The best gaming CPU - leaderboard 2024

Which CPU is best suited for computer games? We'll give you the answer in our up-to-date leaderboard. With a gaming CPU, the clock frequency, the intermediate memory (cache) and of course the number of CPU cores and the CPU architecture are particularly important. We tested the following processors in the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark, but the popularity of each processor is also included in this list.
1.
Intel Core i9-14900K
Intel Core i9-14900K
24 Cores @ 3.20 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
2.
Intel Core i9-14900KF
Intel Core i9-14900KF
24 Cores @ 3.20 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
3.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16 Cores @ 4.50 GHz, 170 W
Release date: Q4/2022
4.
Intel Core i7-14700K
Intel Core i7-14700K
20 Cores @ 3.40 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
5.
Intel Core i7-14700KF
Intel Core i7-14700KF
20 Cores @ 3.40 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
6.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
16 Cores @ 4.20 GHz, 120 W
Release date: Q1/2023
7.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
12 Cores @ 4.70 GHz, 170 W
Release date: Q4/2022
8.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
12 Cores @ 4.40 GHz, 120 W
Release date: Q1/2023
9.
Intel Core i5-14600K
Intel Core i5-14600K
14 Cores @ 3.50 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
10.
Intel Core i5-14600KF
Intel Core i5-14600KF
14 Cores @ 3.50 GHz, 125 W
Release date: Q4/2023
11.
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
16 Cores @ 3.40 GHz, 105 W
Release date: Q4/2020
12.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
8 Cores @ 4.50 GHz, 105 W
Release date: Q4/2022
13.
Intel Core i5-14500
Intel Core i5-14500
14 Cores @ 2.60 GHz, 65 W
Release date: Q1/2024
14.
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
8 Cores @ 4.20 GHz, 120 W
Release date: Q1/2023
15.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
8 Cores @ 3.40 GHz, 105 W
Release date: Q4/2020
16.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
6 Cores @ 4.70 GHz, 105 W
Release date: Q4/2022

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.

What is important in a good gaming CPU

At the beginning we already listed some criteria that are important for a gaming CPU. Above all, the clock frequency or the clock in turbo mode of a processor is important, as many games (including modern ones) still cannot use all of a processor's CPU cores evenly. This is also due to the fact that a significant part of the computing tasks is outsourced to the graphics card and the processor has to pass this data on to the GPU.

If you now decide on a gaming CPU, we recommend a minimum of 16 GB of RAM, which should ideally be operated in dual-channel mode. To do this, at least two main memory sticks (always in pairs, e.g. 4 are also possible) must be installed in the computer, otherwise only one memory channel is used, which halves the memory bandwidth of the processor. Memory speed can also have a major impact on gaming performance.

The best games CPUs clearly listed

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 5 multi-core result achieved.
Processor Socket TDP Memory
Intel Core i9-14900K Intel Core i9-14900K
24C 32T @ 3.20 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
Intel Core i9-14900KF Intel Core i9-14900KF
24C 32T @ 3.20 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
16C 32T @ 4.50 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 170 W DDR5-5200
Intel Core i7-14700K Intel Core i7-14700K
20C 28T @ 3.40 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
Intel Core i7-14700KF Intel Core i7-14700KF
20C 28T @ 3.40 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 120 W DDR5-5200
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
12C 24T @ 4.70 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 170 W DDR5-5200
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
12C 24T @ 4.40 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 120 W DDR5-5200
Intel Core i5-14600K Intel Core i5-14600K
14C 20T @ 3.50 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
Intel Core i5-14600KF Intel Core i5-14600KF
14C 20T @ 3.50 GHz
LGA 1700 125 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
16C 32T @ 3.40 GHz
AM4 (PGA 1331) 105 W DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
8C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 105 W DDR5-5200
Intel Core i5-14500 Intel Core i5-14500
14C 20T @ 2.60 GHz
LGA 1700 65 W DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
8C 16T @ 4.20 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 120 W DDR5-5200
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
8C 16T @ 3.40 GHz
AM4 (PGA 1331) 105 W DDR4-3200
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
6C 12T @ 4.70 GHz
AM5 (LGA 1718) 105 W DDR5-5200



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