Trying to figure out the best CPU for your next PC upgrade or DIY build? With apologies to Robert Frost, it's the classic two roads that parted in the wood—if the wood were a shopping-results page at Newegg or Amazon, and the road kept dividing endlessly. Two roads, splitting into four roads. Then eight. (Better leave breadcrumbs.)
Indeed, buying a desktop processor is akin to a whole forest of decision trees. Which of the two big chipmakers should you go with: AMD or Intel? Are you trying to maximize speed or value? Does the maximum number of cores matter more, or does clock speed? Are you upgrading, or building a whole new PC? Are you gaming? Not gaming? Still awake?
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. It's possible to objectively measure CPU performance across a range of applications and usage cases, and if you're not bound by mere mortal concerns such as budget, it's easy enough to get a pretty good idea of what "best" means. (Spoiler: Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition or AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, priced at one or four grand respectively.)
But just because these, the processing equivalents of maximum-horsepower V-12 or V-16 engines, exist doesn't make them the right picks for every shopper, or even most shoppers. Other concerns—cost, energy consumption, the kinds of roads (read: tasks) you drive every day—matter just as much as out-and-out muscle.
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. So, the first big one: Are you upgrading a PC, or building a new one from scratch?
Consideration No. 1: Upgrade or New Build?
Answering this question will set you on a narrow path or a broad one. 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. 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. That's because a motherboard upgrade requires at least partial system disassembly, and sometimes replacing further parts to make the upgrade work.
Often, "In-Place" Upgrades Are a Waste of Time
In most cases, upgrading to another chip that works in the same socket as your current one will have limited upside. 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. (Late-model mainstream AMD CPUs, on the company's AM4 socket, have broken that cycle for the moment. More on that later.) What that means: Unless you're upgrading from a low-end chip early in a platform's lifecycle to a high-end CPU at the very end, you're not likely to gain too much from an in-place CPU upgrade on a dead-end platform.
In speaking of CPU lifecycles, the key consideration when you're looking to upgrade on an existing motherboard is socket compatibility (that is, the receptacle into which you seat your new CPU). We can't account for every aged or ancient socket that your PC upgrade might involve—there are just too many—but we can say 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.
So, Wait...How Do I Know What's a Dead End?
As a quick guide, here are our rough recommendations for upgrades if you're on a given platform. 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. If, say, you're replacing a Core i3 by getting an Intel Core i7-6700K off Craigslist in exchange for $50 and a six-pack of Samuel Adams, by all means go for it.
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. After all, a new board on Intel's or AMD's mainstream platforms can set you back as little as $50. (Of course, if your older system is still on DDR2 or DDR3 memory, you'll need new RAM, too; both Intel and AMD have moved to DDR4 on all their current consumer platforms, with DDR5 waiting just around the corner.)
Buying Basics: Four Key Concepts to Know About CPUs
Let's take a quick look at some basic specs you need to understand before digging into Intel's and AMD's lines.
CORE COUNT. It's a gross oversimplification, but think of core count like engine cylinders; more cores generally indicate more power, all else being equal. (Properly written software can use more than one core to process parts of a task at a time.)
Of course, all else is seldom equal, and comparing core count is really meaningful only within the same generation of a given CPU line. That said, more cores are generally better, within reason. If the software you use is multithreaded (this especially applies to modern content-creation and image- and video-editing packages), more cores will help. And some demanding PC games require a certain core or thread count, usually a minimum of four. 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.
MULTITHREADING. Certain Intel and AMD CPUs support multithreading. In a nutshell, multithreading allows your PC to run two discrete processing assignments, or threads, on each core. This doubles the simultaneous processing potential, assuming that the software and operating system are written in a way that can leverage it.
Intel calls this technology "Hyper-Threading" (HT), while in the AMD world it's referred to by the generic term "SMT," for symmetric multithreading. Practically speaking, it's the same thing. For CPU-intensive tasks such as video rendering, support for HT/SMT is a very good thing. Note that Intel, with its 9th Generation mainstream Core CPUs for desktops, pushed HT further up its stack than ever before. (Only the Core i9 chips supported HT.) That changed with Intel's 10th Generation Core desktop chips, which returned HT to Core i3, i5, and i7 parts. SMT is supported up and down the mainstream chips in AMD's Ryzen desktop line.
BASE CLOCK, BOOST CLOCK. Measured in gigahertz (GHz), these are two of the primary specs for any given CPU, but they require a bit of context. The base clock is a multiple of the system's low-level clock and the CPU multiplier (which may be manually tweakable; more about that in a moment) and is the default speed at which the chip cores run. The boost clock is a higher ceiling at which one or more cores can run when the task demands it, and when the system's thermal conditions allow.
Depending on the software involved, the CPU cooling hardware, and the traits of the CPU itself and its motherboard, an accelerated clock rate up to the boost rate might kick in on some or all of the system's cores, sometimes varying at any given time from core to core. Boost clock is not always evenly spread across all cores.
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. This is where formal benchmarking and labs-based reviews like ours come to the fore.
LOCKED VERSUS UNLOCKED. 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. The multiplier is locked down on other chips. We've detailed the overclockability of each line below, but in sum: Intel Core X-Series, AMD Ryzen, and AMD Ryzen Threadripper chips are unlocked, while Intel's mainstream Cores are a mix, but mostly locked. More about overclocking, again, near the end of this guide.
So, Which Intel or AMD Processor Line to Choose?
Your CPU choices, by definition, will be limited by your motherboard. But if you're open to all of the current CPU platforms, you need to weigh the various AMD and Intel chip families. With that in mind, let's take a look, in turn, at each of the lines that are relevant today for PC builders and upgraders.
8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Generation Core: Intel's Mainstream Desktop Choices
At this writing in mid-2021, several generations of Intel's mainstream Celeron, Pentium, and Core i3/i5/i7/i9 processors share the market. Older ones make use of a motherboard CPU socket called Socket 1151. The latest generations employ Socket 1200. (More about the latter in a moment.) Socket 1151 is physically compatible 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. The end-of-life 6th Gen ("Skylake") processors also live on this socket.
We emphasized the word "physically" because chips from any of these generations will fit in any Socket 1151 motherboard. But that said, not every 1151-class chip will work with every motherboard. You'll also need to factor in the onboard chipset, the motherboard's governing silicon. For example, 9th Generation CPUs like the Intel Core i9-9900K won't work with the earliest Socket 1151 boards; you'll need one that supports the more recent Z390 chipset. (The i9-9900K and its limited-edition variant the i9-9900KS are the peak chips in their generation, with eight cores and 16 threads.)
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. So you want to check the specs carefully to make sure that the motherboard you have or are considering supports the exact—and we do mean exact—chip you're looking at. Motherboard makers usually provide detailed CPU compatibility lists for a given board. Heed them.
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. 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. This Z/B/H letter scheme has held for several generations now.
As we alluded to earlier, one thing to note with 9th Generation Intel mainstream CPUs is that only the highest-end ones support the doubling of processing threads via Hyper-Threading. This matters if you tend to use applications for content creation, rendering, and other intensive operations that make use of all the threads you can get. If you've owned earlier Core i7 chips with HT, don't assume it's supported on recent chips. Check.
As mentioned, that changed with Intel's 10th Generation. Dubbed "Comet Lake-S" and headed by the Core i9-10900K, this line has HT support up and down the stack. It also uses a newer socket, LGA 1200, which is incompatible with all else that came before. The chipsets relevant to this line use the same Z/B/H scheme: Z490 (high end), B460 (mainstream), and H410 (budget). These boards and chips hit the market in mid-2020.
Also on Socket 1200, newer 11th Generation "Rocket Lake" chips arrived this past March, but so far their reception has been mixed. All chips in the "Rocket Lake" lineup are compatible with LGA 1200 chipsets, split between Z590 (high-end), B560 (mainstream), H570 (mainstream), and H510 (budget). However, despite both being based on the LGA 1200 socket, 11th Gen CPUs are not backwards-compatible with B460 or H410 motherboards. (We told you it gets complicated!)
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. The chip, like every new entry in the "Rocket Lake" lineup, is based on the 10-nanometer (nm) "Ice Lake" architecture, butb backported to the 14nm process. Here's a summary of the new 11th Generation chips...
In terms of nomenclature, 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 mainstream Socket 1151 platform with its 9th Generation family. (The very first Core i9 chips debuted in 2017 on Intel's Core X-Series; more about them below.) 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. (The overclockable chips, mainly Core i5, i7, and i9 parts, have model numbers ending in K or KF.)
One thing that can puzzle even those familiar with Intel's CPU lines over the years has to do with integrated graphics. Traditionally, Intel's mainstream CPUs have incorporated on-chip video acceleration under the name Intel HD Graphics, UHD Graphics, Iris Graphics, and now, Xe Graphics. (These kinds of on-die graphics solutions are also referred to as "integrated graphics processors," or IGPs.) That means, assuming the motherboard has the appropriate video outputs, that you can use the IGP as your display solution, without needing a separate video card.
However, some of Intel's 8th, 9th, and 10th Gen Core CPU lines include alternate versions without an IGP. These graphics-less chips are set apart by the suffix "F." For example, the Core i9-9900KF is a CPU only, with no integrated graphics. It's the same chip as the Core i9-9900K, just without the IGP silicon.)
(Examples: See our reviews of the Core i5-8400, the Core i7-8700K, the Core i7-8086K Limited Edition, the Core i7-9700K, the Core i9-9900K, the Core i9-9900KS, the Core i9-10900K, the Core i5-11600K, and the Core i9-11900K.)
The Core X-Series: Intel's Power-Lifters
Unlike the long-running mainstream Intel line, the Core X-Series is only a few years old, at least in name. It evolved from Intel's traditionally distinct high-end CPU platform for content creators and extreme performance/gaming hounds, nowadays dubbed the HEDT (for high-end desktop) market. Chips like the Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition are the forebears of the Core X-Series.
The Core X-Series CPUs currently run on a socket dubbed LGA 2066. Their actual die size is larger than the mainstream Cores, and their slightly higher wattages demand more robust cooling solutions. You'll need to provide your own cooler; Core X chips don't come with cooling fans in the box.
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. These lanes are the internal electrical data pathways employed by video cards, PCI Express solid-state drives, and other PCIe internal cards. (Typical mainstream Intel chips top out at 16 lanes.) 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.
Core X is a platform to consider if you're looking at an SLI or CrossFire multiple-video-card gaming rig (less relevant these days, with Nvidia winding down support for SLI or NVLink in most of its newest video cards) or a PCIe SSD array. Note, however, that the number of PCI Express lanes supported can vary depending on the Core X-Series CPU and motherboard combination you choose. Examine the CPU's spec sheet and our individual chip reviews for per-processor details.
The Core X-Series chips have seen two major refreshes since their debut, going from the initial 7000 series under the names "Skylake-X" and "Kaby Lake-X" to the all-"Skylake-X" 9000 series in 2018 and then the "Cascade Lake-X" 1000 series in 2019. Here's a summary of the latter two generations...
All these chips work under a single Core X-Series chipset, the Intel X299, which is all about providing the extreme I/O and lane bandwidth that users of this platform seek. 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. (These were the Core i5-7640X and the Core i7-7740X.) They have been discontinued, and you should avoid them. They were quixotic entry-level chips on this expensive-to-enter platform and made little sense for most users.
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. All of the Core X-Series chips have model numbers ending in X and are unlocked for overclocking. The top-end model at the moment is the 18-core/36-thread Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition, which lists for $979. The Extreme Edition label usually denotes the top chip in a given Core X-Series generation.
(Examples: See our reviews of the Core i7-7820X, the Core i9-7900X, the Core i9-7960X, the Core i9-7980XE Extreme Edition, the Core i9-9980XE Extreme Edition, and the Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition.)
AMD Ryzen A Series: Budget Dual-Purpose Chips
Turning to AMD, the A series has long been the company's low-cost CPU line that features decent integrated graphics. These chips are meant as inexpensive engines for productivity work and educational use, and in some cases light gaming. Unlike Intel and its mainly more modest IGPs, AMD targets the best of its CPU/GPU combo chips (some of which fall under the Ryzen family; we'll get to them in the next section) as budget-friendly solutions for casual gamers. These are affordable choices for shoppers who want to avoid buying a dedicated graphics card.
From the point of view of system upgraders or builders, however, the AMD A series chips have only minimal appeal these days. They're more frequently found in prebuilt budget desktops, and even in those systems are now fading out in favor of low-end Ryzen 3 CPUs. The last A series chips (dubbed "Bristol Ridge") work on the same AMD Socket AM4 that the Ryzens below support. 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).
AMD Ryzen: The Mainstream Alternative
AMD's mainstream Ryzen processors are, on the whole, excellent values for everyday users and quite a few power users. Most are CPUs only, obliging you to invest in a discrete graphics card. Parts without integrated graphics have model numbers ending in "0" or "X."
With its "Raven Ridge" series of Ryzen chips (plus a few Athlon-branded CPUs), AMD integrated a form of its Vega graphics onto the CPU die. 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. Their on-chip graphics are no match for even a middling video card, but they outpace Intel's HD and UHD Graphics solutions (and even its latest Iris Xe IGPs) and can manage some decent gaming if you dial down the resolution and detail settings.
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. (Ryzen 4000 desktop processors were sold only to OEMs, not end-user PC builders.) These graphics-less chips deliver core and thread counts that have upended the economies of the mainstream market. They are broken into Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and (since the third gen) Ryzen 9 classes, similar to Intel's Core subgroups. Here's a look at the Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series, the most relevant here in 2021...
Note: We are listing only the retail chips above. AMD also offers a few chip models not listed only to commercial system makers, as well as a Ryzen Pro line for business deployments. 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. All are unlocked for overclocking, if you are so inclined. And their bundled cooling solutions (when included, anyway) are attractive, adequate to running at stock speeds, and good values.
The Ryzen 5 line is especially attractive as a mainstream value pick. 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). With the latest generation, all come bundled with a nifty-looking air cooler from AMD's Wraith line. The latest Ryzen 3 third-generation chips (4C/8T) are also excellent buys for gamers.
As with the mainstream Intel lines, you'll want to match up your motherboard chipset with your usage case. All of the Ryzen chips run on the AM4 socket; older motherboards may require a BIOS update for newer chips, but compatibility is more widespread than with 6th to 9th Gen Intel Socket 1151 Core CPUs and their chipset-dependent complexities. Still, not all old chips run on the newest boards and vice versa; check motherboard details for exact CPU support.
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). An X470 chipset will give you access to slightly higher system-memory clocks than X370, as well as support for StoreMI, a flexible storage-management feature that lets you pair an SSD and a hard drive to facilitate keeping your most frequently accessed files and programs on the faster drive. 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.
(Examples: See our reviews of the Ryzen 3 2200G, the Ryzen 5 2600X, the Ryzen 7 2700X, the Ryzen 3 3200G, the Ryzen 3 3300X, the Ryzen 5 3600X, the Ryzen 5 3400G, the Ryzen 7 3700X, the Ryzen 9 3900X, and the Ryzen 9 3950X from earlier generations. For the current generation, check out the Ryzen 5 5600X, the Ryzen 7 5800X, the Ryzen 9 5900X, and the Ryzen 9 5950X.)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper: Maximum Cores and Threads
Threadripper! As its aggro name suggests, the Ryzen Threadripper is all about maximum cores and threads for the money. It's AMD's equivalent to Intel's Core X-Series, and for many users a better value.
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. All Threadripper CPUs are overclockable.
Like the Ryzens, the Threadripper chips have passed through three generations to date. 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 third-gen Threadrippers introduced a new platform with a socket called sTRX4 and a chipset dubbed TRX40. The first two generations employ a single high-end chipset, the AMD X399. 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.
Threadripper processors are huge—their big dies are derived from AMD's EPYC server chips—and require special coolers or brackets. Most existing coolers won't work with TR4 or sTRX4, and most Threadripper desktops are liquid-cooled. You can find a few Threadripper air coolers, which are enormous, such as AMD's own Wraith Ripper or the wonderfully named Fryzen from Deepcool, but you'll have to factor in the cost of a heavy-duty air or liquid solution since Threadripper chips, like Intel Core X, don't include a cooler in the box.
Another expense: a deluxe motherboard. As with the Intel Core X-Series, AMD X399- and TRX40-based boards are geared to extreme power users and enthusiasts. At this writing, prices started at around $250 for the lowest-end X399 boards and $400 for the cheapest TRX40 ones.
The second generation split the Threadripper line into two tiers, the "ordinary" X series and higher-end WX chips. The latter comprise the 24C/48T Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX and 32C/64T Threadripper 2990WX. 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). You'll want to read our 2970WX review, though, for some caveats around these specific extreme chips.
In 2020, AMD also introduced a new Threadripper Pro line, which was initially introduced only in select Lenovo workstations. At CES 2021, however, AMD announced that Threadripper Pro CPUs would be made available to end users, with pricing disclosed in late January. (The three available chips range from a 16-core Threadripper Pro 3955WX at $1,149 to a 64-core Threadripper Pro 3995WX.)
Threadripper Pro supplies up to 128 PCI Express 4.0 lanes. 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. It requires a unique chipset, the WRX80. So far, Asus, Gigabyte, and Supermicro have unveiled WRX80 motherboards.
(Examples: See our reviews of the Ryzen Threadripper 1920X, the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X, the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX, the Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, and the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, as well as our first tests with Threadripper Pro.)
What Kind of CPU Cooler Do I Need?
When you're buying a new CPU, you may also need to budget for a new CPU cooler. 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.
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. 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. The same applies to the Intel Core X-Series, as well as the AMD Threadripper line: It's a BYO cooler party in these cases.
All retail third-gen AMD Ryzens (apart from the Ryzen 9 3950X and the Threadrippers) come with one of several distinct air coolers in the AMD Wraith family: the Stealth, the Spire, or the Prism. The first-, second-, and fourth-generation Ryzens are a mixed bag. Some of these chips come with no cooler; others are bundled with one of the Wraiths. 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. (The highest-end Ryzen chips tend to lack bundled coolers in general, again presuming you'll want to supply your own.) You'll want to check at time of purchase what's in the box. 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.
If you're looking for a new cooler to pair up with a new CPU, an important spec to be aware of is the chip's thermal design power (TDP) rating. TDP is relevant as a yardstick for the heat output that the cooler will have to handle. Any cooler you are looking at should (a.) be compatible with the CPU socket type you're installing it on, and (b.) support at a minimum the TDP rating of the chip. Note that some cooler manufacturers will express this support simply in terms of specific CPUs or lines, others as a maximum TDP rating.
Should you go with air cooling or liquid cooling? In most cases, for running at stock speeds, air cooling is just fine, and you won't need more than the stock cooler designed to handle the CPU it's boxed with. Often, it'll be able to accommodate modest overclocks as well.
Liquid cooling has an exotic cachet for many users, but today's all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers from Cooler Master, Corsair, Deepcool, NZXT, and others have made water-cooling your PC as safe and easy as installing a case fan. Still, it's fine to leave liquid cooling to the hardcore overclocking set. The only exception that calls for liquid cooling by default is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper. Chances are, any cooler you owned before won't work with Threadripper's larger TR4 or sTRX4 sockets, and the few air-cooling solutions available for Threadripper are, as we said, colossal.
Should You Consider Overclocking?
Overclocking—running a CPU at a higher-than-stock clock speed—is easier than it has ever been, but is still a process for the patient at heart. On the whole, we'd chalk up most gains from overclocking as modest at best for productivity users, and recommend leaving the practice to hobbyists and enthusiasts.
Why? Overclocking can void your CPU's warranty, and there's no guarantee that you'll gain much from it. (Overclocking suitability varies from chip sample to chip sample, what's known in enthusiast circles as the "silicon lottery.") 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. Once you've made those investments, you're often better off just getting a faster CPU in the first place.
That said, if you want to give it a go, know your overclockables! Among mainstream Intel Core Socket 1151 and 1200 processors, look for models with a "K" (unlocked) or "KF" (unlocked with no integrated graphics) suffix. All AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Threadripper, and Intel Core X-Series chips can be overclocked, as can all X399 and X299 chipset motherboards. With Intel Socket 1151, you'll want a Z390 or Z370 motherboard; with Socket 1200, look for a Z490 or Z590 platform; and with Ryzen, look for an X570, X470, X370, B550, B450, or B350 board.
You'll also want to make sure the cooler is adequate, per our advice above. 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. (The heat output you'll need to dissipate will be greater than the chip's rating.)
The Bottom Line
You'll want to check out our individual reviews and compare scores on tests like Cinebench and Handbrake for a relative idea of different processors' performance. However, our cheat sheet below will give you a good basic idea of the chip lines to look at, depending on what you do.
You're looking to do…
Basic productivity work. Consider an Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor on Socket 1151 or 1200, or an AMD Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 on Socket AM4. Note that a straight-up Ryzen chip will require a separate video card. Consider one of the Ryzen G chips if you plan on some very light gaming or just don't need a graphics card. (Just make sure the motherboard has video outputs!)
Expect to pay roughly $100 to $250 for a Ryzen G processor. (They may be inflated a bit in price here in 2021, given the scorchingly high price of separate graphics cards.) Pricier G Series Ryzens are expected in the summer of 2021, according to AMD's latest news at this writing from Computex 2021 regarding new Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 G series chips. For very basic use, an under-$100 Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon can suffice; we found the latest Athlons slightly better values.
Picks: AMD Athlon 200GE, Intel Pentium Gold G5600, AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
Discrete-graphics-card gaming on a budget. See above regarding the Ryzen G parts if money is extremely tight. If you own (or plan to splurge on) a video card, though, consider a Core i5 or Ryzen 3 or 5 for maximum value. The 2020 Ryzen 3s are especially strong.
Notably, if it will let you get a better video card in this scenario, you can even opt for a slightly older 9th Generation Core i5 or third-gen Ryzen 5. Expect to pay roughly $150 to $200, possibly a bit less if you opt for a previous-gen chip. (We've seen good deals on third-gen Ryzens, though the chip shortages from late 2020 that have persisted into 2021 have put a damper even on these older chips.)
Picks: Intel Core i5-10400, AMD Ryzen 3 3300X, AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Enthusiast, high-refresh-rate gaming. Here, you want to be sure that your CPU isn't bottlenecking your GPU. Assuming you're looking at a high-end graphics card, you'll want a CPU to match.
Intel's Core i7-9700K (on Socket 1151), Core i7-10700K, and Core i7-11700K (on Socket 1200) are favorites of many serious gamers, with the Core i9 equivalents in each case the real luxury picks. Expect to pay roughly $250 to $400, or more for the Core i9 chips. 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. Also consider the slightly cheaper non-"K" variants if you don't plan to overclock.
Picks: Intel Core i7-9700K, Intel Core i9-10900K, Core i7-11700K, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Casual or enthusiast media-content creation. In this space, it's all about how true the statement "My time is money" is and how multithreaded your go-to applications are. Casual content creators can get by with the CPUs we recommended for enthusiast gamers (the Core i9-11900K is 8C/16T, the Core i9-10900K is 10C/20T, and the Ryzen 7 3700X and 5800X are 8C/16T), with the Core i7-11700K (8C/16T) also quite viable. A significant exception: The eight-core Core i7-9700K lacks Hyper-Threading and is less of a value for this crowd. Expect to pay about $250 to $700.
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. The AMD X399/sTR4 platform is a dead end, but the value proposition of those chips is still very good.
Picks: Intel Core i9-10900K, Intel Core i7-11700K, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
Hardcore/professional content creation. 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. Core X-Series and Ryzen Threadripper were made for this market. Intel's lower-end Xeon workstation CPUs also come into play if you're running apps with independent software vendor (ISV) certifications and a need for ECC memory, but if you need those things, you should follow software makers' recommendations carefully.
The sky is the limit here. The latest 10th Generation, top-end Intel Core X-Series chips top out around $1,000, while the latest non-Pro Threadrippers are in the $1,200 to $2,000 range, with the extra-double-elite 64-core Threadripper 3990X, as mentioned, priced at $3,990. The best values, to our eyes, are closer to the $1,000 mark. Here, too, previous-gen (Socket TR4, on the X399 chipset) Threadrippers remain great values despite the sunsetting of their platform.
Picks: Intel Core i9-10980X Extreme Edition, Intel Xeon W-2295, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
So, Which CPU Should I Buy?
Below are the down-and-dirty specs for (and links to deep-dive reviews of) most of the CPUs recommended above. Check them out for more specific benchmarking details and more info on their supported platforms.
