Best intel cpu: The Best CPU for Gaming in 2022 — Top Gaming CPUs for the Money

Intel Core i9-12900K is the best high quality

processor

If you’re looking for great out-of-the-box gaming performance but also love to enjoy overclocking, this chip is the perfect all-in-one solution for your needs. The i9-12900K is Intel’s flagship processor from the all-new 12th Gen Alder Lake processor lineup, delivering all the power you need for high-end gaming and workflow scenarios.

What we liked :

• Outperforms Ryzen 9 5950X in most workloads
• Significantly cheaper than Ryzen 9 5950X
• DDR5 memory support
• Solid headroom for overclocking
• PCIe 5. 0 on supported

motherboards

What disappointed us :

• High power requirements
• Gets a little warm

The Intel i9-12900K is Intel’s latest flagship processor that boasts excellent results in high performance benchmarks and great overclocking potential when paired with a matching Z69 motherboard0. While Ryzen held the crown in terms of best processor overall, the 12900K may just have reclaimed the title of best processor for gaming and overclocking.

When it comes to gaming, the 12900K outperforms the Ryzen in almost every scenario.

The new 16-core/24-thread processor operates at a base frequency of 3.9 GHz and can be easily overclocked to 5.20 GHz. It can smash pretty much anything you throw at it out of the box and will only slow down due to the inevitable GPU bottleneck.

The real pleasure comes when users want to overclock this processor. It’s one of the best overclocking options out there, and initial reports have shown extreme cooling settings to reach 7GHz on a single core. It’s pretty damn impressive, to say the least. If you don’t have liquid nitrogen on hand, don’t worry, you can still see a massive clock speed improvement with a decent AIO cooler thanks to the Z690 which supports overclocking so much.

Of course, this is not the best value for money, but it is definitely the best processor option from Intel.

Core i9-12900KS — the fastest Intel

processor
The

Core i9-12900KS offers the highest performance of any processor on the market today. It is intended for users who want the best of the best without regard to cost-effectiveness.

What we liked :

• Amazing single-core and multi-core performance
• DDR5 memory support
• Still faster than the best AMD

has to offer

What disappointed us :

• Dear
• Very hot and energy intensive

For a long time, the Core i9-12900K was the undisputed king of the best processors on the market, but now it faces competition from itself. Intel Core i9The -12900KS is a custom built and overclocked 12900K that extends the range a bit. While not much better than the 12900K, it is better, making it Intel’s fastest processor.

The

has the same eight P (performance) and eight E (efficiency) cores as the 12900K, the same 24 threads and high clock speeds. The difference is that these high clock speeds are slightly higher than . It can run at 5.5 GHz on a couple of cores at the same time and at 5.2 GHz on all at once, which gives it a slight advantage over the 12900K in most games and applications, although this is not always the case.

However, while it’s a fantastic desktop processor, it’s not without its flaws. At the moment is the fastest Intel processor, but it is not the best processor in terms of price-performance ratio. It’s quite expensive compared to the Core i9-12900K and even more so compared to mid-range offerings.

It also doesn’t deliver enough performance gains to really justify the price increase, and places even higher demands on TDP.

Buy it if you care about performance over your budget, but if you’re trying to keep the price reasonable, the Core i9-12900KS might not be what you’re looking for.

Core i7-12700K is the best Intel processor for gamers

The

Core i7-12700K offers more value than the Core i9-12900K while maintaining excellent gaming performance. Suitable for gamers who want to play AAA games but still want to save some money.

What we like :

• Much cheaper than the Core i9-12900K
• Excellent gaming performance
• Can be overclocked

What disappointed us :

• Not as good as Core i9-12900K
• Additional cooler required

If you’re building a gaming PC, choosing the right graphics card may be important, but the processor is just as important. However, the choice of a gaming processor is a rather delicate balance — you really are not 9The 0057 needs the the best of the best (in this case the Core i9-12900K), but you still need a solid processor. There are many games that benefit from a good processor, but you don’t have to pay extra to get the highest quality product. This is where the Intel Core i7-12700K comes to the rescue.

This Alder Lake processor is another gem in the line that straddles the fine line between performance and price, and it does it well. It serves a total of 12 cores (eight in performance and four in efficiency), bringing it closer to the Core i9-12900K with its 16 cores. This processor also has a base clock of 3.6 GHz and boost up to 5.0 GHz. It can be overclocked to achieve even more.

This processor will maintain excellent performance while being cheaper than the Core i9-12900K. If you want something better than the Core i5-12600K but don’t want to pay extra, this processor should be your choice and will appeal to gamers who don’t really need the extra power provided by the 12900K.

Core i5-12600K — the best processor from Intel

The

Core i5-12600K is the best processor you can buy right now. This is not only the best Intel processor or the best gaming processor, but also the best processor in general.

What we liked :

• Great play experience
• Fantastic value for money
• Hybrid architecture makes it robust for multi-tasking applications

What disappointed us :

• This is not the most powerful processor from Intel

The

Core i5-12600K is one of the best Intel processors you can buy right now. It comes with 10 cores: six performance cores and four efficiency cores. High-performance cores handle games, while ultra-efficient cores provide additional throughput for more demanding workloads.

The single-core improvements of 12th generation Intel processors shine in the Core i5-12600K. In games, it can even outperform the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in some cases, and this processor is almost three times more expensive. Overall, it manages to top the gaming charts, only surpassed by the more expensive Intel 12th generation processors, as well as some of AMD’s high-end options like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which, again, is more expensive than the Core i5-12600K.

It also benefits from a 12th generation hybrid architecture. This class of CPU is best for pure gaming. For gaming and streaming, we generally recommend increasing the pitch. This does not apply to the Core i5-12600K. 10 cores provide enough bandwidth for gaming and streaming, which is rare on a processor at this price.

Core i9-12900H — the best mobile processor Intel

The

Core i9-12900H is a high performance processor for gamers and professionals. It will be appreciated by gamers and other users for whom performance is more important than price.

What we liked :

• One of the best mobile processors on the market
• Powerful for gaming and productivity
• Acceptable power consumption for this performance level

What disappointed us :

• Hard to find

Alder Lake mobile processors are slowly becoming the norm in some of the best gaming laptops, introducing a new generation of gaming fans on the go. This brings us to the Intel Core i9-12900H, a fantastic, albeit pricey, mobile processor.

This is a high performance Intel processor with 14 cores (six of which are performance and eight are efficient) and 20 threads, and 24 MB of integrated Intel Smart Cache. Clock speeds reach new heights for mobile processors at 5.00 GHz in Turbo mode.

This processor is a performance beast and can handle just about anything. There are more powerful Intel mobile processors like the Core i9-12900HX with 16 cores and 24 threads, but the Core i9-12900H tends to be slightly cheaper and it doesn’t affect battery life as much.

In the example above, the Core i9-12900H is housed inside an Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 laptop paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. Together, these two components are sure to provide next-level gaming experience, and depending on the configuration, the price is still quite reasonable. Get it if you want to play AAA games without problems, but don’t necessarily want to spend a fortune on a laptop.

i5-11600K — the best processor of the previous generation Intel

The 11th Gen Intel Rocket Lake platform isn’t perfect, but the Core i5-11600K is still a decent option. It’s still a solid mid-range processor and easy to find on the market.

What we liked :

• Works well for a mid-range processor
• Handles most gaming tasks
• Cheaper than latest generation processors

What disappointed us :

• This is the previous generation, so modern processors are superior to it

It’s worse than the Core i5-12600K in the long run, but you might be able to buy the chip for an incredibly low price, leaving a bit more budget for one of the best graphics cards.

It depends on the game, but the 11600K retains a small but measurable advantage over the 10600K in most games. In some games like Death Stranding , 11600K beats 10700K, can match 10900K in others. While not quite the generational improvement that Intel fans were hoping for, the 11600K proves you don’t need a super-performing CPU for gaming.

Generation after generation improvements are more evident in non-game tasks. The 11600K outperforms Intel’s latest generation offerings and offers stronger competition to AMD’s mid-range chips in performance-enhancing tasks by leveraging application-specific accelerators. Single-core performance has also gone up without much compromise in multi-core performance.

The

11600K is a great gaming processor. It comes with enough power for gaming while offering decent power for productivity tasks, and it’s a combination that’s hard to replicate for $20K. However, the 12600K is the best option, so only go for the 11600K if you can find it at a big discount.

Intel Core i5-10400 — the best budget processor Intel

At the opposite end of the price spectrum is the i5-10400, Intel’s ultra-budget offering. Delivering decent gaming performance at a low price is what this processor is for. While it doesn’t have overclocking potential, it still delivers pretty good gaming performance right out of the box. A great choice for budget PCs looking for good entry-level gaming performance.

What we liked :

• Very affordable price
• Offers decent gaming performance for the price of

What disappointed us :

• New socket requires new motherboard
• No integrated GPU
• Cannot be overclocked

Finally, we have the budget Intel i5-10400 processor. It may have come under some scrutiny from reviewers, but for the most part, we think it’s pretty good good option for people on a budget . It won’t win any awards when it comes to multi-tasking scenarios, however it comes in very handy when it comes to less intensive games.

The

10400 is a 6-core processor that, like the rest of Intel’s 10th generation processors, supports hyper-threading. It has a base clock of 2.90GHz that can be boosted up to 4.30GHz right out of the box, which is pretty low compared to today’s offerings.

From a gaming standpoint, this is a pretty good choice for gamers who want to play less intense games like CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, and the like. It will easily outperform the Ryzen 3600 in terms of FPS numbers, making it a pretty interesting prospect for Intel gamers.

This chip also has disadvantages. First, can’t be overclocked by . Users won’t be able to overclock this processor, which means they’ll have to settle for the 4.30GHz boost clock that the processor offers out of the box. Also, you will need to pair this processor with an H or B series motherboard, which is notoriously not fond of fast memory modules.

Overall, if you’re looking to get a budget Intel build, we think the i5-10400 is a fantastic option.

Core i3-12100F — Intel 12th Gen

Budget Processor

With the release of the Intel Alder Lake processors, many of the slightly older processors on this list have been dethroned and replaced by their 12th generation counterparts. There’s no denying that this line of processors has been good for Intel, and it shows even in wallet-friendly models like the Core i3-12100F.

What we liked :

• Excellent gaming performance
• Ton of free space for overclocking
• Can handle fairly intensive multitasking scenarios

What disappointed us :

• Extremely high price

Despite being in the entry-level range, the Intel Core i3-12100F offers excellent value for money and can give you quite a wide range of features that it is capable of. It’s capable of delivering much better performance than the previous budget king (Intel Core i3-10100F), and while yes, it does cost a bit more, the price is pretty negligible given the upgrade you’re getting.

Equipped with four cores and eight threads, and a clock speed that goes up to 4.3GHz, this processor is a bit odd in the Alder Lake lineup as it doesn’t use the hybrid architecture of its more expensive siblings and instead only offers P-cores. . However, this does not at all make it unusable, and it will prove itself both in games and in various everyday tasks. It’s far from the first choice if you want something really powerful, but if you’re looking to keep costs down, this should be your main focus.

Intel Core i7-11375H — Mobile Power

The

Intel Core i7-11375H is Intel’s most powerful mobile chip, at least until 12th generation mobile chips are available.

Tiger Lake mobile processors are excellent. For the perfect balance of performance and power, we recommend the i7-11375H . It features four cores and eight threads, a base clock speed of 3.3GHz and a staggering 5GHz clock speed, while power requirements do not exceed 35W. The i7-11375H leads Intel’s new Tiger Lake h45 processors for 14-inch portable gaming laptops.

The processor appears in notebooks such as the MSI Stealth 15M. Despite similar specifications, the i7-11375H outperforms even the best Tiger Lake chips. This results in some performance improvement for single-core systems. However, with the same underlying architecture, you should expect more performance improvements in multi-threaded tasks.

It’s hard to say anything definite about the mobile processor. A bad build can make even the best CPUs look weak, and a decent configuration can make a CPU shine. The i7-11375H is arguably the most powerful mobile Intel processor available for mobile devices, but it’s important to read reviews on individual laptops.

If you’re looking for more power, Intel also offers the Core i9-11980HK in premium gaming laptops. It comes with eight cores and 16 threads and is clocked at 5GHz, so it’s definitely faster than the i7-11375H. However, this only shows up in high-end gaming devices, so it’s not for everyone.