The 10 Best CPUs for Desktop Gaming in 2025

In our ranking guides, we choose the pieces of hardware that we believe are most relevant in each case, usually those on which we have had time to test and analyze. This guide, in particular, is dedicated to gaming processors for desktop systems. This means that you won’t see some of the most powerful processors on the market, such as Xeon, EPYC or AMD’s Threadripper, which are intended for other types of PCs.

This guide is dynamic and we will update it as new models enter our laboratory, today we have updated with our review of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which enters strongly on the list, and are good enough, not only in pure power, to be considered within the top 10 on the market. It is, without a doubt, a debatable ranking, but it is based on our technical criteria and also on the personal sensations that have left us after days or months of use.

1. AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

A work of art, AMD has corrected all the flaws of the previous generation of X3D processors with dual CCDs. This one is fast using all of its cores and even more so when it can take advantage of only its cores with the extra cache of the main CCD, which adds up to 96 MB of cache. A real beast that maintains the type with a more specialized model such as the 9800X3D, offering a significant plus of performance in applications that can take advantage of its density of 16 cores and 32 process threads. A beast where the only downside is the price.

With high consumption, it is a processor that we must pamper in all aspects, a high-end that must be accompanied by low latency memories and a motherboard capable of getting the most out of it. However, it is also a perfect processor for a high-performance workstation where the investment in the rest of the components is from the home market, so it is a really smart and very balanced option for those looking for a labor-intensive processor.

2. AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D

It is a portentous processor, with a massive configuration of cores: no less than 12 cores with 24 threads of process. It is the second fastest desktop processor of this generation from AMD. It has gone more unnoticed, since AMD itself has not promoted it too much, but it has some interesting elements, such as its high-capacity cache (128MB level 3), which is distributed among fewer cores, which seems to have interesting advantages in performance.

Even so, in general, it is not faster than its big brother, which I think will continue in our first position until AMD decides to release new processor models, which may arrive as early as next year, or that Intel really has something revolutionary with the Intel Core Ultra 300, which should not be long in coming.

Among the most striking data of this processor are the aforementioned cache, the 120W TDP consumption (a remarkable fact for a processor of these characteristics) and its high turbo frequencies, reaching 5.6GHz, although not in all cores.

3. AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

I don’t discover America presenting this processor as one of the references for gamers; It’s become more than support, it’s a necessity if you’re spending a few thousand dollars on graphics. If you want to get the most out of a GeForce RTX 5090 or GeForce RTX 5080, you need one of these on your side or you’re losing money on your graphics investment.

It is a processor that has moderate consumption, high sustained turbo frequencies and those 96 MB of third-level cache that allow substantial performance improvements, and not only in games, where it undoubtedly shines, but in many professional applications where the repetitive calculations of basic operations benefit substantially from this important extra cache.

Its configuration with the cache under the CCD, with 8 cores and 16 threads, allows this generation to overclock and also sustain very high frequencies. It’s a winning bet if we accompany it with the right graphics and low-latency memories.

4. Intel Core Ultra 9 285K

Perhaps the blue brand is not going through its best moments in the desktop processor market, with AMD giving strength in this segment, but this processor should not be underestimated and even less so for the prices it has been handling lately. Its 8 performance cores offer a very solid performance that Intel has strengthened in recent months with new BIOS, new drivers and improved Windows 11 power profiles. It is also accompanied by 16 efficiency cores that produce high-quality multitasking, with substantial improvements of these cores over previous generations.

A total of 24 process wires and very high working frequencies, although with a significant dependence on cooling. If we are able to keep its 240 watts of load at bay, we will have a very powerful processor with very attractive prices. It has a solid platform, even in the lower chipset ranges, but if we want to take advantage of its overclocking capabilities, we will have to make use of more expensive motherboards, although lately they are also quite accessible. A powerful and balanced solution that delivers great results in games and beyond.

5. AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

Our team has chosen this processor as the heart to create a powerful gaming computer for 2000 euros. You can find it here. For me it is a tremendously balanced processor that achieves excellent performance results with mid-range and upper-mid-range graphics engines. With its 105W power configuration, that headroom AMD has allowed over its 65W launch setup, it offers sustained frequencies very similar to the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Although it does not have its raw power in games, it maintains the rate and does so with a significantly lower price.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X features a single full CCD. That is, 8 cores with 16 process threads based on Zen 5 architecture. It is a really versatile and very grateful processor that we can also mount in mid-range chipsets with outstanding results. With a little proper cooling, the results are really good. For me, the most balanced processor of its generation and one of the processors that I recommend the most to anyone who asks me.

6. Intel Core Ultra 7 265K

With Intel’s Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, I feel a bit like with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X. They are processors that shine in their price range. This processor is a real joy because it combines power with a good number of performance cores, the same as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, a total of 8 P cores, and only four less E cores, adding 12 in this case, it is a great option that almost cuts the price in half.

It is a really capable processor, which has little to envy to the higher-end model, except for a few MHz less turbo frequencies. It is true that it suffers from the same as any high-performance processor of this generation: its turbo consumption is far from what its TDP indicates. In this case, we can also go up to 230 W, so we have to provide it with adequate cooling. If we do so, we will have a powerful gaming ally that, in addition, will double perfectly as a working processor. With its price, it is a winning option.

7. AMD Ryzen 5 9600X

For our sixth place in the ranking, we have positioned a six-core processor and twelve threads of process, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X. Here we start to reduce cores, but to gain in return on investment, because these processors respond wonderfully in games and give us room to invest in more powerful graphics. It has everything we expect from the Zen 5 architecture, and its available thread count still achieves excellent agility results in games and working on any supported operating system.

This model, like its big brother, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, was one of those that debuted the Ryzen 9000 range of desktop processors shortly after last summer. It has also received that improvement, which we can use in any recent BIOS, to work at a higher TDP, from 65 to no less than 105 watts, which provides a substantial improvement in the supported frequencies. It’s easy to see, without much cooling, with all of its cores clocked at over 5GHz completely stable at very tight temperatures. That creates a lot of potential in applications where having fast cores, with the right amount, is more optimal.

8. AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

If I’m honest with myself, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D should be higher, in the top positions, but I think the most modern ranges deserve the limelight. The only downside to the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is that it has become a very elusive option, well-priced but hard to find in stock. In our comparator you have several options, for just over 350 euros, price of a Ryzen 7 9700X, and you only have to envy it a few MHz less in turbo mode.

It has the same cache as the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, a total of 96 MB L3 thanks to the 3D V-Cache extension, but in this generation the cache was on top of the processing units, which prevented some cooling capacity and they were completely limited in overclocking. Even so, it is a great processor and a good recommendation for those who know how to take advantage of opportunities and do not have the desire to have the models with the most recent numbers.

9. Intel Core Ultra 5 245K

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is another completely underrated Arrow Lake-S processor. It’s a great processor, the gateway to this generation’s K-series with overclocking options. Its configuration is 6 P-Core accompanied by 8 E-Core. Agile, with high sustained turbo frequencies and access to the same connective capabilities of its higher-end siblings.

It is in fact cooler, noticeably cooler, with on-load consumption of about 190 W, so we can cool it more easily; It supports good compact single-fan conventional heatsinks, and it’s also easier to integrate into very compact systems where we want to combine performance and reduced volumes. Perfect for an ITX configuration that those of us who love good PC hardware appreciate so much, for that combination of performance and compact size that allows us to have a clearer and more organized desktop.

10. Intel Core i7-14700K

The Intel Core i7-14700K was actually a turning point where Intel introduced more cores in this mid-range. It is the predecessor of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and, for me, it is still one of the best processors of recent times. It has an impressive cost-to-power ratio and we can find very cheap motherboards to support it. In addition, this generation also supported DDR4 memory, so we can build a great PC for gaming with a minimum investment.

It has a configuration of 8 P-Core cores, 12 E-Core cores, and high frequencies of up to 5.5GHz in turbo mode. In our tests it stood out for being able to sustain turbo frequencies very well, with all its P cores in 5.5GHz in a completely stable way, with moderate temperatures, but always with a high consumption of more than 200W. If given the right love, it returns it with performance levels that have nothing to envy to subsequent generations and, this model, in addition, supports Hyper-Threading in its P cores.

11. AMD Ryzen 7 7700

My last choice of this ranking of processors for gaming is also dedicated to one of the processors that I have liked the most of the last generations, AMD Ryzen 7 7700. This is an 8-core, energy-efficient model that could go unnoticed by normal eyes as a great processor to have in any PC, with great value for money. What this model hides is also a virtuoso processor in games because, in reality, it has everything you need.

It is because it has a powerful configuration of 8 cores, like its big brothers, and a consumption of 65W, as the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X initially had, but it also has an overclocking potential, without doing anything special, which allows it to sustain very high frequencies. Add to that the fact that it has a fast architecture, cheap plates at your fingertips and excellent temperature performance. It can give life to gaming PCs of all kinds, even very compact ones. It is the last on the list, but on a very demanding list.