5 Best Computer Processors in 2024

Affordable and high-quality computer processors.

If you want to build a powerful PC for demanding tasks, make sure to purchase the best computer processor to optimize your workflow. Whether you are a video editor, designer or creative professional of any kind, you need to use a computer that can process a large amount of data in no time. While some users might believe that selecting a decent CPU is quite easy, it’s more difficult than one might think. To make your task easier, we have hand-picked the best 8 processors available on the market nowadays.

Whether you need to find a high-end option fitted with one of Intel’s recent chips or a more affordable CPU, make sure to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of different models to pick the one that is perfect for your needs.

Cores: 6 | Threads: 12 | Base clook: 3.6 GHz | Boost clock: 4.2 GHz

The Zen 2 microarchitecture has enabled AMD to dramatically improve the consumer experience of its current offerings. But the six-core AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processors turned out to be especially advantageous in the Ryzen 3000 lineup. In their price range, they are able to offer the best combination of price and performance. When working with digital content, the Ryzen 5 3600 is ahead of any CPU of the Core i5 family and shows the performance level of the Core i7.

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is compatible with many older Socket AM4 boards and delivers performance at least as good as the flagship Ryzen 1800X, even in multi-threaded, resource-intensive apps. You don't have to use expensive motherboards with AMD processors. When there are no strict restrictions on the cost of the system, we would recommend that you first think about buying a Ryzen 5 3600.

Cores: 4 | Threads: 4 | Base clook: 3.6 GHz | Boost clock: 4.0 GHz

The main feature of the AMD Ryzen 3 3200G is the increased performance of cores and graphics by improving the technical process. The 3200G features TurboBoost technology that boosts the highest performing core to 4 GHz. The processor also has a L3 cache of 4 MB and a heat dissipation of 65 W. The boxed version of the Ryzen 3 3200G comes with Wraith Stealt cooling. An OEM kit is also available.

Vega 8 is used as a video processor. AMD is positioning the graphics core not only as an option for office tasks, but also as a solution for undemanding gamers. These characteristics are in line with today's budget desktop graphics cards.

Cores: 12 | Threads: 24 | Base clook: 3.8 GHz | Boost clock: 4.6 GHz

AMD has made the new Ryzen 9 3900X processors quite successful overall. Continuous work on microarchitecture optimization has finally brought a successful result: AMD processors have significantly reduced the single-core performance gap from Intel. The Ryzen 9 3900X almost reaches the Core i9-9900K in single-threaded tests and significantly outperforms it in multi-threaded tests.

We recommend choosing the Ryzen 9 3900X if you are streaming, video rendering, or are into digital content creation. In addition, this 12-core processor is still not very power-hungry.

Cores: 8 | Threads: 16 | Base clook: 3.6 GHz | Boost clock: 4.4 GHz

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has met almost all the expectations, and even more. The processor has seriously increased both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, and has become noticeably more economical. The 3700X offers an excellent price / performance ratio. Zen 2 Gen has virtually eliminated the gap to the competition.

With no doubt, the Ryzen 7 3700X's multi-core performance is better than any of Intel's current consumer CPUs. The test processor surprised us with good gaming results and reduced power consumption. AMD has made significant improvements in the Zen 2 architecture - the Ryzen 7 3700X comes close to the Core i7 in single-core performance.

Cores: 8 | Threads: 16 | Base clook: 2.9 GHz | Boost clock: 4.8 GHz

Intel Core i7-10700 is a new 10th Gen processor with Comet Lake microarchitecture. Designed for the Intel LGA 1200 desktop platform. The Intel Core i7-10700 is manufactured using a 14 nm process technology, has 8 cores that operate in 16 threads with a nominal clock frequency of 2.9 GHz, 4.8 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. The L2 cache is 16 MB. The i7-10700 has a 2-channel DDR4 memory controller.

Due to the large core, there is also an effective but reasonable amount of voltage headroom, which means that this chip can be overclocked much easier than some of the other chips on the market. Also, the large core processor inside this processor is able to run at a much lower frequency than the rest of the components inside.

If you have never read anything about processors but want to learn more about why the number of cores is important, you can imagine them as engine cylinders. The more cores your CPU has, the more powerful it is. Advanced programs are usually written in a way they can use several cores to cope with various tasks more quickly.

When people are talking about CPU threads they refer to instructions required for running various software. Earlier processors and CPUs with disabled simultaneous multithreading run one thread per core. However, most AMD and Intel processors that you can find on the market nowadays can run two threads per core at the same time, which allows them to share some resources.

This parameter refers to the processing speed and is measured in hertz. Manufacturers indicate the GHz value to show how many clock cycles a processor can handle in a second. If this number is rather big, it means that you have a high-speed CPU.

To solve most advanced tasks faster, a processor has integrated high-speed memory that can be used for storing a variety of commands that you use a lot. Every processor has Level 1, 2, and 3 caches, with Level 1 cache delivering the highest speed despite its rather small size. The L3 cache is larger and slower.

This abbreviation stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the max amount of heat produced by a CPU chip. When selecting the best computer processor, pay attention to this parameter as it helps you understand whether a cooling system will handle a heavy workload. You can see this term when reading descriptions of GPUs, processors and other hardware components that are prone to overheating under a high load. Besides, it helps you understand how much power your processor uses.

If you compare two processors with the same clock speed and number of threads, it’s highly likely that they will support different numbers of IPC. As a rule, processors that were designed by different companies and are based on different architectures produce different numbers of instructions per clock cycle. IPC mostly depends on the architecture, which is why it’s better to select a CPU with a chip from the recent generations. For instance, the Ryzen 7 3700X with Zen2 is better than the Ryzen 7 2700X with Zen+.