The best Intel desktop processors - leaderboard 2025

Every desktop computer requires a processor to operate. It's like the brain of the computer. We have compiled the best Intel desktop processors in our list of the best for the year 2025 for you here. The selection of the best processors is based on various characteristics.

In addition to the clock frequency, the number of CPU cores in particular determines the speed of a processor. The CPU cores in newer processors even have different sizes and are divided into performance cores and more economical efficiency cores.

Find the best processor

It's not always easy to find the best processor for your needs. While many visitors only pay attention to the theoretical speed of a processor, others want to read detailed test reports that also deal with the processor's speed in practice. Therefore, we have collected a large number of benchmarks in order to meet as many requirements as possible.

We have not only listed our results for you in map form at the top of this page, but also in a clear table at the bottom of this page. So everyone can quickly find their way around and find the best processor for themselves.

Which Intel desktop processor should be my choice?

As the largest manufacturer of processors, Intel had virtually no real competition for many years. However, this changed at the latest with the 2nd generation of AMD Ryzen processors (AMD Ryzen 2000), because these were already on the same level and with the subsequent generations Intel was even overtaken.

With the latest 12th generation of the i-processors, Intel has finally caught up and brought at the beginning of 2022 the fastest processor for the desktop area on the market.

Intel relies on its new "Alder Lake" chip design, which for the first time has a hybrid structure made up of CPU cores of different sizes. Large performance cores take over the computing work, while the smaller CPU cores take care of the background tasks.

The Intel processors are divided into 4 categories:

1. Intel i3 processors
These are for beginners without great demands. If you just want to run a few office applications, check your e-mails and surf the Internet, this processor series is a good choice.

2. Intel i5 processors
These CPUs are for more ambitious users. In addition to the i3 processors, somewhat more demanding applications can also be run here. The i5 processors are exactly the right choice for most users, unless you need high computing power for special programs.

3. Intel i7 processors
The i7 processors cater to all users who require maximum computing power for their applications. They were long the spearhead of the Intel processor line up until 2017 when Intel launched the following group...

4. Intel i9 processors
The i9 processors are for all enthusiasts among users. Basically, the i9 processors can do everything that the i7 processors can, just a little faster.

List of the best Intel desktop processors

In this list view, we have presented the currently best desktop processors in tabular form for you. We sorted the processors by popularity and the Geekbench 6 multi-core result achieved.

	Processor	Socket	TDP	Memory
	Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 20C 20T @ 3.90 GHz	LGA 1851	125 W	DDR5-6400
	Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF 20C 20T @ 3.90 GHz	LGA 1851	125 W	DDR5-6400
	Intel Core i9-14900KS 24C 32T @ 3.20 GHz	LGA 1700	150 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i9-14900K 24C 32T @ 3.20 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i9-14900KF 24C 32T @ 3.20 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core Ultra 9 285K 24C 24T @ 3.70 GHz	LGA 1851	125 W	DDR5-6400
	Intel Core i7-14700K 20C 28T @ 3.40 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i7-14700KF 20C 28T @ 3.40 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i7-14700F 20C 28T @ 2.10 GHz	LGA 1700	65 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i7-14700 20C 28T @ 2.10 GHz	LGA 1700	65 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core Ultra 5 245K 14C 14T @ 4.20 GHz	LGA 1851	125 W	DDR5-6400
	Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF 14C 14T @ 4.20 GHz	LGA 1851	125 W	DDR5-6400
	Intel Core i5-14600K 14C 20T @ 3.50 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i5-14600KF 14C 20T @ 3.50 GHz	LGA 1700	125 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
	Intel Core i5-14400 10C 16T @ 2.50 GHz	LGA 1700	65 W	DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200

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