Best Processor for Gaming: Current Market Analysis

The Best Processor for Gaming | Introduction

For a more convenient presentation of the results, we use the geometric mean of the 99th percentile of the frame render time, which we convert to FPS value. The 99th percentile FHD scores are good for smooth frame rates. This methodology is applied to the entire test suite of six games released in 2016 and four games released in 2015. Many believe that additional threads of Ryzen processors will improve performance in the future as the software is constantly evolving and optimizing for more resources. This factor is not taken into account when analyzing the data obtained. We can only perform additional tests based on new games, which, as a rule, use more resources of the central processor.

We've also generated separate price-performance charts that include processor cost and additional platform costs. For models that ship without a cooler, we're adding an additional $ 25 for a third-party cooling system. We also add $ 20 in case overclocking requires a more expensive motherboard (for example, with the Intel Z270 chipset).

The ratio of platform cost to performance; the whole test suite (the closer to the bottom right corner, the better)

The ratio of platform cost to performance; only new games (the closer to the lower right corner, the better)

Processor cost to performance ratio; the whole test suite (the closer to the bottom right corner, the better)

Processor cost to performance ratio; only new games (the closer to the lower right corner, the better)

The Core i5-7500 sets a level of gaming performance that the overclocked Ryzen 5 1500X cannot overcome. The i5-7500, like the 1500X, comes with a cooler, and given the locked frequency multiplier, you will hardly need a more expensive overclocking cooler.

Nevertheless, the Ryzen 5 1600 is faster even with stock settings, but costs an average of $ 20 more. The Ryzen 5 1600 closes the price gap between the Core i5-7500 and the 7600K. Considering the unlocked multiplier and the fairly efficient bundled cooler, the Ryzen 5 1600 is the best mid-range solution. If you have some money to spare, we recommend opting for the Ryzen 5 1600 over the Intel Core i5-7500. In new games, it is often matched to the Core i5-7600K at factory settings.

The Ryzen 5 1600X offers good speed and in older games it differs from the Core i5-7600K by only a few frames per second, and if the overall system performance is constrained by the capabilities of your graphics card, then you will not notice the difference at all. In more modern games, the Ryzen 5 1600X performs excellently. If you play new games often, then you should take a closer look at the chip that outperforms the Core i5-7600K and costs only $ 11 more. On the other hand, the i5-7600K is faster overclocked, but only if you're willing to shell out for a more efficient cooler and a Z270-based motherboard. We've included this overhead to make the total cost more realistic, but if you're looking for the fastest chip under $ 250, then the Core i5-7600K (after overclocking) can help you with that.

Processors G4560 $ 85 and Core i3-7100 $ 115 remain the undisputed leaders in their segment, at least until the Ryzen 3 series chips appear. Core i3-7100 is not the most profitable solution (the performance increase compared to the G4560 is 10%, but the difference priced at $ 30), but with a price tag of $ 114, it fills a huge gap.

The Core i7-7740X and i5-7640X are now in the queue for testing in the laboratory. Given the high costs associated with buying a new Intel X299 platform, we're pretty sure they won't make it to our recommendation list.

The Best Processor for Gaming | List of the best processors for gaming

The Best Processor for Gaming | What we recommend and to whom

A few notes needed to understand the article:

This article is written for gamers who want to get the most out of their investment. If you are not a gamer, then the processors on this list are most likely more expensive than the ones you really need. In any case, regardless of whether you need best processor for gaming, or for work, at the end of the article we have added an indicative list of game processors.

The criterion for compiling the list is simple: price / performance. We acknowledge that there are other factors affecting CPUs, such as platform price or CPU overclocking potential, but we're not going to complicate things by adding the cost of motherboards to this list. Our recommendations are based on base clock speeds, performance, and prices.

Prices change daily. In this article, we cannot offer you the latest and most accurate pricing information, but we are able to list a few good chips that, having bought them, you most likely will not regret the money spent.

The list is compiled based on the best prices in Moscow online stores. In other countries or in retail stores, the cost is likely to be different from the indicated one. In this list, we have brought you retail prices for new OEM CPUs.

The Best Processor for Gaming | Intel Pentium G4560

In general, we were not impressed with the generation of Intel Kaby Lake processors, with the exception of a few models of the Pentium family with support for Hyper-Threading technology. In particular, our attention was drawn to the G4560 processor with a starting price of only $ 65.

At one time, gamers began to abandon the dual-core Pentium processors, because they sometimes caused problems in games that require more computing resources. Hyper-Threading Technology helps address this issue by allowing each physical core to handle two threads at the same time.

Intel Pentium G4560 does not support Turbo Boost technology, but runs at a fairly high clock speed of 3.5 GHz. Overall, the Pentium G4560 is a modern and reasonably capable processor, offering three megabytes of L3 cache, dual channel DDR4 memory controller and 16 PCIe Gen 3 lanes at a very attractive price point.

Details about the architecture of Kaby Lake can be found in the review " Intel Pentium G4620 And G4560 Review: Now With Hyper-Threading"(English)

The Best Processor for Gaming | Intel Core i3-7100

Intel is offering a new Core i3-7100 processor at the same price as the Core i3-6100 previously featured on the recommendation list. Naturally, the i3-7100 took its place this month. For $ 120, you get a dual-core processor with Hyper-Threading Technology capable of running four threads in parallel. The base frequency of the Core i3-6100 is 3.7 GHz, while the i3-7100 has this parameter increased to 3.9 GHz.

Another benefit of the new Core i3 is its more modern platform. The Z270 chipset supports up to 24 PCIe 3.0 lanes (including PCIe drives), up to 10 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ​​ports, up to six SATA 6Gb / s connectors with software RAID, and Gigabit Ethernet.

Review and testing of Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K, i7-7700, i5-7600K and i5-7600 processors. Part 1 ".

The Best Processor for Gaming | Intel Core i5-7500

For its price, the quad-core Core i5-7500 delivers high performance. The 7500 has a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz and reaches 3.8 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. The RAM controller supports modern 2400 MHz DDR4 memory. The chip is also equipped with 6 MB of shared L3 cache and is connected to the platform via an 8-channel DMI bus. The thermal package of the processor is rated at 65W.

In our gaming benchmark suite, the Core i5-7500 was on par with the AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, despite the lower clock speed. This is an impressive result compared to a chip with twice as many logical cores and almost three times as much L3 cache. But if budget permits, it might be better to look at the Ryzen 5 1600.

Details about the architecture can be found in the overview " Review and testing of Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K, i7-7700, i5-7600K and i5-7600 processors. Part 1 ".

The Best Processor for Gaming | Ryzen 5 1600

The Ryzen 5 1600 is cheaper than the 1600X, but it also offers 6 cores, 12 threads and 16MB L3 cache, and the unlocked multiplier, when properly configured, allows for similar overclocking levels. The processor comes bundled with a fairly efficient Wraith Spire cooler designed for chips with a heat dissipation of up to 95 W - it will cope with almost any overclocking, except for the limiting one, and this significantly reduces the total cost of the platform.

The Ryzen 5 1600 performs well at a base frequency of 3.2 GHz with auto-boost up to 3.6 GHz. AMD is allowing overclocking even on low-budget motherboards with the B350 chipset, attracting thrifty buyers. In our opinion, the overpayment of $ 20 over the Core i5-7500 is quite justified in this case.

Details about the architecture can be found in the overview "".

The Best Processor for Gaming | Intel Core i5-7600K

The Core i5-7600K is capable of very high performance if you take the time to configure it. Thanks to the Turbo Boost technology, the frequency in low-threaded tasks is increased from 3.8 GHz to 4.2 GHz, and the unlocked frequency multiplier makes it possible to overclock this chip to 5 GHz under certain conditions.

This processor offers excellent speed in both old and new games, although overclocking will require a Z270 motherboard and a more efficient cooler. For users of older systems on LGA 1150, it doesn't make sense to upgrade above the 4690K processor, it might be better to look at a more modern platform that offers more USB 3.0 ports, more PCIe 3.0 lanes and Optane Technology support in the future.

Details about the architecture can be found in the overview " Review and testing of Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K, i7-7700, i5-7600K and i5-7600 processors. Part 1 ".

The Best Processor for Gaming | Ryzen 5 1600X

The Ryzen 5 1600X has 6 logical cores capable of handling tasks in 12 threads. The processor has got a large cache of the third level of 16 MB, which helps it cope with the most resource-intensive games. The base frequency of 3.6 GHz jumps up to 4 GHz thanks to Precision Boost, and if a good cooler is installed, the XFR technology adds another 100 MHz. Memory support has improved significantly, which also has a positive impact on gaming performance. The possibility of installing the chip in a motherboard based on B350 logic also allows significant savings.

If you plan to overclock the processor, the 1600X will provide slightly higher processor and memory frequencies than the 1600.

Details about the architecture can be found in the overview ""

The Best Processor for Gaming | Intel Core i7-7700K

Intel's Kaby Lake architecture actually has few advantages over Skylake. However, the four Core i7-7700K cores with a base clock of 4.2 GHz and a maximum Turbo Boost of 4.5 GHz are great for gaming. In addition, additional thermal headroom and an unlocked multiplier unlocks the ability to overclock to 5 GHz. For most enthusiasts, we recommend the Core i7-7700K as the top end of the line.

Intel unveiled the arguably faster X-series processor this month, the Core i7-7440X, which is based on the same die as the Core i7-7700K processor. However, this chip is installed in the LGA 2066 interface. That is, to use this processor, you need a more advanced and more expensive X299 chipset. We recommend staying on a Core i7-7700K with a more mature platform for now.

Details about the architecture can be found in the overview " Review and testing of Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K, i7-7700, i5-7600K and i5-7600 processors. Part 1 ".

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The Best Processor for Gaming | comparison table

What about other processors not on our recommendation list? Should you buy them or not?

Such questions are quite appropriate, since the availability of different models and their prices change on a daily basis. How do you know if the processor you have your eye on will be the best buy in a given price range?

We decided to help you in this difficult task by presenting the CPU hierarchy table, where processors of the same gaming performance level are on the same line. The top lines show the most productive gaming CPUs, and as you move down the lines, performance decreases.

Proposed hierarchical table of various models processors Intel and AMD were initially based on the average performance of each in our benchmark suite. Later, we added new game data as one of the evaluation criteria, however, it should be borne in mind that different games behave differently due to the unique features of their programming code. For example, some of them are extremely dependent on the power of the graphics subsystem, but others respond positively to more cores, caches, or even a specific architecture.

We do not have the opportunity to test every CPU on the market, so in some cases the allocation of seats depends on the results of similar models. In fact, this hierarchical table is useful as a general guide to selection, but it is not a universal means of comparing different processors... For more information, see (English) or the regularly updated section " Best Processor for Gaming: Current Market Analysis ".

You may have noticed that we have split the flagship section into two levels. processors and one of them has placed several AMD quad-core models. Considering that many older platforms can be used with several different generations of graphics subsystems, we wanted to highlight the highest performing models in order to maintain a balance between the system and the video accelerator. For example, at the moment, any Sandy Bridge generation Core i7 owner will feel a significant increase when switching to Kaby Lake or Broadwell-E. And the premises of the flagship processors AMD FX series one notch with multiple Core i7s and older Core i5s means a boost to their status.

Intel and AMD Processor Hierarchy | table

Currently, our table consists of 13 levels. The bottom half of the list is mostly irrelevant: these chips will demonstrate insufficient performance in modern games, regardless of the installed video card. If your CPU belongs to this half of the list, then the upgrade will really increase the enjoyment of games.

In fact, only chips in the top five levels can be considered suitable for gaming today. And in this upper part of the table, the meaning of the upgrade appears only if you choose CPU at least two levels higher. Otherwise, the improvements will clearly not be enough to justify the costs of a new CPU, motherboard and memory, not to mention the graphics card and storage, which you also think about replacing.