AMD and Intel have fought for supremacy for decades, duking it out in a bid to make the best processors you can buy. The competition is fierce, and that’s a great thing for PC enthusiasts. In 2025, the list of the best CPUs is larger than ever and packed with options from Team Red and Team Blue.
The bang-for-buck king is the Ryzen 9600X, but its last-gen 7600 counterpart is still worth considering. At the top end, for gaming we have the incredible new 9800X3D and the 9950X for productivity, while Intel’s new 285K has found its own limited niche for fans of Team Blue.
You know what a CPU is, and you know why your PC needs one. Here are the best CPUs you can buy in 2025.
Why you should buy this: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D tops gaming charts, and it’s not even close.
Who it’s for: Gamers who want maximum performance out of their PC no matter the cost.
Why we chose the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D:
At this point, it shouldn’t be surprising that AMD’s leading 3D V-Cache CPU is the best processor for gaming. We’ve seen the tech at work over the course of three generations now, and even from the first release, AMD cemented itself as the gaming leader. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D didn’t need to do much, and even then, it exceeded our expectations.
It’s not just solid gaming performance. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D offers a nice 5% to 10% uplift over its last-gen counterpart, but more importantly, it comes with AMD’s next-gen 3D V-Cache. This places the cache die under the CPU cores instead of on top of them, giving the cores more direct access to cooling. That allows AMD to push the cores harder, unlocking the ability to overclock the CPU and delivering productivity gains above 20% in most applications.
The results speak for themselves. With previous 3D V-Cache CPUs, you’d have to give up productivity performance for better gaming performance, but the Ryzen 7 9800X3D doesn’t force you to choose. It’s an excellent all-around CPU that just happens to blow away the competition when it comes time to play some games.
Why you should buy this: It tops performance charts in nearly every benchmark, and it’s cheaper than the competition from AMD.
Who it’s for: Enthusiasts who need high core counts and blistering clock speeds to accelerate video editing, compression, and other demanding tasks.
Why we chose the Intel Core i9-13900K:
Intel’s 13900K might not be the flagship it once was, but it’s basically the same as the 14900K, it’s cheaper, and it uses less power. It’s no way near as efficient as the newer 285K, either, but it’s faster for gaming, so if you’re looking for an Intel platform for work and play, then the 13900K is the best of the best. And it’s seeing major new price drops, too.
Similar to the previous-generation’s Core i9-12900K, the Core i9-13900K combines performance (P) cores and efficient (E) cores. Core counts are up this time around, though. You’re getting eight P-cores designed on the new Raptor Cove microarchitecture, as well as 16 E-cores using the Gracemont architecture from the previous generation.
Those extra cores help accelerate demanding multithreaded tasks, which is why the Core i9-13900K managed an 8% lead over the Ryzen 9 7950X in Cinebench R23. The redesigned P-cores also help the Core i9-13900K outpace AMD’s best by 12% in Cinebench’s single-core test.
Across nearly all benchmarks, the Core i9-13900K tops the charts, aided in no small part by additional L2 cache and boosted clock speeds. It’s the fastest processor you can buy, but more importantly, it comes in cheaper than AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X.
However, it can’t catch up with the X3D CPUs in gaming, so you will be falling behind a little there if you opt for this powerful Intel alternative, so bear that in mind. The upgrade path is a little limited, too, as you only really have the 14th gen to move to and nothing there beyond the very top chips can compete with the 13900K.
Why you should buy this: It’s one of the fastest CPUs you can buy for around $250.
Who it’s for: Builders looking for the best bang for their buck.
Why we chose the AMD Ryzen 9600X:
AMD’s Ryzen 9600X didn’t blow the doors off when it launched in August 2024, but with recent price reductions and a few software improvements, it’s become a real bang-for-buck contender for the best CPU around. With six cores, 12 threads, and a high boost-clock speed, it’s a powerful midrange processor that punches well above its weight. It isn’t a huge upgrade over the last-generation 7600 in gaming, but it is faster, and its productivity performance has improved by leaps and bounds, all while maintaining excellent efficiency.
It also works on any existing AM5 motherboard, meaning you don’t need to upgrade your whole system if you’re coming from Ryzen 7000. It supports faster memory than older CPUs, too, and it’s full overclockable, so if you like to tweak your system for added performance, this chip is a great choice.
If you need more than six cores, the 7700X is around $20 more and can offer slightly better gaming performance. Pure gamers should also consider the Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs, as they’re the best if you don’t do any work on your machine. But for an affordable, all-rounder processor with the latest features at a great price, you can’t find much better than the 9600X.
Why you should buy this: It’s insanely fast, and it’s set up to support AMD’s future platforms for many years.
Who it’s for: AMD fans who want the best of the best and don’t mind spending a little extra.
Why we chose the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X:
While it’s not quite as fast as the 13900K or 14900K in gaming or productivity, and falls a few steps behind the newer 9950X, there’s no denying the raw power of the Ryzen 9 7950X — especially at close to $200 less than its successor.
The processor delivers on its promises, offering a 31% jump in single-core performance and a 36% improvement in multi-core performance compared to the previous generation. It takes a slight back seat in some tasks compared to the Core i9-13900K, but only by razor-thin margins. And in some games, like Far Cry 6, the Ryzen 9 7950X is actually a bit faster. This puts it top among the very best AMD processors.
Beyond the processor itself, the Ryzen 9 7950X introduces AMD’s AM5 platform. It used to be much more expensive, but thankfully, new motherboards and falling prices for even the best DDR5 RAM make the upgrade a little more affordable. In addition, AMD says it will support AM5 until at least 2027 (and maybe beyond). That means you can upgrade to the 9000 series or future CPU generations down the line, without changing your motherboard.
Although the Ryzen 9 7950X isn’t at the peak of performance, it’s just a step behind. And with features like Smart Access Memory and distant platform support on offer, it’s still a very attractive flagship CPU, at a more affordable price.
Why you should buy this: Intel’s previous flagship is still a monster performer, and it’s much cheaper now than it was at release.
Who it’s for: PC builders looking for a flagship alternative to Intel’s new Arrow Lake CPUs.
Why we chose the Intel Core i9-14900K:
The Core i9-14900K is marred in controversy, but if you can look past its recent instability issues, you’ll find an extremely powerful CPU available for a bargain bin price. Intel has addressed the problems with the Core i9-14900K, so as long as you have the latest updates for the CPU, you shouldn’t run into issues.
Unlike Intel’s new Arrow Lake CPUs, the Core i9-14900K is a fairly tame release for Intel. It’s a 24-core chip with 32 threads, and it features Intel’s typical array of eight performance cores and 16 efficient cores based on its Raptor Lake designs. It’s basically just the Core i9-13900K, but with all of the sliders cranked to their maximum.
There are some decent productivity gains, but the Core i9-14900K’s strength really lies in gaming. It’s one of the few CPUs that can stand up to AMD’s 3D V-Cache options, and in most games, it offers a comfortable uplift over the Core i9-13900K. You’ll have to contend with higher power draw and temperatures, however — for as powerful as the Core i9-14900K is, it consumes hundreds of watts and runs hot.
Why you should buy this: It’s easily the best gaming processor in terms of value and performance.
Who’s it for: Gamers who want top-notch performance without spending more than necessary.
Why we chose the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D:
With the launch of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, the 5800X3D finally has a worthy successor. This CPU is the fastest gaming CPU out there, beating Intel’s Core i9-13900K by miles and even eclipsing the 14900K in most games. In pure gaming scenarios, it also keeps up with the pricier Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D benefits from AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology, and once again, it shows off the power of adding copious amounts of L3 cache on top of the chip. It sports a total of 104MB cache, which marks a drastic upgrade from the Ryzen 7 7700X, which only comes with 40MB.
In terms of core counts, AMD seems to have stuck with what worked well for it before. The processor has eight cores and 16 threads. The boost clock speed is considerably lower than in the Ryzen 7 7700X — the 7800X3D maxes out at 5GHz. However, it still remains far superior in gaming tasks.
This chip is insane for gaming, but it drops off a cliff in productivity tasks when you compare it to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D. However, for pure gamers, this should not be a problem. In our internal testing, the CPU hit almost the same frames per second (fps) as the more expensive part — 239.3 versus 239.5. If you just want a solid processor for gaming, save your money and go with this one. We’ve also determined that this is the best CPU for the RTX 4070 and 4070 Ti graphics cards.
Why you should buy this: It’s still a competent quad-core processor that’s very inexpensive.
Who it’s for: PC builders on a tight budget who want a solid processor for gaming and work without overspending.
Why we chose the Intel Core i3-12100F:
It’s tough finding CPUs under $100 in 2024, but the Core i3-12100F is a standout. It’s part of the Alder Lake family, and though it does have newer-generation counterparts in the 13100 and 14100, they are more expensive and don’t perform much better, making the 12100F a great budget CPU and an absolute steal for a budget gaming PC.
The Core i3-12100F is a quad-core CPU that ranks among the best Intel processors you can buy. It doesn’t come with a hybrid architecture, instead opting for four performance cores, but that doesn’t hurt performance too much. It lacks onboard graphics, too, so you will need a dedicated graphics card with it.
Gaming is certainly possible, even if it’s a bit behind the six-core Ryzen 5 5600X, and day-to-day use is excellent. This is an entry-level processor, no doubt, but the Core i3-12100F still punches above what its price would suggest.
The only caveat here is that the Core i3-14100F has been on sale at around $90 recently. If it’s still there when you look it up, get that instead. It has a slightly higher clock speed and will give you a slight performance bump over the 12100.
Why you should buy this: It’s one of the few good APUs that you can buy right now, and it’s relatively cheap.
Who it’s for: PC builders on a tight budget who want a solid processor for gaming and work without overspending.
Why we chose the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G:
Gaming without a GPU is possible, but it’s not an ideal experience. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500G is an exception, because its onboard RDNA 3 GPU is more than capable of playing most games at 1080p medium settings at 30 frames per second (fps) in AAA games, and a far higher rate in more casual titles. It’s not going to replace a dedicated graphics chip, and the CPU isn’t as fast as its non-APU counterparts, but it’s a great choice for GPU-free gaming.
It has six Zen4+ cores, giving it solid CPU performance, with support for 12 threads. It is limited to a 5GHz boost clock, though, which is lower than its Ryzen 7000 counterparts. Still, it has a low TDP, and if you’re building a budget gaming machine, want to save money to buy a bigger graphics card later, or are putting together a compact machine that will only do light gaming, the 8500G is a great pick.
If you want more power, the 8700G is available, but it’s around twice the price and its performance isn’t that much better.
Why you should buy this: It’s the fastest CPU for multi-threaded workloads.
Who’s it for: Developers, video editors, or anyone performing heavy, demanding tasks with their PC.
Why we picked the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X:
AMD’s 9000-series didn’t make any major leaps in gaming performance (look out for the X3D variants for that) but it did make some excellent gains in productivity, making the full-fat, AMD Ryzen 9950X, 16-core Zen 5 CPU the absolute pinnacle of consumer PC hardware when it comes to getting work done. With efficient Zen 5 cores, sky-high clock speeds, and boatloads of cache, the 9950X is an absolute beast for churning through heavy workloads.
The Intel 285K does give it a run for its money in a few places and select apps, but the 9950X is by far the more consistent CPU, with its single core architecture removing a lot of the headaches of Intel’s Big.Little design philosophy.
The 9950X is expensive, but if you can make more money or get your work done faster by using a more powerful CPU, it’s well worth the upgrade. And, though it’s not marketed for gaming, it’s still faster than most CPUs for that, too. It’s even getting patches and updates that give it a real leg up there, so watch this space for future updates and improvements.
Why you should buy this: It’s the fastest Intel CPU for work.
Who’s it for: Developers, video editors, or anyone performing heavy, demanding tasks with their PC.
Why we picked the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K:
If you want a really powerful productivity CPU, then get the Ryzen 9950X, but if you want a really powerful Intel CPU for productivity, get the 285K. It’s not as good at gaming as its predecessors, but it’s still plenty fast for that too. Where it really shines is in productivity, where despite having few threads, it often beats or gives the AMD 9950X a run for its money.
However, that performance is currently quite inconsistent, and though this CPU is much more efficient, it’s not that efficient. Certainly not enough to warrant the problems. As Digital Trends’ Jacob Roach pointed out in his review, it’s a very impressive piece of kit, and does bode well for the future, but it’s just not as good as it should be.
That said, if you really want the pinnacle of Intel performance in 2025, this is it. This is the best you can do. Pair it up with fast memory, and you won’t be disappointed — you just might be leaving some performance on the table.
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from graphics cards to processors to PC cases, Jacob also writes the ReSpec column and newsletter that covers the intersection of PC hardware and gaming. If it's something you can plug into a gaming PC, there's a good chance Jacob has used it.
Although Jacob is interested in just about anything in or around a PC, he's currently reporting on graphics cards, PC game optimization, and gaming monitors. At Digital Trends, he's dug deep on the untold origins of the Steam Deck, uncovered the truth behind poor PC port optimization, and broke the story on Microsoft's Bing Chat going off the rails.
Before joining Digital Trends, Jacob contributed to Business Insider, Forbes, and PC Invasion, among various other outlets. Jacob has been a guest on TWiT and NBC, and his work has been cited in Fox News, Futurism, and Business Insider.
As if tinkering with the latest PC hardware wasn't enough, Jacob spends most of his free time living the PC gamer life he writes about so frequently. That includes playing the latest games, but also poking around on his PC to see what he can break, just to see how it works. When he gets a moment to step outside and "touch grass," Jacob enjoys tabletop games, wandering the shops of St. Louis, and forcing his lazy Corgi onto walks.
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written over 1,000 articles covering components, desktop PCs, laptops, and peripherals.
Her main area of interest is the graphics card market, including upcoming releases like Nvidia's RTX 50-series and AMD's RDNA 4. She loves digging into the latest leaks and speculating about specifications, pricing, and the future of GPU technology, such as DLSS 4. Monica also enjoys the challenge of breaking down complex concepts, and has written about things like chips made out of honey or parallel processing units that could make computers up to a hundred times faster.
Monica started her work in journalism almost 12 years ago. Although she has written about various topics, technology has always been at the forefront of her journalism career. Her work has appeared in publications such as SlashGear, WePC, Whop, Springboard, Tom's Hardware, Secure Data Recovery, and Pay.
Her love for tech started early, but her lifelong interest in gaming was first, with some largely unsuccessful attempts at playing Super Mario on the SNES when she was four. At 14, she already had a marked preference for PC gaming and managed to build her first desktop computer from scratch. Dozens of builds later, she's still a gamer and still loves the thrill when you put a PC together and power it on for the first time.
A UK native, Monica got her degree in English language and linguistics and then went on to get a master's in global media industries. She now lives in Poland, spending her free time either gaming until the early hours or hanging out with her dog.
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