You'll need to be sure you have a robust cooling solution to handle the extra heat, as well a motherboard and CPU that are suited to the task, since not all chips are unlocked and not all motherboards support overclocking. The latest generations employ Socket 1700. X570, meanwhile, debuted with third-generation Ryzen in 2019 and brings support for PCI Express 4.0, which is for now mostly of interest to shoppers looking to install the fastest possible PCI Express 4.0 SSDs or those looking to use the new "resizable BAR" feature steadily making its way to AMD and Nvidia GPUs. AMD's chipsets for the current Ryzens are the X570/X470/X370 (high-end silicon designed for overclockers, the equivalent of Intel's Z-series chipsets); the B550/B450/B350 (the mainstream models); and the A520/A320 (resolutely budget-minded boards). Should you go with air cooling or liquid cooling? With the latest generation, all come bundled with a nifty-looking air cooler from AMD's Wraith line. Ryzen? Still, not all old chips run on the newest boards and vice versa; check motherboard details for exact CPU support. (These kinds of on-die graphics solutions are also referred to as "integrated graphics processors," or IGPs.) For example, the Z390, Z370, B365, B360, H370, and H310 chipsets all are relevant for the 8th and 9th generations of Intel CPUs, but you'll want to check the compatibility lists. As with the mainstream Intel lines, you'll want to match up your motherboard chipset with your usage case. The 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake chips are nice surprises here, too, but again: Know you'll pay for new RAM and motherboard hardware. If, say, you're replacing a Core i3 by getting an Intel Core i7-10700K off Craigslist in exchange for $50 and a six-pack of Samuel Adams, by all means go for it. For example, the Ryzen 5000 Series stepped things back a bit from the 3000 Series, with the Ryzen 5 5600X including the Wraith Prism but the Ryzen 7 5800X, Ryzen 9 5900X, and Ryzen 9 5950X all shipping with no coolers in the box. Threadripper? This loose equation has gotten more nuanced, however, with the launch of Intel's 12th Generation "Alder Lake" processors, and more specifically the introduction of what the company is calling its "Performance Cores" (P-cores), and "Efficiency Cores," or E-cores. The top-end model at the moment is the 18-core/36-threadCore i9-10980XE Extreme Edition, as no HEDT options were launched as a part of 11th or 12th Gen. Again, things get a little more complicated with Intel's new-for-2021 12th Generation processors. However, our cheat sheet below will give you a good basic idea of the chip lines to look at, depending on what you do. So you want to check the specs carefully to make sure that the motherboard you have or are considering supports the exactand we do mean exactchip you're looking at. The exceptions are the unlocked Core enthusiast processors, which come without any; the assumption there is that you'll bring your own, enhanced cooler to the chip-tweaking party. Once you've made those investments, you're often better off just getting a faster CPU in the first place. All these questions are crucial in landing the right chip, and what that means: No single CPU is the absolute best across the board for all users, assuming money matters. Boost clock is not always evenly spread across all cores, especially in the case of Intel's newest 12th Gen chips, which are split between the two separate core types we mentioned earlier. These chips are meant as inexpensive engines for productivity work and educational use, and in some cases light gaming. We extended that range to $700 because even a few Ryzen Threadrippers are within reach if you opt for certain first- or second-gen chips. You don't necessarily need a liquid cooler, but you'll want to be sure that any cooler you get has some extra TDP-support overhead if you intend to try overclocking. Socket 1151 isphysicallycompatible with chips from the Celeron to the Core i9 across the 7th Gen ("Kaby Lake"), 8th Gen ("Coffee Lake"), and 9th Gen ("Coffee Lake Refresh") platforms. One thing that can puzzle even those familiar with Intel's CPU lines over the years has to do with integrated graphics. Solid comparative gaming results at 1080p, Gives budget-strapped creators new options. Intel calls this technology "Hyper-Threading" (HT), while in the AMD world it's referred to by the generic term "SMT," for symmetric multithreading. With apologies to Robert Frost, it's the classic two roads that parted in the woodif the wood were a shopping-results page at Newegg or Amazon, and the road kept dividing endlessly. Trying to figure out the best CPU for your next PC upgrade or DIY build? Measured in gigahertz (GHz), these are two of the primary specs for any given CPU, but they require a bit of context. One of the key distinctions between these chips and Intel's mainstream Core products, apart from their usually higher core and thread count, is their support for a greater number of CPU-bound PCI Express lanes. Picks:Intel Core i9-10980X Extreme Edition, Intel Xeon W-2295,AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX,AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X,AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Within each of these chip classes, you'll find CPUs with modest differences in clock speed as well as processors with overclockable versus locked-down multipliers. (Typical mainstream Intel chips top out at 16 lanes.) The Z chipsets are meant for overclockers and tweakers (paired with an unlocked CPU), the H370 is for mainstream users not intending to overclock, the B360 and B365 are more budget-level chipsets (generally found on boards with fewer features and ports), and the H310 is the most stripped-down of all. Heed them. Check. In his free time, youll find him shredding the local mountain on his snowboard, or using his now-defunct culinary degree to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends. These two core types co-exist on the same die in what's referred to as a "big.LITTLE" architectural design, in which cores engineered for peak performance output are paired with another set that runs more power-efficiently at lower clocks. (Examples of this family: See our reviews of theRyzen Threadripper 2950X, the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX,the Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, andthe Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, as well as our first tests with Threadripper Pro.). 1996-2022 Ziff Davis. They're more frequently found in older prebuilt budget desktops, and even in those systems are now fading out in favor of low-end Ryzen 3 CPUs. Below are the down-and-dirty specs for (and links to deep-dive reviews of) most of the CPUs recommended above. Practically speaking, it's the same thing. Expect to pay roughly $150 to $200, possibly a bit less if you opt for a previous-gen chip. Other concernscost, energy consumption, the kinds of roads (read: tasks) you drive every daymatter just as much as out-and-out muscle. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. In most cases, for running at stock speeds, air cooling will be enough outside of the Core i9 and Ryzen 9 families, and you won't need more than the stock cooler designed to handle the CPU it's boxed with. Like the Ryzens, the Threadripper chips have passed through three generations to date. Also consider the slightly cheaper non-"K" variants if you don't plan to overclock. ), Picks:Intel Core i5-10400, AMD Ryzen 3 3300X,AMD Ryzen 5 3600X,AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. Parts without integrated graphics have model numbers ending in "0" or "X.". The only exception that calls for liquid cooling by default is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper. At the top end of "Rocket Lake" is the Intel Core i9-11900K, which, while a single-threaded record-setter at times and a fine gaming chip, is a pace or two behind AMD's best and not all that much of an improvement over the previous-gen Core i9-10900K. Don't worry, this won't be on the test! Certain Intel and AMD CPUs support multithreading. For almost a quarter-century, I worked on the seminal, gigantic Computer Shopper magazine (and later, its digital counterpart), aka the phone book for PC buyers, and the nemesis of every postal delivery person. But in most cases, if you have a midrange or better CPU on a given dead-end platform, unless you're getting a new chip cheaply, you'll get more bang for your buck buying a new motherboard and processor on a current platform. See our laptop processor explainer for the rather different nuances of selecting a CPU in a notebook PC.). AMD's mainstream Ryzen processors are, on the whole, excellent values for everyday users and quite a few power users. This depends on the processor family you're looking at, whether a cooler comes bundled in the box, whether your existing cooler will work with the new CPU, and if you intend to overclock. (Only the Core i9 chips supported HT.) be compatible with the CPU socket type you're installing it on, and (b.) Gaming performance now at parity with, or better than, Intel Core i9, Record-setting content-creation results in its price bracket. (Of course, if your older system is still on DDR3 memory, you'll need new RAM, too; both Intel and AMD use DDR4 on their current consumer platforms, while Intel's 12th Generation Core CPUs and Z690 motherboards are the first to feature support for DDR5. That said, more cores are generally better, within reason. Most existing coolers won't work with TR4 or sTRX4, and most Threadripper desktops are liquid-cooled. (Just make sure the motherboard has video outputs!). At this writing, prices started at around $250 for the lowest-end X399 boards and $400 for the cheapest TRX40 ones. The issue of lane count matters in extreme PC builds that involve multiple graphics cards in PCI Express x16 slots sharing internal electrical lanes with several PCI Express SSDs and other such devices on the bus; you need enough lanes to accommodate your hardware. The oldest ones make use of a motherboard CPU socket called Socket 1151. Among mainstream Intel Core Socket 1151, 1200, and 1700 processors, look for models with a "K" (unlocked) or "KF" (unlocked with no integrated graphics) suffix. How to Squeeze More Performance From Your GPU, several distinct air coolers in the AMD Wraith family, PC Cooling 101: How to Buy the Right Air or Water Cooler for Your Desktop CPU, The Best Laptops for College Students in 2022, The Best Gaming Monitors for Xbox in 2022, The Best Gaming Monitors for PlayStation 5. (The heat output you'll need to dissipate will be greater than the chip's rating.). If you're upgrading an existing desktop PC, your CPU upgrade options, by definition, will be limited: by the architecture, socket, and compatibility of the motherboard installed in the PC. Note, however, that the number of PCI Express lanes supportedcanvary depending on the Core X-Series CPU and motherboard combination you choose. Any cooler you are looking at should (a.) Discrete-graphics-card gaming on a budget. If you're not looking to overclock, opting for one of the Ryzens that comes with a Wraith cooler in the box can save you $20 or $30. As with core count, these numbers are telling only within a given processor family; a 3.5GHz Intel Core X-Series chip and a 4GHz AMD Ryzen mainstream chip are not directly comparable on the basis of clocks alone. It also uses a newer socket, LGA 1200, which is incompatible with all else that came before. More about overclocking, again, near the end of this guide. The third-gen Threadrippers introduced a new platform with a socket called sTRX4 and a chipset dubbed TRX40. In most cases with Intel boards, upgrading to another chip that works in the same socket as your current one will have limited upside. Here, you want to be sure that your CPU isn't bottlenecking your GPU. (They may be inflated a bit in price as you read this, given the scorchingly high price of separate graphics cards.) You'll also want to make sure the cooler is adequate, per our advice above. The best way to look at a CPU buy is to take the considerations in a logical order, which will narrow the field as you make your choices. Googling the name of your current processor and selecting the spec page on AMD's or Intel's site will divulge what "socket" the CPU is on Again, we reiterate: This is a rough guide! There are edge cases on every line. In my early career, I worked as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of "Dummies"-style computer guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). Just know that the cost of adoption (memory, motherboard, cooler) may make waiting a bit to upgrade a better bet. Tagged with a "G" at the end (for "graphics"), these processors (the first of which debuted in 2018) are excellent values for budget systems emphasizing productivity apps and light gaming. Strong performance in content creation and productivity tasks, Overclocking didn't translate to actual major performance gains. If you're looking at Intel's mainstream CPUs on Socket 1151 or 1200, most come with Intel's capable, recently upgraded stock air cooler. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. Picks:Intel Core i7-9700K,Intel Core i9-10900K,Core i7-11700K, Intel Core i5-12600K, Intel Core i9-12900K, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. The end-of-life 6th Gen ("Skylake") processors also live on this socket. Picks:AMD Athlon 200GE,Intel Pentium Gold G5600,Intel Core i3-10400, AMD Ryzen 3 3200G,AMD Ryzen 5 3400G. (These were theCore i5-7640Xandthe Core i7-7740X.) In a nutshell, multithreading allows your PC to run two discrete processing assignments, or threads, on each CPU core. Check them out for more specific benchmarking details and more info on their supported platforms. With Intel Socket 1151, you'll want a Z390 or Z370 motherboard; with Socket 1200 or 1700, look for a Z490, Z590, or Z690 platform; and with Ryzen, look for an X570, X470, X370, B550, B450, or B350 board. Enthusiast, high-refresh-rate gaming. The real hearts of the Ryzen line, though (and what's brought AMD roaring back in the desktop market over the past few years), are the Ryzen 1000, 2000, 3000, and 5000 series CPUs, the first through fourth generations respectively. The multiplier is locked down on other chips. I also served, briefly, as the editor in chief of the well-known hardcore tech site Tom's Hardware. All of the Ryzen 5 processors (excepting a handful of OEM parts seen outside the U.S.) support symmetric multithreading (making them all 4C/8T or 6C/12T). The family nomenclature here is otherwise all Core i7 or Core i9, with, at this writing, only Core i9 chips in the "Cascade Lake-X" line. Let's take a quick look at some basic specs you need to understand before digging into Intel's and AMD's lines. As its aggro name suggests, the Ryzen Threadripper is all about maximum cores and threads for the money. All retail third-gen AMD Ryzens (apart from the Ryzen 9 3950X and the Threadrippers) come with one ofseveral distinct air coolers in the AMD Wraith family(Opens in a new window): the Stealth, the Spire, or the Prism. For now, only Z690 motherboards are for sale, though signs point to more midrange and budget options on the horizon sometime in early 2022. Third-gen chips and boards support the same 64 lanes of PCI Express bandwidth, but third-gen Threadrippers work only with third-gen motherboards and vice versa. This was one of Intel's slimmest initial CPU-stack launches ever, with just three parent chips (Core i5-12600K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i9-12900K) split into "K" and "KF" variants. I was Computer Shopper's editor in chief for its final nine years, after which much of its digital content was folded into PCMag.com. Works with mature X299 chipset ecosystem. Are you upgrading, or building a whole new PC? Most recently, Intel finally moved beyond 14nm entirely on its latest 12th Gen launch to what it's dubbing the "Intel 7 Process," based on 10nm Enhanced Superfin parts built in Intel's fabs. (The three available chips range from a 16-core Threadripper Pro 3955WX at $1,149 to a 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX.) Picks:IntelCore i9-10900K,Intel Core i7-11700K, Intel Core i9-12900K, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X,AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X. It also doubles the memory channels from four to eight and works exclusively with error-correcting-code (ECC) memory, important for fields such as scientific simulations and high-end data analysis. (Examples of this family: See our reviews of theCore i9-7980XE Extreme Edition,the Core i9-9980XE Extreme Edition, andthe Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition.). Notgaming? Doubles most integrated-graphics results of equivalent 10th Generation Intel chips, Decent frame rates with a discrete video card, Aggressive pricing versus AMD's equivalent Ryzens. The AMD X399/TR4 platform is a dead end, but the value proposition of those chips is still very good. Here, we're assuming that "My time is money" is indeed your mantra, and your daily applications are well-optimized for all the cores and threads they can get. This doubles the simultaneous processing potential, assuming that the software and operating system are written in a way that can leverage it. Let's de-perplex it! The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. support at a minimum the TDP rating of the chip. If the software you use is multithreaded (this especially applies to modern content-creation and image- and video-editing packages), more cores will help. (We've seen good deals on third-gen Ryzens, though the chip shortages from late 2020 that have persisted have put a damper even on these older chips. Intel's Core i7-9700K (on old Socket 1151), or the Core i7-10700K and Core i7-11700K (on Socket 1200) are favorites of many serious gamers, with the Core i9 equivalents in each case therealluxury picks. We have particular favorites in each line, and have reviewed many of them singly, but on the whole, all are fine values for users who need lots of cores and threads on the cheap. Turning to AMD, the A series has long been the company's low-cost CPU line that features decent integrated graphics. Read Great Stories Offline on Your Favorite, Intel Core i7-12700KF 12-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor, Intel Core i5-10400 6-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor, AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor, PC Magazine Digital Edition (Opens in a new window), How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad, How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill, How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files, How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac, Read Our AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X Review, Read Our Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition Review, How to Choose the Right RAM for Your Desktop or Laptop PC in 2021, How to Choose the Best Laptop Processor in 2022, New Graphics Card Too Expensive? Consider an Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor on Socket 1200 or 1700, or an AMD Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 on Socket AM4. These two chips, each under $2,000, were the ultimate in consumer-attainable core and thread count until the third-gen Threadripper 3990X came along, offering 64 cores and 128 threads for $3,990 (and dropping the X versus WX distinction). Overclockingrunning a CPU at a higher-than-stock clock speedis easier than it has ever been, but is still a process for the patient at heart. (More about the latter in a moment.) Indeed, buying a desktop processor is akin to a wholeforestof decision trees. CORE COUNT. In descriptions of CPUs, you may see the core/thread count in a sort of shorthand (we'll do so below), for example, 8C/16T, meaning eight cores and 16 threads. The performance pecking order within each Intel chip generation climbs from Celeron (generally slowest) to Pentium, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and finally Core i9 CPUs, the last introduced to Intel's consumer desktop line with its 9th Generation family. SMT is supported up and down the mainstream chips in AMD's Ryzen desktop line. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. In recent years, chip sockets or chipsets are only compatible for a generation or two of CPU, and once that year or two passes, the next platform is no longer compatible with the ones that came before. These graphics-less chips deliver core and thread counts that have upended the economies of the mainstream market. In most cases, you're better off opting for one of the budget Ryzen CPUs discussed below (namely the "Raven Ridge" or "Picasso" G chips, assuming you want to get by without a video card). The top end of this "Alder Lake" stack is currently occupied by the Intel Core i9-12900K, an impressively powerful first entry into a new lithography and design ethos for the company (albeit with one minor caveat at launch). Unmatched performance in multithread-aware tests, with 32 cores and 64 addressable threads. (We told you it gets complicated!). If you're willing to swap out the motherboard to step up to a newer or more powerful class of processor, that project becomes, in effect, building your own PC. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Clocks on the Threadripper chips tend to be lower than their Intel equivalents, but Threadrippers make up for that in raw core/thread count, as well as their across-the-line support for 64 PCI Express lanes. This is where formal benchmarking and labs-based reviews like ours come to the fore. Are you gaming? If you've owned earlier Core i7 chips with HT, don't assume it's supported on all subsequent chips. You'll also need to factor in the onboardchipset, the motherboard's governing silicon. The best values, to our eyes, are closer to the $1,000 mark. TDP is relevant as a yardstick for the heat output that the cooler will have to handle. Examine the CPU's spec sheet and our individual chip reviews for per-processor details. At CES 2021, however, AMD announced that Threadripper Pro CPUs would be made available to end users, with pricing disclosed in late January of that year. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-cpus. For CPU-intensive tasks such as video rendering, support for HT/SMT is a very good thing. All are unlocked for overclocking, if you are so inclined. (Better leave breadcrumbs.). The midrange Core i5-11600K is a six-core, 11th Generation CPU just fast enough to keep Intel's new "Rocket Lake" chips in the game against tough AMD opposition. Unlike the long-running mainstream Intel line, the Core X-Series is only a few years old, at least in name. Middle-aged ones use the now-dead-ended Socket 1200. A chip that's "unlocked" for overclocking has its clock multiplier open for tweaking within the BIOS or by using in-operating-system overclocking software. Why? You'll need to provide your own cooler; Core X chips don't come with cooling fans in the box. Expect to pay about $250 to $700 for the chips in this class. It requires a unique chipset, the WRX80. We emphasize the word "physically" because chips from these generations willfitin any Socket 1151 motherboard, but not every 1151-class chip willworkwith every motherboard. All AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Threadripper, and Intel Core X-Series chips can be overclocked, as can all X399 and X299 chipset motherboards. We can't account for every aged or ancient socket that your PC upgrade might involvethere are just too manybut wecansay this: It's seldom worth upgrading a CPU on a dead-end socket unless you've gotten a stellar deal on the new chip, and you're making a clear jump forward in core/thread count, or raw clock speed at the same core/thread count, from the old chip to the new. Of course, all else is seldom equal, and comparing core count is really meaningful only within the same generation of a given CPU line. Then eight. (We haven't tested them yet, but also consider the Socket 1700 Core i3 and Core i5 Intel 12th Generation processors with integrated graphics.). You can opt for the graphics-less "F" versions of these Intel chips (for example, the Core i7-11700KF) to save some money assuming you have a video card you can run in the PC. During that time, I've built and torn down enough desktop PCs to equip a city block's worth of internet cafes. Your CPU choices, by definition, will be limited by your motherboard. That changed with Intel's 10th Generation Core desktop chips, which returned HT to Core i3, i5, and i7 parts. Untangling chip, board, and chipset compatibility can be really tricky with these chips, and you'll often see four or five chipsets that work with a given CPU generation, targeting different price strata and use cases. That's because a motherboard upgrade requires at least partial system disassembly, and sometimes replacingfurtherparts to make the upgrade work. Note that some cooler manufacturers will express this support simply in terms of specific CPUs or lines, others as a maximum TDP rating. With that in mind, let's take a look, in turn, at each of the lines that are relevant today for PC builders, buyers, and upgraders. The first two are on the same platform and use the same socket (a gigantic one known as socket TR4, with more than 4,000 pins and a special loading mechanism). The first-, second-, and fourth-generation Ryzens are a mixed bag. One thing to note: Two of the early "Kaby Lake-X" processors were stripped-down chips with limited PCI Express lane support and modest core/thread counts. As with the Intel Core X-Series, AMD X399- and TRX40-based boards are geared to extreme power users and enthusiasts. It's a gross oversimplification, but think of core count like engine cylinders; more cores generally indicate more power, all else being equal. The chip, like every new entry in the "Rocket Lake" lineup, is based on the 10-nanometer (nm) "Ice Lake" architecture, but backported to the 14nm process. AMD's cheaper Ryzen 3 3300X remains a stellar value among gaming CPUs, but the Ryzen 5 5600X is enough of a brute at its midrange price to make it the best pure gaming CPU of the year. The Core i9-12900K is Intel's first truly innovative high-end desktop CPU in years, showing great potential in its performance/efficiency mixed-core design and support for DDR5 memory. This is hard to do at 4K resolution (GPUs are generally handling the load here), but the CPU matters quite a bit more in performance if you play at 1080p or 1440p. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. These boards and chips hit the market in mid-2020. The latest Ryzen 3 third-generation chips (4C/8T) are also excellent buys for gamers. Chances are, any cooler you owned before won't work with Threadripper's larger TR4 or sTRX4 sockets and huge chip dies, and the few air-cooling solutions available for Threadripper are, as we said, colossal. In 2020, AMD also introduced a new Threadripper Pro line, which was initially introduced only in select pre-built Lenovo workstations. Overclocking can void your CPU's warranty, and there's no guarantee that you'll gain much from it.

Sitemap 15