Best chip gaming

Saving a few dollars here and there on the core components can lead to a much better overall gaming PC. That's something we can definitely get behind. This is made up of plenty of the latest games as well as 3D and video rendering workloads, just because we're all content creators and streamers now. Games are still the most important tests for us though, hopefully for obvious reasons.

Make sure you check our best gaming motherboard list if you are planning to do a brand new build. It's still a big pile of cash for a processor, but if you're a gamer that also has a creative bent, then this will pay for itself quickly enough. That it's an awesome gaming chip as well is just the icing on the cake. This is a seriously impressive chip too—it runs circles around even the 11th Gen Core i9, so you don't want to spend too much on one of those while this chip is available.

The only downside here is a higher platform cost, as only the more premium Z chipset is currently available to purchase. That said, it's recently been replaced by the more capable Core i5 K, though you can't find that for anywhere near as cheap. The bonus here is you can also save cash on a cheaper motherboard, so it's all-around a great pick for a budget PC. Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake processors are a vital return to form for Intel.

Its underlying hybrid design was seen as a gamble when it was first announced, with its combo of performance and efficient cores not obviously bringing much to the desktop experience. It's a gamble that has unquestionably paid off though, and the gaming performance offered by Intel's latest CPUs is nothing short of incredible. The Core i5 K is the standout processor for gamers because it not only offers great gaming performance across the board, but it does so at a price point that isn't going to reduce you to tears.

That it soundly beats the Core i9 K is just the icing on the cake. As this is a new platform, you will need to pick up a new motherboard and probably new memory while you're at it—Alder Lake supports DDR5 as well as DDR4. That means the initial outlay may be a bit more than you planned, but the performance is worth it, and it isn't a power-draining beast either, so you won't need an outlandish cooler to get the most from it.

Throw in future-looking support for PCIe 5. Long live the king. Read our full Intel Core i5 K review. That the Core i5 K takes the top spot is hard to argue with—awesome performance at a good price will do that—but Intel's top chip hitting the second spot may be a little more surprising. The reasoning here is that the vast majority of gamers should get the Core i5, leaving this second spot covering those that need even more performance. If you're building a high-end PC not just for high-end, 4K gaming, but for more serious pursuits like 3D rendering and video editing, then this is the chip for you.

It's a powerhouse, no question about it, but one that really needs a system built around it to make it shine—you'll need a beefy PSU to get that absolute best from it, and a serious cooler wouldn't hurt either. The fact that there is plenty of overclocking headroom will allow you to push it to a whole new level as well.

When it comes to gaming performance, this is the fastest chip out there, by a considerable margin. The problem is, you only get a few more frames per second over our top recommendation and you have to pay royally for the privelige. And even when you're buying an 'ethusiast' class CPU, you still need to have an eye on overall value for money.

Read our full Intel Core i9 K review. There's very little between any of the Ryzen chips in games, which means you'll hit the same frame rates with this chip as you will the more expensive Ryzen 9 X.

Which is incredible when you think about it—top-tier performance from the most affordable Zen 3 CPU? We'll say yes to that every single day. This does have half the core count of the X, rolling in as it does with six cores and 12 threads. However, this is only an issue with those more serious workloads, which is more than sufficient for more reasonable stuff.

You could argue that gaming could go beyond the threads we have here, but there's no evidence that is the case so far, and that's even though the next-gen consoles are rocking 8-cores and threads. The Ryzen 5 X also bucks the Ryzen family's trend by shipping with a Wraith Stealth cooler, so you don't have to drop extra money on a third-party chiller. You don't need to, but if you do, you'll hit higher clocks for longer and also open up the wonderful world of overclocking, which could make it worthwhile.

This is a decent little overclocker, and while it won't affect gaming much, it'll help in other areas nicely. The key takeaway for us as gamers is that this improvement means AMD pushed Intel to improve, and improve it did with Alder Lake.

Whatever resolution you are gaming at, this processor can handle it and keep your graphics card of choice fed with many juicy frames. The fact that this is a core, thread monster means that it can cope with anything else you throw at it as well. So if you have dreams of 3D rendering, video editing, or any other serious tasks, you'll know that you have the raw grunt to handle it. That it won't hold you back when gaming makes it even sweeter. The only real downside is the pricing and the dropping of the Wraith cooler—don't forget to factor in when you buy.

You do get what you pay for, though, and this is a phenomenal chip for gaming and anything else you might want to do. If you're in the market for absolute power, you could step up to the Ryzen 9 X , which gives you 16 cores and 32 threads. Okay, with the K being a frustrating chip, maybe it's not a total return to the old days, but the K is still an outstanding six-core, thread gaming processor.

It's also affordable too, with a price tag well underneath the Ryzen 5 X and performance figures that have it trading blows with AMD's otherwise excellent Zen 3 chip. The Cypress Cove 14nm backport may have made it relatively power-hungry, but that doesn't stop it from being a great gaming CPU and one that delivers a lot of processor silicon for not a lot of cash.

And PCIe 4. Though that is of dubious benefit at the moment as our testing has not so far gone well with supported PCIe 4. That will hopefully change, but even so, this is still one of the best cheap gaming CPUs around. The Core i5 F is a surprisingly exciting option. Now, that's officially mainstream — or enthusiast anyway. Plus, it keeps those cores fed with information thanks to a hefty 64MB L3 cache. With this many cores, you'll have no problem recording and streaming your gameplay.

And, when it comes to editing, the Ryzen 9 X won't miss a beat. You won't even need an exotic cooler for this chip, as it only has a W TDP. These will be coming in the form of the mid-range Ryzen 5 G and the higher-end Ryzen 7 G.

For PC builders on a budget, these could be very promising products. And, with their integrated graphics, they can help you get gaming while avoiding the graphics card shortage that has plagued the market for the better part of a year now.

So, these could be a solid bet for esports fans. HEDT processors are less prevalent and are easy enough to spot. The next thing you should be mindful of is how many cores a processor has. Cores are essentially the part of the CPU that receives instructions to perform calculations or actions, so the more cores you have the more you can do. Most entry-level processors should have two to four cores, four to six cores on mid-range chips, and at least six or eight cores on the highest-end CPUs.

How many cores do you need for gaming? Despite the different names, they achieve the same goal, whether that be making sure your next song streams in the background or your video renders as quickly as possible. Follow him on Twitter baggingspam. How many cores can you afford? Was this article informative? When used for gaming activities and multi-threaded applications, its processor is sure to function well beyond doubt. And, truthfully, if your main aim is in-game performance, and you want to spend just within your limited budget, it is possible to achieve that with the iK.

The best Ryzen CPU is one that offers great performance and value for money. And, while the K will provide you with more in-game performance, the X is sturdy enough to handle any in-game framework.

There you have it—the list of some of the best processors for gaming in Share your thoughts. Your email address will not be published.