Which CPU’s are best for gaming?
- Core i9-13900K – Intel ($589 MSRP)
- Ryzen 9 7950X – AMD ($699 MSRP)
- Core i7-13700K – Intel ($409 MSRP)
While these may be highly priced for CPU’s they provide the best performance and will push your graphics card to its highest performance. Intel takes the lead over AMD in CPU’s with two out of the top 3 coming from them. They even have the cheapest option out of the three for those looking for a top-of-the-line CPU at a good price. Be sure to check out our post on the best graphics cards for 2023 to make sure you are getting the most out of your CPU.
Intel Core i9-13900K
- Architecture: Alder Lake
- Cores/Threads: 16 (8P+16E) / 32
- Base Frequency/Top Boost Frequency (GHz): 3.0/5.8
- Socket: LGA 1700
This may not be the most expensive CPU but it has taken over as the highest performing and one of the most compatible CPU on the market. It is able to support DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 as well as being backward compatible with DDR4 and PCle 4.0. While it may have a lower base frequency than the AMD competitor it is able to overclock to a higher frequency of 5.8 compared to AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X which overclocks to 5.7 GHz. It also leads the way in x86 single-threaded performance. As an added bonus it also draws less power than the Ryzen 9 7950X at 125W.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- Architecture: Zen 4
- Cores/Threads: 16/32
- Base Frequency/Top Boost Frequency (GHz): 4.5/5.7
- Socket: AM5
While this CPU may be more expensive it is the second-best CPU on the market and is AMD’s top performing CPU. It has a higher base frequency than the Core i9-13900K for those who are not interested in overclocking. AMD has even added integrated graphics which they have not done outside of their G or GE CPUs. It supports DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 as well as PCle 4.0. It is not backwards compatible with the AM4 sockets so you will have to get an AM5 motherboard in order to support it. This is due to it requiring DDR5 memory. Another downside for many is that it is not bundled with the Wraith Spire cooler which several of their other CPUs are.
Intel Core i7-13700K
- Architecture: Alder Lake
- Cores/Threads: 12 (8P+8E) /24
- Base Frequency/Top Boost Frequency (GHz): 3.4/5.4
- Socket: LGA 1700
This is the cheapest CPU on our list and closer in price to many of the other CPUs currently on the market. It may have less cores than the others on our list, but it has a higher base frequency than the Core i9-13900K by .4 GHz. However, it does have a lower overclock frequency by .4 GHz. As long as you are not going for high productivity tasks it competes with AMD’s and Intel’s top of the line and more expensive CPUs. It offers 95% of the performance of the Core i9-13900K for a much cheaper price. It is also the most compatible CPU on our list being able to support DDR4-3200 or up to DDR5-5600 memory and works with PCle 4.0 and PCle 5.0.
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