When regard what thebest processoris for your PC , Intel offers stiff competition in productivity and gaming , despite confront down AMD ’s Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 9000 CPUs . Intel ’s parts just need a bite more power to do it .
Although the Core Ultra 9 285 K is the up-to-the-minute flagship central processor from Intel , it only just kowtow onto this list . There are several CPUs we ’d recommend instead , and they all have here as part of the best Intel central processing unit you could bribe in 2025 .
Note : Some reports have indicated that theCore i9 - 13900 K and the Core i9 - 14900 K have stability problem . It ’s an ongoing investigation , but definitely something to consider .
The best Intel processor
Intel Core i5-13600K
Why you should buy this : It ’s inexpensive , jam with cores , and propose much more carrying out than its price would hint .
Who it ’s for : Gamers and might users who desire peak performance without break the cant .
What we think of the Intel Core i5 - 13600 K :
The dilemma betweenCore i5 and Core i7is always present with Intel processors , but the Core i5 - 13600 K changes that dynamic . It ’s much loud than the 14700 K while offer similar performance in both productivity tasks and gaming . In some cases , it even beats down the flagship Core i9 - 13900 thousand , making it one of thebest CPUsyou can buy right now .
It ’s even competitive with the newfangled - genCore Ultra 9 285Kfor play , which is sticky for Intel , but great for budget - minded gamers .
For around $ 220 , you ’re get a 14 - core central processor with clock fastness upward of 5.1GHz , which would have been unheard of even a couple of age ago . Not all of those 14 cores are built equally , though . Similar to Intel ’s previous generation , the Core i5 - 13600 K mix functioning ( atomic number 15 ) meat and efficient ( east ) CORE . With the Core i5 - 13600 K , you ’re getting six P - cores and eight east - core group .
The six P - cores are more than enough for play , which is what appropriate the Core i5 - 13600 K to compete with AMD ’s Ryzen 5 7600X at a similar Leontyne Price . It ’s the additional E - cores where Intel shoots ahead , though , offering better multi - core performance in demanding tasks like picture encoding and translation .
you’re able to overclock it for tally performance too , aid it compete more promptly with higher - ending pick in gaming and productivity .
For additional economy , look out for the 13600KF , as it can often be find for a few dollars chintzy . If you want to stretch your budget a bit further , the 13700 K is n’t much more and yield you a couple of surplus nub to play with for increase performance in select apps and games .
The best budget Intel processor
Intel Core i5-13400F
Why you should purchase this : It ’s inexpensive while still offering extremely competitive performance .
Who it ’s for : microcomputer builder on a miserly budget that only require a few cores .
What we think of the Intel Core i5 - 13400F :
Intel always follows up its main releases with more budget - favorable options as a generation goes on , and unfortunately , they do n’t always get the limelight they deserve . That could n’t be more true than it is with the Core i5 - 13400F. For not much more than $ 150 , you get a seriously powerful CPU for play and anything else besides .
This one comes from the Intel 13th generation , which is n’t precisely cutting - edge , but do n’t rent that scare you off . The Core i5 - 13400F opts for six performance cores and four efficiency nub , present it inviolable multithreading performance , at a fair damage .
gambling is where the chip struggle most , oftentimes only taking a backseat of 5 % to 10 % compare to the more expensive Core i5 - 13600K. you may push the processor further by removing its power limit , too , allow it to equal even the Core i9 - 12900 jet from a couple of propagation back . That ’s a lot of CPU power for around $ 150 .
There are a couple of caveat for this one , though . For starter , it does n’t support overclocking , but you’re able to still remove the power limit for a performance cost increase . In gain , it does n’t include integrated computer graphic , so you ’ll necessitate to pair the central processing unit with one of thebest graphics wag . you’re able to cull up the Core i5 - 13400 , which is the same CPU with integrated graphics , but it ’s about $ 25 more expensive .
The fastest Intel processor for gaming
Intel Core i9-14900K
Why you should buy this : It ’s the most powerful Intel central processor for gaming you could bribe mighty now .
Who it ’s for : Anyone upgrade from twelfth - gen or older .
What we conceive of the Intel Core i9 - 14900 K :
Intel ’s Core i9 - 14900 K is a refresh , and because of that , it does n’t bring major carrying out melioration to the Core i9 - 13900 K , which we ’ll get to next . For most people , the Core i9 - 13900 K is still the mainframe to buy . If you ’re looking for the out-and-out best gaming operation , though , the Core i9 - 14900 K offers it . The 285 K might be new , but it falls short in too many game to be recommendable .
The 14900 K is close in gaming public presentation toAMD ’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D , and weak productivity tasks , such as compression , are better with the new 14th - gen chips . However , surface area like rendering and transcoding remain mostly unchanged compared to the previous multiplication .
There ’s no upgrade route with this chip , though . Next fourth dimension you raise , you ’ll postulate a fresh motherboard too .
The best high-end Intel processor
Intel Core i9-13900K
Why you should corrupt this : It ’s the best blast for your sawbuck for mellow - end value .
Who ’s it for : gamey - conclusion enthusiasts who do n’t mind spending up for the right of the best .
What we opine of the Intel Core i9 - 13900 K :
The best Intel central processor on the market right now is n’t the Arrow Lake flagship , or even the 14th - multiplication top dogs , but Intel ’s Core i9 - 13900 K , and that ’s surprising because it ’s not even the most expensive . It ’s still a pricey chip , but the Core i9 - 13900 K deal to undersell AMD ’s competingRyzen 9 7950Xwhile offering better carrying into action in many casing .
No small part of that carrying out advantage is that the Core i9 - 13900 K comes with 24 cores . You get eight P - cores and 16 E - cores , giving you a total of 32 threads to work with . Even more impressive , the processor can boost up to 5.8GHz out of the box , offering some of the highest clock speeds available in a background CPU right now .
Despite gambol the 13th - gen Raptor Lake computer architecture , you’re able to still use older 600 - series motherboards and DDR4 memory with the Core i9 - 13900 K , too . That makes it a much more compelling ( and cheaper ) upgrade path if you have n’t yet upgraded fromDDR4 to DDR5 .
The only downside of the Core i9 - 13900 K is that it ’s too knock-down . It runs blistering and draws a great deal of power , and in tasks like gaming , the flash Core i5 - 13600 K offers almost selfsame performance . If you need peak horsepower , though , nothing beats the Core i9 - 13900K.
The 285 K is deserving weigh too , as it is much faster than this chip in productivity , but the play performance is much less telling .
The best Intel processor under $100
Intel Core i3-12100F
Why you should buy this : It ’s a cheap , yet decent current - gen central processor that costs around $ 100 .
Who ’s it for : substance abuser on a budget who still need a versatile CPU .
What we thought of the Intel Core i3 - 12100F :
It ’s not part of the latest generations of Intel chips , but for around $ 80 , the 12100F is a steal for entry level gaming and productiveness .
fit with four cores and eight threads as well as clock fastness reaching up to 4.3GHz , this CPU is a bit of an oddity in the Alder Lake lineup , as it does n’t share the intercrossed architecture of its more expensive sibling and instead serve up only P - cores . That does n’t make it unsuitable at all , however , and it will stockpile its own weight through both gambling and various everyday task . It may not be your first choice if you desire something really herculean , but if you ’re looking to keep the costs low , this should be your go - to .
If you’re able to get hold it for comparable money , the 14100F is about 10 % faster and worth take hold of , but otherwise the 12100F is the economic value mogul for Intel in 2025 .
Best Intel CPU for productivity
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Why you should buy this : It ’s Intel ’s fastest processor for productivity yet .
Who ’s it for : Professionals who specifically want to use Intel CPUs .
What we thought of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 K :
In our review , we called the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 K impressive , but not inevitably right . That ’s a fair summation , because while it blows the door off many professional and originative applications , it is very much spoiled in gaming than the in effect C.P.U. from recent years , and there are even some non - gaming apps that do n’t fair as well , either .
That ’s partially because this is a very fresh cow dung pattern with a unexampled architecture and lacking in cooccurring multi - threading , but it fix full use of those centre either room , delivering awesome performance in a panoptic reach of apps . It ’s also far more efficient than late Intel flagship have been , which is a welcome change .
This is not a honest CPU for gaming though . While it ’s tight in some games , it ’s much slow in others , and AMD ’s gambling CPUs blow it out of the water supply .
If you are n’t matrimonial to Intel , AMD ’s Ryzen 9 9950Xis a very viable alternative , too , with much more logical functioning .
Frequently Asked Questions
Intel Core and AMD Ryzen both offer excellent processors at different price points and in different form , so one brand is n’t definitively sound than the other . In 2025 , though , AMD ’s X3D CPUs are the full for gambling , while Intel ’s lineup lean to offer more general performance , at the cost of a higher big businessman draw . The newerAMD Ryzen processorspack a destiny of center and perform well , so they ’re still very capable mainframe , but they ’re a little more specific in what they ’re good for .
In the roving world , Intel used to dominate . Now , you’re able to discover devices with AMD Ryzen processors , too , and they perform not bad . That said , there is still a far greater number of machines that come with Intel processor , and they stack up well against the AMD competition .
To find the unspoiled central processor for your needs , you need to consider the coating you want to run . If you ’re into gaming , for example , a mainframe with strong undivided - core performance is a good selection because game ordinarily stress only a handful of meat at a time . On the other hand , content creation applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve can take reward of a greater act of cores , so a processor with a lot of cores is better for them .
Those are good rules to accompany . game favor a fast central processor over one with a lot of centre , and contentedness - creation apps prefer more core over faster ones .
The right way to severalise if a personal computer processor is good is to depend at individual benchmark . specification like core count and clock speed do n’t say the full story — they only show what the mainframe is capable of within its own range of a function of product . If you ’ve settled on a certain brand or serial , however , take care at core reckoning and clock speeds can show you where the processor sits in the compass .
If you want to try your own C.P.U. , there are spate of tools useable . Cinebenchis a bully benchmarking peter that focuses solely on the processor , whilePCMark 10provides an overview of performance across a entourage of day - to - 24-hour interval task .
Make certain you ’re buy a CPU from a late generation that has at least six cores , and you should be alright .
Intel ’s naming scheme can get a fiddling confusing sometimes , but once you know your direction around it , you ’ll be able to pilot every processor by heart without needing to turn back what it does .
Let ’s arrogate the processor you ’re test to look up is called " Intel Core i9 - 14600K. " The first part , Intel Core , refers to the brand of the processor . Intel has several brands that are not Intel Core , such as the low - end Intel Pentium or Intel Celeron . It also has some newer mobile CPUs , branded Core Ultra .
The second part is the blade changer . This is important and refers to how sinewy a particular CPU is within its generation . In adition to the budget i3 , Intel also offers i5 , i7 , and i9 . The i5 and i7 lines are typically midrange to eminent - end , and the i9 is reserved for gamy - end mainframe .
Moving on to the numerical part of the name , the first two digits refer to the generation of the processor . As an good example , Intel ’s fourteenth - genesis processors , Raptor Lake , all start with a " 14 . " The final three digits refer to the specific model and also go up depending on how good a model is .
The varsity letter at the death refers to the type of central processing unit . There are many random variable , socheck them out on Intel ’s websiteif you want a full lean . The most common single include :
Intel uses multiple suffix to indicate unlike features , but " chiliad " and " F " are among the most coarse . " K " central processing unit are unbarred , so you could overclock them with a compatible motherboard . " F " processors do n’t come with integrated graphics , so you ’ll need a dedicated artwork wag . You may even find a " KF " central processing unit , indicate that it ’s unbolted and ask distinct graphic .
you could normally discover variants of Intel ’s lead i9 , i7 , and i5 processors with either or both suffixes . If you ’re project on work up a play data processor , you could save a few dollars by purchase the " F " variant of a processor . On the other side , " K " processors are more or less more expensive with their overclocking capabilities . If you need a full breakdown on Intel ’s appointment schema , make certain to study ourCPU buying templet .
