Although there are more and more quality chips on the market created by brands such as Apple and Qualcomm, if we talk about desktop computers, when looking for the best processors your purchase will be disputed by two contenders: Intel and AMD.
Some feature high speeds or great power, while others impress us with their price for what they offer. The Ryzen 3 3300 is the best of the low-cost processors, while the Ryzen 9 5900X takes the crown for top quality. But of course, there's more.
The best processors in 2021
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
To strike a balance between price and performance, it's hard to beat the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. It has an average price of $300 and comes with six cores, 12 threads and a boost clock speed of up to 4.6 GHz.
Although, it doesn't boost as much as Intel's competing Core i5-11600K, the Ryzen 5 5600X manages to stay cooler and consumes about half the power.
You don't get eight cores like you'd get in the Ryzen 7 5800X, but that doesn't matter much in gaming.
It features the same Zen 3 architecture as the rest of the Ryzen 5000 range, so you get roughly the same single-core performance as even the Ryzen 9 5900X. That makes the Ryzen 5 5600X an excellent choice for gaming.
Six cores may limit this processor in some tasks. However, that's still more than enough for gaming and everyday tasks, as well as light video or photo editing.
The Ryzen 5 5600X is everything you need and nothing you don't, making it an easy recommendation for the mainstream gaming crowd.
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
It's hard to find an inexpensive processor in 2021. Low-end options are more expensive than they should be and many of them are out of stock.
That leaves us with the Ryzen 3 3300X, which is a decent deal at just $30 above its list price. Although it's more expensive than it should be, the Ryzen 3 3300X isn't a bad buy.
It's a low-end chip that does the trick for gaming, offering four cores, eight threads and clock speeds up to 4.3 GHz. It's based on the older Zen 2 architecture, which isn't as fast as the Zen 3 architecture in recent Ryzen chips.
However, Zen 2 includes solid single-core performance, which is ideal for gaming. While the four cores may seem limiting for video or photo editing, the Ryzen 3 3300X can handle light productivity tasks, as well as any day-to-day work you may have.
Budget processors don't cost $100 dollars like they used to in the past, but the Ryzen 3 3300X manages to feel worth its starting price.
Intel Core i5-10600K
AMD has always been the best choice in budget processors, but in a strange twist, they are recommending an Intel processor in this category. From gaming to light productivity, the i5-10600 is a more capable chip.
It features six cores and 12 threads with a base frequency of 4.1 GHz. However, 10th generation Intel processors are known for how well they work when overclocked.
This K-model processor is unlocked, which means you can overclock it with a compatible motherboard. The 10600K can reach 5 GHz just like the i9-10900K.
The 10600 will probably soon be part of the previous generation as well, so the price is on the low side. You can find the 10600K available at most online retailers for around $215.
AMD's competing chip, the Ryzen 5 5600X, is slightly more expensive at $300. It features the same cores as the 10600K, but AMD's chip is better at gaming benchmarks, especially at low resolutions.
You should take into account how well the 10600K works when overcloked, which can easily narrow the gap with the 5600K when it comes to gaming, approaching the performance of the Ryzen 7 5800.
Unfortunately, there is no great reason to upgrade to the new Core i5-11600K. It's a faster processor, technically, but you can make up that ground with overclocking. Also, the Core i5-10600K is much cheaper than it used to be, shaving nearly $100 off the price of its newer sibling.
Intel Core i7-11700K
AMD's Ryzen 5000 processors have outperformed Intel, but the "blue team" still holds the overclocking crown. If you're looking for an enthusiast chip that you can push to the limit, the Core i7-11700K is for you.
It runs at very high temperatures and requires a lot of power, so it generates a lot of heat and needs a good cooling system, but it can reach clock speeds well ahead of anything AMD has to offer.
For around $400, you get eight cores and 16 threads, a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and a boost up to 5 GHz. That's what each unit delivers to you out of the box, no extra work required.
With Intel's Extreme Tuning utility, or manual overclocking, you can boost the clock speed even further. It's not out of the question to reach 5.2 GHz on all cores (just make sure you have enough power and cooling).
The Core i7-11700K competes directly with the Ryzen 7 5800X. The AMD chip is $50 more expensive and presents a slight performance advantage at standard speeds. However, after overclocking, the Core i7-11700K is a leader in gaming performance and at a lower price.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Two chips lead AMD processors, the 5900X and the 5950X. The latter is undoubtedly the most powerful processor.
The 5950X features 16 cores and 32 threads versus the 12 cores and 24 threads of the 5900X. The 5950X is also $250 more expensive and in the vast majority of applications, that's money wasted.
The 5900X far outperforms last generation's 3900X, as well as the 10900K, Intel's main competitor.
The underlying Zen 3 architecture is the reason, with excellent single and multi-core performance. In rendering and encoding, the 5900X matches or exceeds last generation's 3950X in most categories. In some cases, the 5900X even outperforms the 5950X.
If you're only interested in gaming, we would normally point to Intel's offerings, but AMD still leads the pack with the 5900X. Even in games that heavily favor Intel processors, such as Red Dead Redemption 2, the 5900X outperforms Intel's top chips.
Like all 5000 series processors, the 5900X is out of stock at most retailers as of January 2021. It really is the best mainstream processor currently available, so we recommend you look for one.
However, if you need a processor now, the 10900K holds close to this AMD model for gaming and most productivity tasks, and even more so with a little overclocking.
AMD Threadripper 3990X
If AMD changed the conversation with its flagship Ryzen 3000 series processors, with Threadripper 3000 it owned the script.
But even among that ridiculously powerful generation of high-end chips, the Threadripper 3990X stands out as a truly ridiculous and unnecessary processor.
If possible, take advantage of its 64 cores and 128 threads, as there is no other processor of this level outside of the server range. For, in addition to having more cores and threads than most applications will be able to take advantage of, it also has simply fantastic single-threaded performance.
It can reach up to 4.3 GHz on one core alone, which means it will perform well in thread-limited tasks like gaming, even though that would be total overkill. That means that even, when it can't use all of its cores, you get excellent performance.
The price is high, almost $4,000, but it is by far, less expensive than Intel's top 50 choices. If you don't need that much power, you can get the 32-core Threadripper 3970X for half the price.
However, the 3990X is made for productivity, so if you have revenue working on your computer, particularly processor-intensive tasks like CAD and video encoding, the price may be justified.
AMD remains the leader
It is possible to find a great processor that meets all your needs without unnecessary features. AMD processors came out on top in this competition, but Intel has yet to show the performance of the upcoming Alder Lake platform.
Whether your main concern is power or price, your ideal processor is definitely on this list of recommendations. Revisit your equipment and adjust accordingly as your needs evolve.
A combination of price, compatibility and individual user needs necessitates a wide range of processors. It takes a bit of research to choose the right model for you, and this guide is an excellent starting point.
ee to a future article my friend.........