The best gaming CPU plays a large part in determining the capabilities of your system. This bit of silicon can make all the difference in hitting your target average frame rates, particularly if you play on a high refresh rate display or enjoy gaming with ray tracing enabled. 

The two main players are AMD and Intel, and competition has never been more fierce, with the 14th Gen Core and Ryzen 7000 series each offering high levels of performance. You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to picking the perfect processor for your PC, which is why we’re here to make your search easier.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D rules the roost according to our testing. However, the Intel Core i9 14900K can pull ahead in some benchmarks, providing you have a strong enough cooler and power supply to tame that particular beast.

When looking for a new CPU, we’d generally suggest looking at options with at least six cores. Hexacore chips are now the standard among gamers, and a growing number of AAA PC games expect as much. There are great current generation options that fit this bill, like the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, but don’t feel sheepish about opting for a 12th Gen Core or Ryzen 5000 series model, as they’ll be fine for years to come too.

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