The Best processors 2021
Are you looking for the best processor 2019 has on offer with which to build your new computer? Lucky for you, the CPU market is teeming with powerful silicon and growing. Thanks to the fiery competition between Intel and AMD, now is a great time to invest in a new processor.
AMD has been slowly dominating the market, especially now with its Ryzen 3rd generation processors to compete with the likes of Intel Core i9-9900K and Intel Core i9-9920X. Intel, on the other hand, has its 9th-generation Coffee Lake Refresh chips with the Intel Core i9-9900K leading series, and they are still ever popular. Plus, not to be outdone by AMD, Intel has been rolling out Ice Lake chips, and we should start seeing them in computers by the end of 2019.
The market is completely packed with a number of impressive chips, from budget big shots, like the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, to HEDT heroes, like Intel’s Basin Falls Refresh lineup. There are also many mid-range megastars to round out this best processors list, like our current favourite, the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X.
In fact, you can hardly throw a stone without hitting an impressive processor that does the job and more. This just means that finding the most ideal one for your rig is key. Lucky for you, even if the latest and greatest silicon is out of your wallet’s reach, there are many excellent Coffee Lake and Ryzen Gen 1 chips on the market.
Get ready to experience incredible PC performance – as well as great deals thanks to our included our price comparison tool. These are the best processors on the market in 2019.
The AMD Ryzen 9 3900X isn’t just AMD’s best mainstream processor right now; it’s also currently the king of all mainstream processors. With multi-threaded performance that destroys everything in its path to start, you won’t find a processor more impressive without stepping up to the HEDT market. Sure, there are some workloads where the Intel Core i9-9900K will still come out better, like with old games that are completely single-threaded. However, thanks to this chip, the gap is definitely starting to narrow.
Thanks to increasing pressure from AMD, Intel’s offerings have been heating up like crazy (sometimes literally.) Out of this fiery competition came the Intel Core i9-9900K, an absolute beast of a processor that packs eight cores and 16 threads. That’s more cores than any mainstream processor released by Intel. The performance shows that it’s worth it, as this chip can go head to head with some of AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper chips. If raw performance is what you’re seeking, the Intel Core i9-9900K is, without question, one of the best processors you can go for.
Intel Core i9-9900K
Looking to purchase one of the best processors for content creation on a tight budget? The AMD Ryzen 5 2600X might just be an ideal choice for you. With 6 cores, 12 threads and a base clock of 3.6GHz, you’re getting a much better performance than the pricier Intel Core i5-8600K. As a bonus, you get a gorgeous RGB CPU cooler included. Yes, the gaming performance over the blue team is marginal at best, but when you start multi-tasking – and who doesn’t always end up with 100 chrome tabs open by lunchtime – that value starts to manifest.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
If you’re putting together a gaming PC while on the tightest budget, the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G might just be your best investment yet. It doesn’t inherit the hyperthreading capability of its predecessor, the Ryzen 3 1200. However, the introduction of integrated graphics makes this APU one of the most affordable ways to experience casual PC gaming, a good enough reason to give this a spot in our best processors list. Impressively, we were even able to play Overwatch at 4K Ultra-HD resolution at ‘Epic’ settings.
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
With more threads than the Intel Core i5-9600K, this mid-range graphics card delivers impressive multi-threading performance. However, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X doesn’t just stop there: it takes that budget-minded stage of performance to a new level, with its increased IPC (instructions per clock) performance and a higher clock speed while staying at the same price point. It also stays competitive in even the most intense single-threaded applications.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Initially the Intel Core i7-7700K’s biggest competition, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X still holds its own today, despite having been succeeded by the Ryzen 7 2800X. Its high core count, when compared to its Intel rival, means that it’s better suited for VR workloads. Now that it’s dropped considerably in price, it’s more affordable than ever. If you’re building a VR rig, do yourself a favor: save some cash without sacrificing too much on performance with the Ryzen 7 1800X. It’s undoubtedly one of the best processors for VR gaming.
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
The single-threaded performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X admittedly still falls behind Intel, but what matters most in video editing and rendering is how a chip does with multi-threaded workloads. If you’re building a computer that can handle your video editing demands, this chip is an absolute beast and our top pick for video editing. That’s not all: this AMD chip offers impressive performance and a Wraith Spire cooler at a very affordable price.
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Are you the kind of user that demands world-class performance, and money is no object? The Intel Core i9-9980XE is among the best processors for you. With 18-cores and 36-threads, it absolutely destroys all its competitors on the market right now, if just barely. Multi-threaded applications and workstation-class projects are going to breeze by with this chip. However, if that steep price tag makes you do a double take, then you might want to look somewhere else.
If you choose the Intel Pentium G4560 over a Core i3 chip, you might not even notice the slight loss of performance, as you’ll be too busy counting all the money you saved. As the first Pentium chip in a long time to boast hyper-threading, the G4560 shows us what low-end CPUs have been missing for a long time. In benchmarks, it proves that it’s easily adjacent to the pricier Intel Core i3-7100.
One of the only things that were missing in AMD’s Ryzen processors when they blew up was the integrated graphics support. But then, the Ryzen 5 2400G hit the streets and changed everything for mainstream PC users. With excellent AMD Vega graphics, it’s a fantastic APU most ideal for anyone looking to build a home theatre PC. In addition, now that AMD has slashed the price, you can get your 4K action for cheaper than ever.
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G