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The Best CPUs?

By that, I mean the CPUs that offer the best performance at a given price range.

If you have the time or knowledge to do research… but who does in this busy world?

I do realize that not everyone has the time nor knowledge to read detailed CPU reviews.

I write this guide on the best CPUs to help you save your time and money!

Summary: Skip to the recommendations

This is an Worldwide Guide!

Do you live in the USA?

Use Amazon or B&H for your purchase.

Do you live outside of the USA?

No problem. All the parts can be purchased from B&H, who ships worldwide.

Prices for B&H as of August 3rd 2020. Click on Amazon links to see prices. Note that I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Prices and availability are subject to change.

Best Entry-level CPUs:

Best Entry-Level APU (CPU + GPU in one):

Get the AMD Athlon 3000G Processor with Radeon Vega 3 Graphics from Amazon

– Architecture: Zen

– Frequency (Turbo): 3.5 (N/A) GHz

– Cores (Threads): 2 cores/ 4 threads

– Integrated GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 3 192 GPU Cores, 1100MHz

– TDP: 35W

– Socket: AMD AM4

Lowest cost recommended APU, ideal for entry-level PCs and HTPCs

While this is no powerhouse, it’s still a very decent budget CPU. It’s a good choice for low-cost builds, for a family member, students or for a home theater PC.

Its integrated graphics aren’t as powerful as the ones on the Ryzen 3 3200G, so don’t expect to run 1080p games on it. But 720p should be playable.

Note that the AMD Athlon 3000G is completely unlocked, so you may overclock it if you wish to boost performance a bit.

Note that you want to pair it up with dual-channel (two or four sticks) of DDR4 RAM, preferably high frequencies, such as 3200MHz, for the best performance possible in video games. Avoid using a single stick of RAM: It can halve gaming performance.

Get the AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Processor with Radeon Vega 8 Graphics from Amazon

– Architecture: Ryzen 2nd generation

– Frequency (Turbo): 3.6 (4.0) GHz

– Cores (Threads): 4 cores/ 4 threads

– Integrated GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8 512 GPU Cores, 1250MHz

– TDP: 65W

– Socket: AMD AM4

Excellent integrated graphic performance, for a gaming PC on a small budget.

Manufactured on a 12nm process as opposed to 14nm for the Athlon 3 3000G, the Ryzen 3 3200G offers significantly higher performance, thanks to having twice as many cores, a more modern architecture, way more GPU cores (512 versus 192) as well as higher base, Turbo and GPU frequencies. You now get 3.6/4.0GHz CPU base/Turbo and 1250MHz for the GPU, compared to 3.5/3.5/1100MHz for the Athlon 3000G.

The AMD Ryzen 3 3200G feature the AMD Radeon Vega 8 integrated graphics, which offer gaming performance that is far better than Intel integrated graphics, 2-3x the performance at 1920 x 1080.

Note that you can overclock the AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, unlike the Intel Core i3-10100.

Note that you want to pair it up with dual-channel (two or four sticks) of DDR4 RAM, preferably high frequencies, such as 3600MHz, for the best performance possible in video games. Avoid using a single stick of RAM: It can halve gaming performance.

Gamers with a dedicated graphic card:

Skip AMD’s APUs and go with one of the three CPU options below, which feature better CPU performance.

Best Entry-Level CPUs:

Intel Core i3-9100F (No integrated graphics)

– Architecture: Coffee Lake – Frequency/Turbo: 3.6/4.2GHz

– Cores (Threads): 4 (4) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 65W – Socket: LGA1151 (300 series chipset)

AMD Ryzen 3 3100

– Architecture: Zen 3rd gen – Frequency/Turbo: 3.6/3.9GHz

– Cores (Threads): 4 (8) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 65W – Socket: AM4

AMD Ryzen 3 3300X

– Architecture: Zen 3rd gen – Frequency/Turbo: 3.8/4.3GHz

– Cores (Threads): 4 (8) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 65W – Socket: AM4

Intel Core i3-10100

– Architecture: Comet Lake – Frequency/Turbo: 3.6/4.3GHz

– Cores (Threads): 4 (8) – Integrated GPU: Intel UHD 630

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 65W – Socket: LGA1200

Intel Core i3-9100F:

The Core i3-9100F, which has no integrated graphics, is the second least expensive CPU that I recommend, being an option for a rock-bottom budget Gaming PC with a dedicated graphic card. That said, its limited to 4 threads, greatly limiting its performance compared to the AMD Ryzen 3 3100 and Ryzen 3 3300X

Ryzen 3 3100 and 3300X:

Recently launched, the Ryzen 3 3100 and 3300X are 4 cores / 8 threads CPUs based on AMD latest Zen 2 architecture. The main differences between the two is frequency:

The Ryzen 3 3100 runs at 3.6-3.9GHz, while the the Ryzen 3 3300X runs at 3.8-4.3GHz.

The lower priced Ryzen 3 3100 offers similar or better performance than the 6 cores Ryzen 5 1600 or Ryzen 5 2600, at a lower price, while offering better gaming performance. It completely outclasses the Core i3-9100F.

The higher-end Ryzen 3 3300X takes performance up a notch or two, outperforming the Intel Core i3-10100 all around, slightly edging it in gaming and greatly outperforming it in heavy multithreaded workloads.

Intel Core i3-10100:

The Core i3-10100 brings a welcome change compared to the previous generation Core i3-9100, that is the addition of Hyper-Threading. So instead of being limited to 4 cores and 4 threads like the Core i3-9100, the Core i3-10100 can handle up to 8 threads at once, doubling the number of threads compared to the previous generation.

That said, it faces tough competition this time around, from the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X. Thanks to its higher single threaded and multithreaded performance, the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X comes out ahead of the Core i3-10100 in the vast majority of scenarios, including gaming.

The only reason that I’d recommend the Core i3-10100 would be for office PCs, where the integrated graphics offer sufficient performance and help lower the total cost of the PC.

Don’t waste your money on the Core i3-10300 or i3-10320

These offer the same quad-core/8 threads design, simply with slightly higher Turbo frequencies. Which is a good thing. What’s bad is their price, which is too close to the much better 6 cores/12 threads AMD Ryzen 5 3600, If you want a CPU that offers both great gaming and overall performance, see the Ryzen 5 3600 below.

Best Lower Mid-range CPUs:

AMD Ryzen 5 3600

– AMD Ryzen 5 3600 for the best gaming performance, all-around performance and PCIe 4.0

Get the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 from Amazon – $174.99 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) – Architecture: Ryzen 3rd generation – Frequency/Turbo: 3.6/4.2 GHz

– Cores (Threads): 6 (12) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 3200MHz – TDP: 65W – Socket: AM4 Get the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X from Amazon – $209.99 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) – Architecture: Ryzen 3rd generation – Frequency/Turbo: 3.8/4.4 GHz

– Cores (Threads): 6 (12) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 95W – Socket: AM4 Get the Intel Core i5-10400F from Amazon – $181.25 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) – Architecture: Comet Lake – Frequency/Turbo: 2.9/4.3 GHz

– Cores (Threads): 6 (12) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel – TDP: 65W – Socket: LGA1200 AMD Ryzen 5 3600/3600X V.S. Intel Core i5-10400F? For gaming performance only: The main competition to the $167 AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is the $180-190 Intel Core i5-10400. The $205 Ryzen 5 3600X is another option at a slightly higher price. When it comes to strictly 1080p gaming performance, all CPUs trade blows, the Core i5-10400 holds a very slight performance advantage, offering overall a few % more performance than the Ryzen 5 3600 and 3600X. Note that if you game at 1440p or 4K, then all CPUs offer similar performance, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. Multithreaded performance: Under heavier, multithreaded, workloads, the Ryzen 5 3600 and 3600X hold a significant advantage against the Core i5-10400. Worth noting:

The Ryzen 5 3600/3600X also offers ECC RAM support, unlike the Core i5-10400. The Ryzen 5 3600/3600X supports PCIe 4.0, unlike the Core i5-10400. The Ryzen 5 3600/3600X is unlocked, allowing you to overclock it, unlike the Core i5-10400. Which one would I pick?

Unless all you do is game at 1080p, I’d get the AMD Ryzen 5 3600, seeing as it offers great overall performance at a lower price. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 platform is also significantly less expensive, helping it being a better value overall. That said, you can’t go wrong with either CPU.

Best Upper Mid-range CPUs:

Intel Core i5-10600K/KF V.S. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X

– Intel Core i5-10600K/KF for gaming performance

– AMD Ryzen 7 3700X for multithreaded performance

Get the Intel Core i5-10600K from Amazon – $299.99 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) Intel Core i5-10600KF (No integrated graphics) Get the Intel Core i5-10600KF from Amazon

– $277.50 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) – Architecture: Comet Lake – Frequency/Turbo: 4.1/4.8 GHz

– Cores (Threads): 6(12) – Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630 for K version, None for KF version

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 125W – Socket: LGA1200 Get the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X from Amazon – $283.55 at B&H (Worldwide Shipping) – Architecture: Ryzen 3rd generation – Frequency/Turbo: 3.6/4.4 GHz

– Cores (Threads): 8(16) – Integrated GPU: None

– RAM Support: Dual Channel DDR4 – TDP: 65W – Socket: AM4 Gaming performance:

The Intel Core i5-10600K/KF holds an advantage when it comes to gaming performance, being a notch faster than the Ryzen 7 3700X overall. Multithreaded performance: Under heavier, multithreaded, workloads, the Ryzen 7 3700X holds a significant advantage against the Core i5-10600K/KF, thanks to having 2 more cores and supporting 4 more threads.. Worth noting:

The Ryzen 7 3700X also offers ECC RAM support, unlike the Core i5-10600K/KF. The Ryzen 7 3700X supports PCIe 4.0, unlike the Core i5-10600K/KF. Both CPUS are unlocked, allowing you to overclock them. The Intel Core i5-10600K/KF does not included a CPU Cooler, so you must get an aftermarket one. Which one would I pick?

It depends on what you plan to do: If all you do is game at 1080p, then get the Intel Core i5-10600KF, seeing as it offers better gaming performance. However, if you want better multi threaded performance for heavy workloads with plenty good gaming performance, then the 8 cores / 16 threads Ryzen 7 3700X makes more sense. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X platform is also significantly less expensive, helping it being a better value overall.

Best Lower High-End CPU:

Intel Core i7-10700K/KF V.S. AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

– The AMD Ryzen 7 3800X offers excellent value, offering roughly 8% lower gaming frame rates and trading blows on overall multithreaded performance at a much lower price

– The Intel Core i7-10700K/KF offers slightly higher gaming and single threaded performance, but at a price