this...
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- 9 = Generational number. AMD's microarchitectures of recent years are named "Zen," followed by a number. All modern AMD desktop processors that start with a "9" utilize the Zen 5 microarchitecture, and all processors that start with a "7" utilize the Zen 4 microarchitecture. All modern AMD processors that start with a "5" utilize the Zen 3 microarchitecture. AMD has no desktop processors that begin with a "6"; these were mobile only. There were a few desktop Ryzen CPUs that begin with an "8," which also run the Zen 4 microarchitecture.
- 9 = Product tier. AMD makes Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 processors, and lists this numeral after "Ryzen" in the product name, as well as the second digit in the product number.
- 5 = Sub-product tier placement.
- 0 = Sub-product tier placement. Rarely used.
- X = "Extreme" or higher-end variant of a processor. An AMD chip may or may not have a non-"X" variant.
(Note that AMD is moving to a wholly different processor numbering scheme for its very latest mobile CPUs. See the details here; the guidelines above will not apply to them.)
Traditionally, Intel used a similar coding scheme for its desktop processors that's still partly in use. Let's take an Intel high-end CPU, the Core i9-14900K, as an example...
- 14 = Generational number. Number "14" is assigned to Intel's 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors. 13 = 13th Gen "Raptor Lake." 12 = 12th Gen "Alder Lake." 11 = 11th Gen "Rocket Lake." 10 = 10th Gen "Comet Lake."
- 9 = Product tier. Intel makes Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 processors, which are included after the "Core" in the product name and as the third digit in the product number (or the second digit, in processors older than 10th Gen).
- 0 = Sub-product tier placement.
- Second 0 = Sub-product tier placement.
- K = Indicates a higher-end variant of a processor with overclocking support. Several other "suffix" letters are used by Intel to indicate other differences, but the most common ones you will encounter are "K" (indicating overclockability), "F" (indicating that the CPU has no integrated graphics processor), and "KF" (indicating both aspects).
With Intel's new "Arrow Lake" desktop processors, the chip maker has adopted a new naming scheme that diverges somewhat from previous generations but retains some similarities. The Core i9, i7, and i5 of previous generations have been replaced by the Core Ultra 9, Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 5 families, respectively. The numbering scheme after these new names has been reduced to three digits, with optional letter suffixes that remain largely unchanged from previous generations. Here's an example of how the new naming scheme works, using the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K chip.
- 2 = Generational number. The number "2" is assigned to Intel's Arrow Lake processors. No desktop chips were assigned the number "1," and no additional desktop chips have used this naming sequence yet.
- 8 = Relative performance differentiator. A higher number here generally suggests higher performance in relation to other processors in the same product line. All Ultra 9 CPUs have an "8" here, while Ultra 7 processors have a "7" or a "6" here. Ultra 5 CPUs can have a "5," "4," "3," or "2" in this position. This number is not an absolute, however, as ultra-efficiency models like the Ultra 9 285T could potentially be outpaced by chips like the Ultra 7 265K that support higher power ratings.
- 5 = This digit currently holds little meaning; all Arrow Lake desktop processors so far have either a "5" or "0" as the third digit. We'll see if that changes down the line.
- K = Indicates a higher-end variant of a processor with overclocking support. Several other "suffix" letters are used by Intel to indicate other differences, but the most common ones you will encounter are "K" (indicating overclockability), "F" (indicating no integrated graphics processor), and "KF" (indicating both aspects). Finally, the "T" suffix is used for desktop processors that are optimized for power efficiency and lower heat output. Some Arrow Lake desktop chips will have no letter at all at the end, terminating just in the "5."
The handful of processors in Intel's new Core Ultra 200S Plus product line also carry the word "Plus" at the end of their names to distinguish them.
Using these numbers, you can compare processors of the same generation within a vendor's own line in terms of relative performance with some accuracy. It's always best to check reviews when possible and compare other details about the processor to more accurately compare CPUs.
Core Count
In the old days, processors had only one CPU core, but with improved tech, all mainstream desktop processors today pack in multiple cores to increase performance. Each core operates as a semi-independent component inside the processor, capable of completing tasks.
The advantage of having more CPU cores is that you can complete more work simultaneously. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think of the CPU cores as workers and the processor as the building in which they work.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Traditionally, all of these CPU cores would have been identical; however, this changed with Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake processors. Intel now employs two different types of CPU cores inside most of its desktop processors. Processors based on this design feature what Intel calls "P-cores," which are built on a high-performance microarchitecture. Alongside the "P-cores," Intel adds "E-cores," which use a different microarchitecture that allows them to be physically smaller and more energy-efficient.
If we return to our comparison of CPU cores to employees, you could think of Intel's P-cores, crudely, as higher-level workers with larger offices who can complete more work thanks to their greater skills and larger workspaces. At the same time, the E-cores would be lower-level workers with smaller offices and lesser skill sets. They may get less done in a given period of time, but you can cram more of them in for the money, and they take up less space.
Though the E-cores are slower, they still significantly improve the processor's performance. AMD has not yet adopted a similar scheme, meaning all cores in an AMD processor are identical.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)Core count significantly contributes to a processor's overall performance, but it alone does not determine whether one processor is faster than another. It's entirely possible for a quad-core processor to be faster than an octa-core processor, and vice versa.
Multithreading
Work comes into the processor in a somewhat chaotic fashion. Some take the work orders as they arrive and simply tackle them in the order they were received—known as "In-Order" execution design. But this method hampers a processor's overall performance.
Why? When an In-Order CPU core begins tackling a task, the work order must include the necessary instruction information and raw data to complete the job; otherwise, it will sit and wait while the required instruction information or data is fetched.
Processors that implement an "Out-of-Order" or "OoO" execution design largely circumvent this issue by reordering tasks as they arrive. They can place work orders that include everything they need to run ahead of those that don't. Inevitably, though, some work orders reach the CPU cores without all the necessary data, which leads to a stall while the required data is fetched.
(Credit: Michael Justin Allen Sexton)That is, unless a processor implements simultaneous multithreading (SMT). Essentially, this technology opens a second line for the CPU to process work orders. To be clear, the processor can't handle two work orders at once, so when everything is running smoothly, it switches back and forth between work orders on each line, tackling the jobs in the order they arrive. When a stall occurs, SMT technology lets the processor set the stalled work order aside and continue working on items on the other line until the chip can fetch the required data.
The result: significantly fewer processor stalls and drastically boosted performance. In effect, processors that implement SMT will appear to have two threads for each CPU core that supports it. This is why an AMD processor with eight cores and SMT technology will be touted as a 16-thread processor. The same is true for Intel processors, with the most notable difference being that Intel refers to SMT as "Hyper-Threading" on its processors.
Just like with core count, thread count doesn't tell you enough to determine which processor is best, but it can give you an idea as to which processor is better in a given line. A processor with more threads may have a performance advantage over one with fewer threads, particularly in applications that can take advantage of the tech effectively. However, as we mentioned with the core count, all these factors need to be taken into consideration to know for sure.
Clock Speed
The last and most easily understood key defining characteristic of a processor is its clock speed. This figure directly relates to a processor's overall speed, and is measured in hertz. Processors today are so fast that their speed is typically reported in gigahertz (GHz).
So what exactly is clock speed? Often, it means the total number of operations the processor can perform per second. For example, a 1GHz processor can theoretically perform a billion operations per second. Modern CPUs operate at multiple GHz with some, like Intel's Core i9-14900K, peaking at 6GHz.
In truth, this description is inaccurate, as some operations require multiple clock cycles (multiple hertz) to complete. That's where architecture comes in—bringing us full circle. When comparing processors that are part of the same generation and product line, you can bet that the most cores and the highest clock speed will perform the best. That's not always the case, though, across different architectures and product lines.
(Credit: AMD)On modern processors, you'll often see a base clock listed, along with a "Boost Clock" or "Turbo Clock." You can essentially ignore the base clock number if you see either of these other figures listed. A base clock gives you a processor's true baseline speed, but modern CPUs are designed to increase their clock speed to a point, as long as the right conditions are met; those conditions are based on thermal and power-draw limitations.
Modern processors run at these elevated clock speeds most of the time when under a heavy load. It is also possible to boost the peak clock speed yourself on some processors through overclocking. To overclock, you'll need a lot more specific information on the topic, beyond the scope of this article. You'll also need special hardware, namely an appropriate motherboard and robust CPU cooling. In our reviews, we highlight which processors can overclock.
As ever, research the matter thoroughly, because overclocking can be hazardous to your components.
How to Buy the Right CPU: Final Buying Advice
Carefully consider your computing needs and select a processor that suits them. If you have extra cash to spare and want to be extra safe, buy one a little better than your target chip.
Just don't buy the most expensive processor that money can buy—or that you can afford—without careful consideration. Yes, more-expensive processors are typically better, in general—AMD and Intel charge more for them for a reason—but that doesn't mean you need that level of performance.
No matter how peppy a processor you buy, you will eventually want to upgrade to something newer and faster. Tech has been improving so rapidly that in five years or so you'll likely be able to buy a midrange processor that will be just as fast—if not faster than—today's speediest chips. If you buy or build a new midrange PC every five years or so, you'll likely have a faster computer than someone who is still running a five-year-old PC with a high-end processor.
Upgrading more frequently may not be financially beneficial in the long term, as it involves a definite cost and diminishing returns; however, it does yield platform-related side improvements beyond just faster CPU speeds and more cores. As PC components eventually fail, it can also help to avoid unexpected downtime from old parts breaking. For further guidance, check our processor reviews for more details on each CPU.