When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission with no extra cost to you.
The year 2024 has seen some exciting developments in the CPU market, with new releases from major manufacturers like Intel and AMD. In this blog post, we will break down the top gaming CPUs across budget, mid-range, and high-end categories to help you choose the best option for your needs and budget.
Introduction
The host Jason starts off by welcoming viewers back to the PC Builder YouTube channel. He indicates this is the first episode of the year in an ongoing series that looks at the best gaming CPUs. The goal is to analyze the latest CPU launches and provide recommendations at various price points – not just high-end chips, but also more affordable options for budget and mid-range builds.
Beyond gaming, they also plan to look at the best CPUs for creative workflows and multi-threaded workloads that leverage lots of cores and threads. But the primary focus will be choosing the optimum processors for gaming rigs in 2024.
Sponsors
The video is sponsored by Micro Center, which Jason describes as his favorite tech retailer. He highlights that Micro Center now has 26 store locations in the US, with a new store set to open in Miami, Florida in 2024. So more people than ever will now have access to physical stores for sourcing components and getting custom PCs built.
Budget CPUs
First up is the budget category for gaming CPUs priced under $150. The best option here is AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600, which retains the excellent single-threaded performance of the original 5600X while reducing costs. At $129, it delivers fantastic value, easily beating out older budget options like the Intel Core i3-12100F. The only downside is the lack of integrated graphics, so you’ll need a discrete GPU.
For just a bit more money, the Ryzen 5 5600X at $159 is around 15% faster thanks to higher boost clocks and should be strongly considered for mid-range builds. Similarly, the Intel Core i5-12400F at $169 delivers very solid gaming performance for the money. Integrated graphics make it more versatile for budget builds, though the Ryzen chip is faster in most games.
Mid-Range CPUs
In the mid-range category for CPUs priced between $200 to $300, AMD continues to lead with their Ryzen 5 7600X now available at $249. It builds on the Zen 4 architecture improvements like DDR5 memory support, PCIe Gen 5, and major IPC gains to beat the prior generation 5600X by a wide margin for gaming. Reviews show it roughly on par with Intel’s $319 Core i5-13600K that we’ll get to next.
For just $20 more, the Ryzen 7 7700X is an exceptional value at $329 that essentially matches the gaming prowess of the more expensive 7700X while adding 2 extra cores. This makes it better suited to streaming and other productivity tasks. But at this point, most gamers will be better off putting savings towards a better GPU instead.
High-End CPUs
Enthusiasts wanting the absolute best gaming CPUs will need to spend up for Intel’s latest 13th Gen Core i9-13900K or KS models. Priced at $589 and $699 respectively, they build on the performance crown won by last year’s 12900K. The 13900KS pushes clocks even higher with Intel’s Thermal Velocity Boost technology. Reviews confirm the 24-core beast easily claims the top spot for gaming frame rates. It even keeps up with the cheaper Ryzen 9 7950X in heavily multi-threaded creative workloads like video editing, 3D rendering and code compilation.
For most gamers though, the $319 Core i5-13600K continues to hit the sweet spot. 14 cores with 20 threads allows it to handily beat out the 12700K from the prior generation while costing $100 less at launch. This makes it the high-end gaming CPU of choice to get the most frames per dollar. It runs neck and neck with the Ryzen 7 7700X for gaming, but Intel still has an edge in most titles.
Content Creation CPUs
For creative professionals and power users needing lots of cores, AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X is an easy choice that dominates benchmarks for video editing, 3D modelling and other productivity benchmarks. The 16 Zen 4 cores clocked at blazing 5.7GHz speeds can chew through multi-threaded workloads. At $699, it gives the $589 Core i9-13900K a run by boasting over 30% faster performance in many content creation applications. Intel still holds a slight lead for gaming, but the 7950X is the new champ for creators.
Those wanting maximum performance for 3D, video editing and code compilation should look at spending $1100 to $1200 for AMD’s beastly Ryzen Threadripper chips. With up to 96 high-performance Zen 4 cores, they are in a league of their own when all-out multi-threaded throughput matters most.
Conclusion
We’ve just scratched the surface of all the new CPU options for 2024 and why they represent the best gaming CPUs across various budgets. While AMD Ryzen and Intel Core both have compelling options, AMD continues to dominate when it comes to maximum multi-threaded performance while Intel still clings to a slight gaming crown. For most gamers, mid-range chips like the Ryzen 5 7600X or Core i5-13600K deliver the best balance of high frame rates without breaking the bank. But no matter your budget, there are fantastic CPUs to choose from this year.
That wraps up this high-level analysis of the CPU landscape in 2024. Let me know your thoughts and which CPU you plan to get this year!