The CPU is the heart of a computer system, making it extremely important to choose a good CPU when building a computer. If you are trying to build a system, and getting a good CPU is what brought you here, you have come to the right place. This article discusses 10 great CPUs, so it is very unlikely you would not find a product that suits you.
Best Processors 2023
1. AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X is a great CPU, and it stands out as one of the best you could possibly get from the market. The product features a total of 12 cores. While the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X has 12 physical cores, the processor has a total of 24 virtual cores. This means each processor could act as two logical cores. The processing speed of the cores in this product happen to be 3.80 GHz, making this chip a great one for gaming.
- 3.60 GHz boost clock
- 3.80 GHz base clock
- 12 physical cores
- 24 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Great performance
- PCIe 4.0
Cons
- Expensive
2. Intel Core i9-9900K
The Intel Core i9-9900K processor is another very cool CPU you should look into, when shopping for processors. This chip is one of Intel’s best products, and the CPU is pretty popular. The Intel Core i9-9900K comes with a total of 8 cores which could process at a speed of 3.60 GHz. However, when needed, the cores of the processor could be clocked at 5.00 GHz. The processor furthermore has an L3 cache of 16 MB.
- 5.00 GHz boost clock
- 3.60 GHz base clock
- 8 physical cores
- 8 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Tight energy consumption
- Insane performance
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
3. AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
You do not always have to spend a fortune, to get a high speed processor. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X is a product having a total of 6 physical cores. These physical cores could however operate as 12 virtual cores. The physical cores in the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, are capable of processing at speeds as high as 4.32 GHz.
- 4.32 GHz boost clock
- 3.60 GHz base clock
- 12 physical cores
- 6 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Good single-core performance
- Affordable
Cons
- No con
4. AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
The AMD Ryzen 3 2200G is another good low-budget CPU. The processor features 4 physical cores and 4 virtual cores. The physical cores of this processor could operate as fast as 3.70 GHz, while their base clock is 3.50 GHz. We find the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G to be a great value of money, so do many other owners of this product.
- 3.70 GHz boost clock
- 3.50 GHz base clock
- 4 physical cores
- 4 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Includes a cooler
- Affordable
Cons
- Finicky drivers
5. AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Here comes another pretty cool processor that features the AMD 64 architecture. The processor comes with a total of 6 physical cores which could act as 12 virtual cores. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The L3 cache in this product has a capacity of 32 MB.
- 4.40 GHz boost clock
- 3.80 GHz base clock
- 12 physical cores
- 6 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Stunning multi-core performance
Cons
- Unique temperatures
6. AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
If you love the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, but would prefer something with a high number of cores, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X is a product you should look into. This processor comes with a total of 8 cores, and each of these cores could act as two virtual cores. In other words, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X features a total of 16 virtual cores. The base clock of the cores in this CPU is 3.60 GHz, while their boost clock is 4.40 GHz.
- 4.40 GHz boost clock
- 3.60 GHz base clock
- 16 physical cores
- 8 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Great value for money
Cons
- No con
7. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
With $300+, you could lay your hands on another 8-core processor, and this processor happens to be the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X comes with 8 physical cores and 16 virtual cores.
The base clock of this product happens to be 3.60 GHz, while its boost clock happens to be 4.40 GHz. While the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X have similar specs, there are significant differences. For instance, the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X comes with a 32 MB L3 cache.
- 4.40 GHz boost clock
- 3.60 GHz base clock
- 16 physical cores
- 8 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Includes a cooler
Cons
- No con
8. Intel Core i9-9980XE
Anyone interested in an extremely powerful processor, should try out the Intel Core i9-9980XE. The Intel Core i9-9980XE is an epic CPU that features a total of 18 physical cores. The physical cores in this CPU could however individually act as 2 virtual cores, making the Intel Core i9-9980XE have a total of 38 virtual cores.
- 4.40 GHz boost clock
- 4.00 GHz base clock
- 36 physical cores
- 18 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Insane multi-core performance
- Tops the HEDT stack
Cons
- Very expensive
9. Intel Pentium G4560
Processors from the Pentium generation are pretty old, but the Intel Pentium G4560 is a product we deemed worthwhile of being included in this article. The product comes with 2 physical cores and 4 virtual cores, and its cores have a base clock of 3.50 GHz.
- 3.50 GHz base clock
- 4 physical cores
- 2 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Very affordable
Cons
- Limited to DDR4-2400 memory
10. AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
AMD has so many great products to offer, and the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G is one of them. The AMD Ryzen 5 2400G is an AMD processor having a total of 4 physical cores and 8 virtual cores. The L3 cache in the product has a capacity of 2 MB.
- 3.90 GHz boost clock
- 3.60 GHz base clock
- 8 physical cores
- 4 virtual cores
Price: View on Amazon
Pros
- Impressive integrated graphics
Cons
- Limited PCI-E lanes