Looking for the best gaming CPU in 2022? You're in the right place. In this list, we will give you a handful of recommendations from both Intel and AMD to beef up your next gaming PC, all according to performance tier and budget.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 22: Internal components of an Asus gaming PC during the League of Legends World Finals on Day Two of the Girl Gamer Esports Festival at Meydan Racecourse on February 22, 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Before we move on, though, a quick DISCLAIMER: all of the prices you see here are subject to change without prior notice. Now that's out of the way, let's begin!
Best Overall: Intel Core i9-12900K
Tom's Hardware recommends that for the absolute best PC gaming performance without compromises, you need to go Intel. Specifically, go for the top-tier Core i9-12900K for your gaming machine if you want no compromises. In a lot of gaming benchmarks, the high-end 12th gen chip from Team Blue handily outperforms the 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X from AMD.
Here are several benchmarks pitting the 12900K head to head with the 5950X. While the performance really isn't too different, we're going for raw performance here - and the Intel chip is clearly the faster one in terms of gaming overall (barring a few games):
We have a bit of warning, though. Sure, the 12900K is a K-series chip (meaning it can be overclocked past its factory speeds). But as per tech YouTuber JayzTwoCents, he doesn't recommend that you push the chip past its absolute limits unless you know your PC can handle it. In simpler words, it is dangerous to overclock a 12900K if you have no clear idea how to do it.
Best Value Gaming CPU: Intel Core i5-12400/12400F
When it comes to the best price-performance balance, another Intel chip from the 12th gen lineup beats AMD: the 6-core, 12-thread Core i5-12400, or its integrated graphics-less version in the 12400F. According to an extensive test by Hardware Unboxed, the 12400 offers way better value in terms of performance-per-dollar than the Ryzen 5 5600X from AMD, and has basically cemented its place in any "best gaming CPU of 2022" list.
The base i5-12400 can be had for $193.95 on Newegg at the time of this writing. But that price can go to as low as $177.99 for the 12400F, because you're never really going to need the integrated graphics chip if you have a discreet gaming GPU (which we assume you do). The 5600X, on the other hand, still costs above $200 while performing similarly to the 12400F and 12400. The choice for best gaming CPU} of 2022 in terms of overall value is very, very clear there.
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Best Mid-Range Gaming CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K
By now, you should recognize that we're going almost all Intel here - they really knocked it out of the park with their 12th gen Alder Lake parts. And for the mid-range best gaming CPU of 2022, we're going once again with Team Blue.
The Core i5-12600K is the step-up in performance from a 12400, in more ways than one. Aside from just having 6 powerful P cores, the 12600K also has 4 extra E cores to help your system offload non-gaming tasks and maximize overall gaming performance. PC Gamer says this mid-range chip is actually faster than a last-generation i9-11900K, and that's a feat in itself.
Best Entry-Level Gaming CPU: Intel Core i3-12100F
For the cheapest member of our best gaming CPU 2022 list, we're still going Intel not because we're fanboys, but the value is just so hard to ignore. The tiny but mighty Core i3-12100F only features 4 cores and 8 threads, but it is priced at $110 on Newegg right now. The competing Ryzen 5 5600G from AMD is around $150, while offering almost identical performance and having two more cores.
Once again, the choice here is pretty clear.
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