Best AMD CPUs for Gaming in 2025

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Overview

Right now, AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered to be the best overall CPU for gaming, let alone AMD’s top option. Yes, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D offers more cores and threads and will provide more performance in productivity-oriented tasks. However, there really aren’t many gaming scenarios where those extra cores and threads will come into play and most benchmarks show the 9800X3D and 9950X3D performing similar to each other.

The 9800X3D is also ~$200 less expensive on its own and it doesn’t require a high-end motherboard and cooling configuration. So, it’s just a lot less expensive to build a system with the 9800X3D than it is to build one with the 9950X3D.

Also Read: Best Motherboards for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

Of course, there’s also the older AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D which offers a similar value proposition in that it only offers slightly less performance than the 9800X3D and typically costs ~$100 less.

Ultimately, the 9800X3D is the best option right now if you don’t need the extra productivity performance that the 9950X3D offers and you don’t paying a little more for the small performance boost the 9800X3D offers over the 7800X3D.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Overview

The case for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is simple: it basically offers all of the advantages of the 9800X3D for about ~$100 less.

It’s going to perform within ~5% of the 9800X3D in most scenarios, it can be paired with a budget-friendly B-series chipset motherboard (just make sure you do your research and pick a B-series board that has a good VRM), and it doesn’t require a lot of cooling.

Also Read: Best Motherboards for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

But, why not pay $100 more for the small performance gain that the 9800X3D brings to the table?

The reality is that, for gaming, that $100 can probably be put to better use in your system, especially if it allows you to get a better graphics card. While AMD’s V-Cache technology will provide a big boost in titles that are CPU-dependant, in GPU-heavy scenarios it won’t make as big of a difference. And with a budget that can accommodate a more expensive CPU like the 7800X3D, you’re probably targetting higher resolution gaming, which will only further put your workload onto your GPU.

So, the bottom line is that the 7800X3D currently offers the best of all worlds. It offers about as good of CPU-performance as you can currently get for gaming and it frees up some room in your budget (at least when compared to the 9800X3D) to put towards your graphics card.

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Overview

As we mentioned in our overview on the 9800X3D, the 9950X3D doesn’t offer a performance advantage over the 9800X3D for gaming. However, its extra cores and threads do allow it to outperform the 9800X3D in certain CPU-heavy productivity tasks.

So, there are really only two use cases where it would make sense for you to choose the 9950X3D over the 9800X3D…

First, if you have an unlimited budget and you can take on the additional costs required to accommodate the 9950X3D (the extra cost of the CPU itself, plus the extra cost of a higher-end motherboard and CPU cooler.)

And second, if you are building a gaming PC that will double as a workstation to perform CPU-intensive tasks.

If those two scenarios don’t fit you, you’d be much better off choosing the 9800X3D or 7800X3D and reallocating the cost difference to your other components.

AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Overview

If you don’t have the ~$350+ that is required to get AMD’s 7800X3D, the Ryzen 5 9600X is an excellent alternative.

No, it doesn’t come with AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology, but it does cost ~$200 less than the 7800X3D and in non-CPU dependant scenarios it will perform similarly.

Like the 7800X3D, the 9600X is also very inexpensive to build with as it doesn’t require a high-end motherboard and CPU cooler.

Of course, if you’re looking to save even more money, you could also opt for the older Ryzen 5 7600X or 7500F without sacrificing too much performance.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Overview

AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600X is going to offer very similar performance to the Ryzen 5 9600X (most benchmarks show the 9600X having a ~5% performance advantage.)

And as of right now, the 7600X is priced about ~$20-$30 cheaper than the 9600X. So, as long as there is a significant price difference between these two CPUs there will be a case to be made for choosing the 7600X over the 9600X.

In a budget-oriented system, that $20-$30 extra could allow you to make an important component upgrade.

However, there is the Ryzen 5 7500F as well, which also costs ~$20-$30 less than the 7600X…

AMD Ryzen 5 7500F Overview

The Ryzen 5 7500F offers the same advantage that the 7600X holds over the 9600X: it’s noticeably cheaper despite offering similar performance.

The 7600X holds a ~5% overall performance advantage over the 7600X, but that advantage will be even less (if anything at all) in GPU-heavy scenarios.

And if you really wanted to, you can overclock the 7500F to match the 7600X.

The only real problem with the 7500F is that it was only released in Asia and, as such, the only way you can buy it is from an Asian online retailer. Typically, users have gone to AliExpress to pick one up, but the best-priced 7500F right now seems to be the Newegg listing we linked to above.

The bottom line, though, is that the 7500F currently offers the best CPU option for anyone who is looking to free up as much room as possible in their budget to put towards their GPU.

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D Overview

If you’re still on the AM4 socket and you’re deciding whether or not you want to do a major upgrade to the AM5 platform or to try and extend the life of your AM4 system a little longer, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D might be the option for you.

The 5700X3D will offer overall performance on par with the Ryzen 5 7600X.

However, there are some major downsides to the 5700X3D…

For starters, being locked into the AM4 socket will limit you to using DDR4 memory. And there is no path for a CPU upgrade in the future unless you plan on upgrading your motherboard and memory as well.

The other problem is that the 5700X3D is no longer in production and supply is starting to dwindle on online retailers. This has made the price shoot up. A year ago you could pick the 5700X3D up online for ~$200. Now, if you can find it, it costs well into the $300s, completely killing it as a quick value-oriented upgrade option. For the same price you’d almost have enough to buy a 7500F, a compatible AM5 motherboard, and DDR5 memory.

So, the real only scenario where the 5700X3D still makes sense is if you’re able to find one for ~$200 or less on the used market. If you can’t you’d be much better off committing to a platform upgrade to the AM5 socket.