May 1st Update: Added the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (our new CPU in the $300 range), and the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X (a new alternate pick in the $200 range). Note that we have also tested a number of existing processors with the latest Spectre and Meltdown patches when reviewing the Ryzen 5 2600X. While there are measurable performance differences after the patches are applied (which you can see in the review), they are not significant enough to change our CPU picks in any of the categories below.
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AMD Ryzen 7 2700XBest Overall
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- Socket
- 1331
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- Cores / Threads
- 8 / 16
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- Base Frequency
- 3.7 GHz
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- Boost Frequency
- 4.3 GHz
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- Memory Speed
- up to DDR4-2933
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- Memory Controller
- Dual-Channel
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- Unlocked Multiplier
- ✓
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- PCIe Lanes
- x16 PCIe Gen 3
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- Integrated Graphics
- ✗
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- Cache
- 16MB
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- Architecture
- Zen+
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- Process
- 12nm LP GlobalFoundries
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- TDP
- 105W
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Intel Core i5-8400Best Value
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- Socket
- LGA 1151
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- Cores / Threads
- 6 / 6
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- Base Frequency
- 2.8 GHz
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- Boost Frequency
- 1 Core @ 4.0 GHz, 2 Cores @ 3.9 GHz, 4 Cores @ 3.9 GHz, 6 Cores @ 3.8 GHz
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- Memory Speed
- DDR4-2666
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- Memory Controller
- Dual-Channel
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- Unlocked Multiplier
- ✗
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- PCIe Lanes
- x16 Gen3
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- Integrated Graphics
- UHD 630 (1150 MHz)
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- Cache
- 10.5MB
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- Architecture
- Coffee Lake
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- Process
- 14nm++
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- TDP
- 65W
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AMD Ryzen 5 2400GBudget Pick
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- Socket
- AM4
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- Cores / Threads
- 4 / 8
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- Base Frequency
- 3.6 GHz
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- Boost Frequency
- 3.9 GHz
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- Memory Speed
- up to DDR4-2933
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- Memory Controller
- Dual-Channel
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- Unlocked Multiplier
- ✓
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- PCIe Lanes
- x8 3.0
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- Integrated Graphics
- Vega
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- Cache
- 4MB L3
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- Architecture
- Zen - Vega
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- Process
- 14nm+
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- TDP
- 65W
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AMD Ryzen 3 2200GEntry-Level Pick
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- Socket
- AM4
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- Cores / Threads
- 4 / 4
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- Base Frequency
- 3.5 GHz
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- Boost Frequency
- 3.7 GHz
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- Memory Speed
- up to DDR4-2933 (varies)
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- Memory Controller
- Dual-Channel
-
- Unlocked Multiplier
- ✓
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- PCIe Lanes
- x8 3.0
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- Integrated Graphics
- Vega
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- Cache
- 4MB L3
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- Architecture
- Zen - Vega
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- Process
- 14nm+
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- TDP
- 65W
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If you don’t feel confident enough to pick the right processor on your own, we've compiled a simple list of the best CPUs offered for the money. This list is for gamers who want to get the most for their money, so if you don’t play games, the CPUs on this list may not be suitable for you. The criteria to get on this list is a mixture of price and performance, but cost and availability change on a daily basis, and while we can’t offer up-to-the-minute pricing information in text, the prices in green are current. These are new retail CPU prices for the US - prices will most certainly vary in other regions and on used or OEM markets.
MORE: Intel & AMD Processor Hierarchy
MORE: All CPU Content
$300+ Best Pick
Flagship mainstream desktop processors come with the highest price tag of our recommendations, but those searching for the best performance to push the beefiest graphics cards will be rewarded with chart-topping performance. Both Intel and AMD offer high-end desktop models that scale beyond 16 cores, but those premium processors often don't deliver the same amount of gaming performance as the mainstream models. Also, they come with expensive platforms and typically support quad-channel memory, which adds yet more cost to the equation. The picture changes if you need more performance for other types of applications, like rendering or encoding, but the mainstream processors offer the best value for strictly gaming.
For most high-end gamers, the flagship mainstream models in Intel's Core i7 and AMD's Ryzen 7 product families offer the best value. Intel's Coffee and Kaby Lake models offer the best absolute gaming performance, but AMD's Ryzen 7 series comes with more cores, which you might find attractive if you have more demanding requirements, such as streaming or intense multi-tasking. You can also often find the Ryzen processors well below MSRP.
With its 2nd Gen Ryzen chips—and the flagship Ryzen 7 2700X specifically—AMD has fixed or minimized the major issues and reservations we had with its first-generation Ryzen parts. In gaming at 1080p, our tests show the Ryzen 7 2700X pulls near enough to the Core i7-8700K that the two are effectively tied. And AMD’s latest top-end mainstream chip easily wins the value proposition over Intel because of the inclusion of a premium, RGB-lit Wraith Prism cooler, not to mention backwards-compatibility with older, less-expensive 300-series boards.
On top off that, the Ryzen 7 2700X’s eight cores and 16 threads helps it pull well ahead of the six-core, 12-thread Core i7-8700K in multi-threaded tasks like rendering. With Intel’s chip costing $30 more (as of this writing) for fewer cores and threads, with no in-box cooler, it’s easy to make the call in favor of the Ryzen 7 2700X. Intel still has an edge in single-threaded performance, as well as overclocking headroom (though you’ll have to invest in a cooler for that on the Intel side). But those advantages don’t tip the scale in favor of Intel for most users.
Alternative Pick:
MORE: Best Builds
MORE: Best Cases
MORE: Best Cooling
$200 - $300 Best Pick
Mid-range processors typically land in the $200 to $300 price range, and they offer satisfying performance for the majority of gamers. Stepping beyond the $300 price class typically grants less than a 10% overall performance improvement that isn't always worth the higher price tag.
AMD's Ryzen processors have truly reinvigorated this segment and often come with a discount, too. For the overclockers among us, AMD's processors all offer unlocked ratio multipliers that you can exploit on budget-friendly motherboards, while Intel's offerings are split into both locked and unlocked processors. With Intel, overclocking requires a step up to a Z-Series motherboard and a more expensive "K"-series processor.
This price range finds two distinct price tiers, but provided the processor has an unlocked multiplier, you can often find the best value around the $200 mark. It's best to step up to the more expensive models in this class if overclocking isn't in your plans.
The Core i5-8400 brings a powerful six-core design to the mid-range, offering class-leading gaming performance and competitive performance in heavier applications. More expensive models offer more performance in both categories, but the Core i5-8400 is easily the pound-for-pound gaming champion.
The i5-8400 wades into the market with six physical cores and no Hyper-Threading, which is 50% increase in cores compared to the Kaby Lake i5 Series. The 2.8 GHz base frequency jumps to 4.0 GHz on a single core. That's complemented by varying multi-core boost frequencies based upon the number of active cores.
The -8400 drops into the LGA1151 socket on 300-Series motherboards. It comes with a bundled cooler and will make a good companion for B- and H-Series motherboards when they arrive early this year. For now, Z370 motherboards are the only option, but you can find “budget” Z370s for as low as $120. 
Alternative Picks:
MORE: Best Gaming Desktops
MORE: Best Graphics
MORE: Best Gaming Laptops
$100 - $200 Best Pick
The lower end of the gaming processor spectrum is incredibly competitive, particularly with the copious core counts, bundled coolers, and unlocked multipliers you can find in the AMD lineup. Intel processors tend to offer the best performance at stock settings, and the locked multipliers in this price range make them suitable for less-expensive B- and H-Series motherboards.
These processors will often find a home in sub-$800 gaming rigs, so bundled coolers, particularly if they can handle overclocking, become more important.
Finding any gaming-friendly graphics card at a reasonable price these days is next to impossible thanks to coin mining. But AMD's latest Ryzen chips with onboard Vega graphics make gaming without a card a serious possibility. Don't expect to run games above 1080p, or even always at 1080p with the Ryzen 5 2400G. But if you're after a chip that will let you achieve smooth frame rates on recent titles at low settings without buying an overpriced card, the Ryzen 5 2400G is your best bet today.
If you have or will soon buy a graphics card, the Ryzen 5 2400G is not the best option, as the processor and graphics cores have to share power. In this price range, if a graphics card is destined for your rig, get the Intel Core i3 8100 instead--especially if Intel's more affordable 8th-gen B- and H-series motherboards are available by the time you read this.
Alternative Picks:
MORE: Best Memory
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: Best Motherboards
Sub-$100 Best Pick
You won't find several of the more advanced features on this class of processors, such as AVX or Optane support, but they make a great pairing for sub-$200 graphics cards.
Graphics card price hikes haven’t quite hit the budget builder and low-end gamer market as hard as the mid-range and high-end market (basically, anything above a Nvidia GTX 1050). But when money is tight, being able to game without a graphics card can lead to serious savings. And with RAM prices continuing to soar, those working with small budgets need to tighten the strings anywhere they can.
That makes the four-core, four-thread Ryzen 3 2200G particularly appealing for budget gaming builders and upgraders. The $99 chip delivers solid 720p performance thanks to its Vega on-chip graphics, decent CPU muscle for mainstream tasks, and can be dropped into an existing inexpensive 300-series motherboard (after a requisite BIOS update), to form the basis of a surprisingly capable low-cost PC. It’s also unlocked, so with proper cooling you can tune the graphics or the CPU to best suit your needs.
Alternative Pick:
MORE: Best Power Supplies
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Well done AMD!
Currently even i5-8500 or R5 2600 is bellow $200.
But the R5 1600/2600 cost 50% more than the i3 8100. If you can't put in the extra money, the i3 is still an option.
AMD's progress especially with the Ryzen 2 processors is great for competition. This is forcing Intel to sell 6 and 8 core processors which probably were to be slated as "extreme" or enthusiast processors as mainstream high-performance processors with prices hundreds of dollars less.
This is really the first time in over a decade where the hype has equaled the performance coming out of AMD. And now the price of RAM is inching its way down... hmmmm... New Build???
I agree with this sentiment.
Years ago I used to look at Intel's CPU timeline on Wikipedia following the Core 2 launch and wonder what kind of fantastic technology looms over the horizon (this would have been 2006-2008). The first gen Core 2s were dual core followed by quad cores soon after. So what will Nehalem offer? More clock speed? 6 cores? What wonderful secrets does Sandy Bridge hold? 8 core? 5+ Ghz???? I can't even begin to speculate on Ivy Bridge. Oh boy.
But as we all know, that's not how Intel chips evolved. 2007 AgentLozen would have been disappointed to learn that if you wanted more than 4 cores after 2010, you would need to shell out tons of money. Clock speeds stopped scaling. IPC gains per generation became less and less. Thermal performance actually decreased in 2012 with Ivy Bridge.
This is why Ryzen is so important to the CPU landscape right now. Growth has been so stagnant for the last 7 years that a CPU bought in 2011 still works perfectly well today. It's finally time to upgrade that old Sandy Bridge quad core CPU. Thank you AMD for bringing the heat.
Edit: I wanted to mention that technologies surrounding the CPU have evolved nicely and modern chipsets reflect that. 2011 chipsets didn't offer M.2 slots or PCIe 3.0 and even USB 3.0 was mostly handled by 3rd party controllers.
In that case AMD Ryzen 5 1400 should be still option, $30 more expensive but with SMT and including cooler unlike i3.
I don't think it's worth to buy i3 anymore as you might save maybe $20-30 on 600$ build but at cost of loosing 20-50% overall performance.
I wouldn't discount the entire i3 line. 8350K is a very potent cpu for those just doing gaming. Take a peek: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i3-8350k-cpu,5304-5.html
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Core i3-8350K 4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($164.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $329.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-02 12:22 EDT-0400
vs
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $330.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-02 12:22 EDT-0400
I'M DISABLED WHICH PUTS ME MOSTLY IN A LOWER PRICE BRACKET. TO AVOID THIS PROBLEM ABOUT 3 YRS. AGO
I WOULD SAVE MY LEFTOVER COIN OVER MONTHS TO BE ABLE TO WATCH AND SNAG BETTER PIECES FOR MY FIRST
DESKTOP BUILD. UNFORTUNATELY TIME HAS BECOME EVEN SHORTER FOR SUPERIOR MODELS TO APPEAR.IS MY AMD
FX 8370 8-CORE 4.3 GHz A YEAR AGO REALLY THAT DATED NOW, OR WILL I STILL COMPONENTS NEW ENOUGH TO
BUILD THE POWERFUL MUSIC PRODUCTION BUILD I HAD PLANED TO?
I'M STARTING ON IT IN ABOUT A MONTH.
From what I've seen, even with the price hike, the R5 2600 (especially overclocked) be recommended over the 1600/1600x - possibly even over i5-8400.