When it comes to gaming, it is safe to say that your CPU is the second most important feature for your PC’s performance, after your graphics card. A good gaming CPU is responsible for many in-game features like AI functionality and will ensure that the rest of your system is working properly. Get a weak CPU and it may even bottleneck your GPU, preventing it from reaching its full potential.
The best gaming CPU for you will be the one that fits your system, so just getting the top-end CPU in the market won’t be the optimal choice for everybody. Of course, given the fact that your CPU determines the general performance of your PC and it lasts longer than your GPU, getting a higher-tier processor can future-proof your system.
On top of these different variables, the processor market is more competitive than ever, so we have more choices than we know what to do with. Because of this, getting the best gaming processor for your system can be a difficult choice to make. To help you out in your adventure, we compiled this list of the best processors for gaming 2020 has to offer.
| Sl. No. | Processor | Cores/Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock | Socket | TDP |
| 1 | AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | 12/24 | 3.8GHz | 4.6GHz | AM4 | 105W |
| 2 | Intel Core i9-10900K | 10/20 | 3.7GHz | 5.3Ghz | LGA1200 | 95W |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X | 8/16 | 3.6GHz | 4.4GHz | AM4 | 65W |
| 4 | Intel Core i5-10600K | 6/12 | 4.1GHz | 4.8GHz | LGA1200 | 128W |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | 6/12 | 3.8GHz | 4.4GHz | AM4 | 95W |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen 9 3950X | 16/32 | 3.5GHz | 4.7GHz | AM4 | 105W |
| 7 | AMD Ryzen 3 3300X | 4/8 | 3.5GHz | 4.3GHz | AM4 | 65W |
| 8 | AMD Ryzen 3 3200G | 4/4 | 3.6GHz | 4GHz | AM4 | 65W |
| 9 | Intel Core i7-9400F | 6/6 | 2.9GHz | 4.1GHz | LGA1151 | 65W |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen 5 3400G | 4/8 | 3.7GHz | 4.2GHz | AM4 | 65W |
1. AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
In terms of value, AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is easily the best high-end gaming CPU for gamers that have really strong rigs. It features 12 cores and 24 threads with a base clock speed of 3.8GHz, and it comes with a Wraith Prism cooler for just over $400.
While you can upgrade to Ryzen 9 3950X, the $250 price difference is a steep increase and it also doesn’t come with a cooler. 3900X, on the other hand, provides immense value for its performance, both for gaming and other multimedia usages.
+ Excellent price/performance ratio
+ Power efficient
+ Includes a good cooler
+ PCI Express 4.0
– Single-core performance is a bit lacking
2. Intel Core i9 10900K
When it comes to Intel’s side on the top-end gaming processors, Core i9 10900K takes the title of being the fastest gaming CPU on the market, but it comes with a price. Its price/performance ratio isn’t as good as the 3rd generation AMD CPU’s, but it’s the fastest processor for gaming regardless.
If you have a motherboard that supports the new LGA 1200 socket and you want the best in the market regardless of value, this 10-core processor with 20 threads and a base clock speed of 3.7Ghz that’s capable of going up to 5.3GHz will make your PC fly for many, many years.
+ Best gaming performance in the market
+ Great overclocking potential
+ Excellent single and multi-core performance
– A bit pricy
3. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Near the upper-middle class of the AMD’s gaming processors, we have the little brother of the 3900X, Ryzen 7 3700X. With a price tag that’s $120 lower than of 3900X’s, it still provides great value in both games and creative work like video editing.
From a pure gaming perspective, though, it’s around 9 percent slower than its Intel rival, i7 9700K, but this difference becomes nearly invisible around the 60-144 FPS range. Plus, it makes up for this with better performance in multi-threaded workloads like 3D rendering and streaming.
+ Low power consumption
+ Wraith Prism RGB Cooler
+ Good value
+ Great both in and out of games
– Slightly worse gaming performance than its rival
4. Intel Core i5-10600K
Intel’s Core i5-10600K is a substantial upgrade from the 9600K of the last generation, with a noticeably higher base clock speed of 4.1GHz that can go up to 4.8GHz. While it still has 6 cores, the thread number is doubled to 12.
In terms of gaming performance, it beats AMD’s Ryzen 3600, 3600X, 3700X, and even 3900X in some scenarios thanks to its high clock speed, but this isn’t surprising as 10600K is priced around $300. While it doesn’t come with a bundled cooler, if you get a decent cooler on your own, you can easily overclock this CPU to boost its beastly power even more.
+ Amazing gaming performance
+ Easy to overlock
+ Good value
– High power consumption
5.AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Around the $200 price range, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is the best mid-range CPU for gaming for now. No other current-gen processor in this price range provides this performance for both gaming and productivity, which still gives AMD an edge in the CPU market even 1 year after its release.
With the added value of a decent bundled cooler, this hexacore processor with 12 threads and a base clock speed of 3.6GHz beats its competitor, Intel Core i5-9600K, in both gaming and multithread applications.
+ Great performance in every scenario
+ Unmatched value in its price range
+ Decent cooler included
– Hard to overclock
6. AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
While the jump from 3900X to 3950X may seem small when you look at their names, this couldn’t be further from the truth. AMD Ryzen 9 3950X contains much more processing power with 16 cores and 32 threads at a base clock speed of 3.5GHz that can go up to 4.7GHz.
While its gaming performance is excellent, 3950X is the best CPU for gamers that want to stream and create/edit videos, since its 16 cores will eat these tasks for breakfast. If you are into content creation, AMD Ryzen 9 3950X provides the best value even at $750.
+ 16 cores
+ Great for multicore applications
+ Power efficient
+ Good value for a top-end CPU
– A bit of an overkill for just gaming
7. AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
If you are building an affordable gaming PC, AMD’s Ryzen 3 3300X may be an excellent choice for you. After its extremely successful launch earlier this year, it quickly grabbed the title of the best budget CPU for gaming from Ryzen 5 2600.
While it has fewer cores and threads than the Ryzen 5 2600, its single-core performance (which affects gaming performance a lot more) is significantly better. With 4 cores, 8 threads, and a base clock speed of 3.5GHz with the capability of going up to 4.3GHz with boost, this $120 CPU can easily push your mid-range graphics cards to its full potential.
+ Affordable
+ Excellent gaming performance for its price
+ Low power consumption
– Included Wraith Stealth cooler could have been better
8. AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
Do you want to go even cheaper than the 3300X? Then welcome the 4-core/4-thread AMD Ryzen 3 3200G. Its 3.6GHz/4GHz base/boost clock speeds provide great gaming performance for their price and can easily power a mid-range graphics card.
The interesting fact about this CPU is that it may not need a graphics card as the Radeon RX Vega 8 IGP (integrated graphics processor) is surprisingly powerful for an IGP. So, if you are into playing small and casual games that don’t have fancy graphics, you can easily get away with not getting a discrete graphics card at all and just use the integrated graphics instead. Shocking, right?
+ Surprisingly effective integrated graphics card
+ Very cheap
+ Good gaming performance
– No multi-threading
9. Intel Core i5-9400F
Intel’s side of the budget gaming CPUs is a bit more silent as the lower-end models of the 10th generation Intel processors haven’t come out yet, but that doesn’t mean you are out of options if you are after building an Intel-based affordable gaming PC.
Last generation’s i5-9400F is still a viable option as its 6 cores can go from the base 2.9GHz to 4.1GHz on boost during gaming, which is enough to push mid-range GPUs to their limit. While the lack of multithreading support is heartbreaking, this doesn’t matter that much for solely gaming purposes.
+ Inexpensive
+ Great gaming performance
+ Included cooler
– No multithreading and overclocking
10AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
If you liked the idea of getting both a good CPU and a capable graphics unit with 3200G but you have a bigger budget than just $100, give AMD Ryzen 5 3400G a chance. While it has 4 cores like 3200G, its slightly higher base/boost clocks speeds (3.7GHz/4.2GHz), and the multithreading support makes this CPU an even more attractive choice.
The integrated graphics processor is upgraded as well. The included Radeon RX Vega 11 can run most undemanding games on 1080p easily, making this $150 CPU an unmatched choice for entry-level gaming PCs.
+ Amazing value
+ Radeon RX Vega 11 is powerful
+ Included cooler
– Only 4 cores
