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- “Generally speaking, any of today’s Intel Core or AMD Ryzen processors can do well with basic daily tasks like web browsing and email,” Asedillo says. If you’re shopping for a new laptop, a midrange Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 is likely your best bet.
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Mar 6, 2024 · Does your notebook need a Core Ultra 5, a Ryzen 9, or something in between? Our guide to today's mobile CPUs will help you get the most powerful laptop for your money.
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Apr 23, 2023 · If you’re shopping for a new laptop, a midrange Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 is likely your best bet. It will handle everyday tasks with aplomb, and still pack enough power to tackle more...
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- Overview
- The best processors for 2023
- 1. Intel Core i7-14700K
- 2. AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
- 3. Intel Core i9-14900K
- 4. AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- 5. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
- 6. Intel Core i5-11600K
- How to find the best processor for you
Best
By John Loeffler
Contributions from
Michelle Rae Uy
last updated 17 October 2023
The best processors on the market don't have to cost the world
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Here you'll find the best processors in 2023, backed by our rigorous testing and decades of collective experience working with the best CPUs Intel and AMD have to offer. If you want to learn more about CPUs before you buy, check out our what is a processor page for more details.
Specifications
Cores: 20 Threads: 28 Base clock: 3.4GHz Boost clock: 5.5GHz Cache: 61MB TDP: 125W Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (Intel Core i7)
Reasons to buy
+ i9 performance at an i7 price + The best gaming processor in Intel's lineup + Excellent midrange value
Reasons to avoid
- Runs very hot under load - Only small improvement over previous gen chip The Intel Core i7-14700K is a heck of a processor to end the LGA 1700 era with, thanks to its very solid performance and excellent price for a midrange processor. It's only a small improvement over its predecessor, but it does pack four additional efficiency cores for better multitasking and freeing up the performance cores to focus on the workloads that need that extra power. It also comes with discrete WiFi 7 and Thunderbolt 5 support out the box, and even though those technologies are still a ways away from becoming mainstream, it's nice to have a certain level of future proofing a new processor. While this chip boasts similar performance to the Intel Core i9-13900K, it also has a similar problem managing heat, so you will need the best CPU cooler around to keep this chip from throttling, which is something some i7 users might not have been used to in the past. Read the full Intel Core i7-14700K review (Image credit: Future)The best affordable processor
Specifications
Cores: 6 Threads: 12 Base clock: 4.7GHz Boost clock: 5.3GHz L3 cache: 38MB TDP: 105W Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (AMD Ryzen 5) View at Walmart (AMD Ryzen 5) View at Best Buy (Silver)
Reasons to buy
+ Outstanding performance for the price + Very energy efficient + DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support
Reasons to avoid
- Requires AM5 motherboard - Multicore performance lags somewhat The most value-oriented processor in the new AMD Zen 4 lineup is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, but don't let its price fool you: this chip is anything but a lightweight. Sure, it can't hold up against the massive, 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X, but its single-core performance is nearly on par with its beefier cousins. What's more, the lack of V-Cache doesn't slow this chip down one bit when it comes to gaming performance, and gamers looking to make the jump to AMD's AM5 platform will find a lot to love about this processor, especially as its more accessible cost helps to offset the cost of a new motherboard and RAM. Fortunately, you won't need a different CPU cooler if you already have one compatible with AM4, and fortunately the Ryzen 5 7600X manages to stay cool under load. Read the full AMD Ryzen 5 7600X review (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)The best processor for performance
Specifications
Cores: 24 Threads: 32 Base clock: 3.2GHz Boost clock: 6.0GHz L3 cache: 68MB TDP: 125W Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (Intel Core i9) View at Best Buy View at Newegg
Reasons to buy
+ Best performance of any current-gen processor + No price increase over its predecessor + chews through creative workloads with ease
Reasons to avoid
- Runs obscenely hot - Almost no gen-on-gen improvement The Intel Core i9-14900K normally wouldn't be the kind of chip I'd put on this list, given its fairly mild gen-on-gen performance increase, but there's no denying that the 14900K is the fastest chip Intel — or anyone, really — has put out. Right out of the box, this chip is capable of hitting 6.0GHz, something no other consumer processor can do. And while it can only do so under the right conditions, it still counts, and it's why Intel maintains its performance lead over AMD as it heads into a new era next year with a redesigned Meteor Lake processor. And all for the same price as its predecessor, which is a relief given the way inflation has been wrecking havoc around the world. It's not without its faults. The 13900K will likely be a better value for you, if you can find it, and this level of performance comes with more heat than any other chip we've ever teted, so make sure you've got the best cooling solution possible. Read the full Intel Core i9-14900K review (Image credit: Future/John Loeffler)The best processor for gaming
Specifications
Cores: 8 Threads: 16 Base clock: 4.2GHz Boost clock: 5.0GHz L3 cache: 104MB TDP: 120W Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (AMD Ryzen 7) View at Best Buy (Black) View at Newegg
Reasons to buy
+ Best-in-class gaming performance + Very energy efficient + DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support
Reasons to avoid
- Requires AM5 motherboard - Non-gaming performance lags behind The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is easily the best AMD processor on the market for gamers, thanks to its outstanding performance in just about any game you throw at it thanks to its 3D V-Cache technology. Its non-gaming performance isn't as great, however, so if you're looking for a chip that can do everything, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a great option in this tier, assuming you don't want to go with the Intel Core i7-14700K listed above. This is also an expensive chip, though it's somewhat more reasonably priced than the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. If you don't already have an AM5 motherboard though, by wary that you will need to upgrade a lot of components in your PC as well in order to run the new AMD ryzen processors. Read the full AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review (Image credit: Future)The best processor for AM4 motherboards
Specifications
Cores: 8 Threads: 16 Base clock: 3.7GHz Boost clock: 4.7GHz L3 cache: 100MB TDP: 105W Today's Best Deals View at Amazon View at Walmart View at Best Buy
Reasons to buy
+ Outstanding gaming performance + 3D V-Cache technology
Reasons to avoid
- No DDR5 or PCIe 5.0 - Non-gaming performance lags a little The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D is - without question - one of the best processors for gaming on the market. With incredible performance thanks to AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, the 5800X3D punches way above its weight class and can even beat out the more expensive Core i9-12900K when it comes to gaming. Since this is essentially an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with triple the cache memory thanks to a new microarchitecture that lets AMD 'stack' cache on the CPU die, it keeps the same AM4 motherboard socket as earlier Ryzen chips - meaning that you don't need to spend more to upgrade your motherboard if you're already rocking an AM4 system. This is still a last-gen chip though, so you're not going to get all the perks of the AM5 platform like PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 RAM, but if you've got an AM4 system and you want an upgrade but not ready for a total overhual, this is a great chip to carry you for another couple of years at least. Read the full AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D review
Specifications
Cores: 6 Threads: 12 Base clock: 3.9GHz Boost clock: 4.9GHz L3 cache: 12MB TDP: 125W Today's Best Deals View at Newegg Check Amazon
Reasons to buy
+ Great gaming performance + Accessible price
Reasons to avoid
- Runs hot - Requires more power tel's 11th-gen processors generally weren't much to celebrate, given that they didn't provide all that much of a gen-on-gen performance increase. But the Core i5-11600K is a noteable exception, providing outstanding performance for the price, making it a great chip to upgrade to if you are still using an Intel LGA 1200 system. You won't be able to take advantage of the latest PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 RAM, however, and the i5-11600K's performance comes at the cost of power consumption and heat, which might require you to upgrade your CPU cooler to compensate. This might possibly even mean upgrading to an AIO cooler, whereas earlier generations could get away with air cooling. Still, if you're not ready just yet to make the jump to Intel's 12th- or 13th-gen chips — especially if you are waiting for Intel's 14th-gen chips, which will use a whole new LGA 1851 socket. Read the full Intel Core i5-11600K review How we test processors It's impossible to tell the best processors from the worst just by looking at them. All of the core components are hidden away in near-identical packaging, and even if you were to peel back that packaging, the transistors on the CPU die are literally measured in nanometers. How can you tell a million transistors on a chip from a billion, and how can you measure a processor's clock cycle by looking at the box? Fortunately, there are tests we can run to see how well a processor performs in the real world, and the best way to do that is to push a processor to its limits by running finely-calibrated benchmarking tools that produce comparable scores based on how well a processor performed a specific task - like compressing a video file, or performing the complex math used for 3D gaming. We use industry-standard tools like Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, and PCMark 10 to synthetically push processors to the limit using realistic workloads that you're likely to experience in day-to-day use. We also use modern PC games set to the lowest graphical settings on the best available gaming hardware to isolate CPU performance while gaming, which we measure in frames per second. Then, with the scores in hand, we look at the price of the processor. The best processors offer either best-in-class performance regardless of price, or compelling value for the customer. We won't score a CPU highly if its performance is just fine but it's out of reach for most people's budgets. For more information, see How We Test. How to find the best processor for you
Finding the best processor for your needs and budget isn't just about finding the fastest processor out there, since it's easy to spend far more than you need to. It's important to look at what you actually want out of your PC and shop accordingly.
If you're looking for the best gaming CPU on the market, definitely look at the Intel Core i9-12900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - the same goes if you're planning on performing high-level content creation tasks, like 4K video editing. But if you're planning on gaming at lower resolutions or you're just looking for something to handle everyday tasks faster with some medium-duty processing work, anything from a Core i5 to a Ryzen 7 should do the trick.
Jul 26, 2021 · AMD and Intel both make good laptop chips now. Which one is best for you? We'll break it down here. By Gordon Mah Ung. Jul 26, 2021 6:12 am PDT. Image: Thinkstock. Table of Contents. Intel...
Mar 6, 2024 · Since software operating systems and applications are written to work most efficiently—or sometimes only—on a certain architecture, this is probably the most important decision point for your...
Feb 1, 2020 · And with Ryzen 5000 and chips like the Ryzen 5 5600X in particular, AMD has in most respects moved past Intel's current offerings, often delivering better performance in both light and heavy...
Nov 2, 2023 · This MacBook’s M2 Pro processor allowed it to edit 4K footage with ease, and Apple's new M2 Pro processor is up to 30 percent faster than the previous M1 Pro.
