Best CPU for Gaming in 2019: The 11 Best Processors for Every Budget

Intel Core i7-9700K Overview

Intel’s latest generation of Coffee Lake processors has had PC enthusiasts scratching their heads a bit. For starters, Intel decided to scrap hyperthreading on their newest i7 processor and instead opted to increase the core count. The i7-9700K comes with eight cores, which is two more cores than the previous i7-8700K.

But, that’s not what has been the real head-scratcher. The biggest disappointment of the i7-9700K according to early benchmarks, is the fact that it doesn’t offer a very significant performance increase over the 9700K. And, not only that, but it is coming in at a bit higher of a pricetag as well.

Overall, though, the 9700K does outperform the 8700K and so if you’re looking for the best CPU for gaming for under $500, the 9700K is it. If you want to save a little bit more money, you can opt for the older Intel Core 8700K, or, for even less, the Ryzen 7 2700X can currently be had for just a little over $300 and will do more than fine for gaming.

Just make sure, though, that if you are planning on getting the i7-9700K and you want to keep it cool that you pair it with a high-end air cooler or AIO cooler.

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AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Overview

AMD’s flagship processor for its AM4 platform is the Ryzen 7 2700X.

With 8 cores and 16 threads, the 2700X is a real monster. It starts out with a base clock of 3.7GHz and has a “precision” boost of 4.3GHz.

The Ryzen 7 2700X is a high-end performer that will work for you if you are looking for something that can both deliver good performance while gaming and handle multi-threaded applications with ease. And, because the 2700X comes in at a significantly lower price than the Intel Core i7-9700K, it is currently a better CPU option for your money if you don’t have an unlimited budget.

Ultimately, if I had a decent budget (between $1,000-$1,500) to build a gaming PC right now and I would also be using the PC to do more CPU intensive tasks, I would opt for the Ryzen 7 2700X over both the i7-9700K and i5-9600K. For pure gaming performance, though, the single-core performance of Intel’s newest processors would be the more ideal choice.

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Intel Core i5-9600K Overview

I’m a little torn on the i5-9600K. Intel’s unlocked Core i5 processor has always typically been their sweet spot for mid-range to high-end gaming builds. And, really, the 9600K is an excellent chip, especially when you consider Coffee Lake i5’s have bumped up to six-core CPUs.

However, the new i5-9600K is currently priced at a little under $300, whereas previous Intel Core i5 unlocked processors floated in the $200-$230 price range. So, with the higher price tag, I think that gives consumers pause to consider more competitors.

In my opinion, the 9600K has three main competitors that currently offer a better price-to-performance ratio and those are the Ryzen 5 2600, the Ryzen 5 2700, and Intel’s own i5-8400.

With the much cheaper Ryzen 5 2600, you can pair it with a sub-$70 motherboard and keep the stock cooler and still be able to hit mild overclocks. And, the total cost to build a system with a Ryzen 5 2600 setup (CPU, motherboard, and stock cooler), is going to be at least $200 lower than it will to build a system with an i5-9600K setup (CPU, motherboard, and aftermarket cooler).

The other option is Intel’s Core i5-8400, which, while it can’t be overclocked, it does come in at almost $80 lower than the i5-9600K and you won’t have to buy a third party cooler to go with it or spend as much on a motherboard.

So, the main problem with Intel’s new i5-9600K is that it, A) has more competition, and B) has increased in price to a level that alienates a lot of the people who would normally buy it. The bottom line, though, is that if you’re looking for the best processor for gaming in the under $300 price category, the excellent single-core performance of the 9600K makes it the best option for you.

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AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Overview

In my opinion, as of right now, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700 is one of the best options currently on the market. Not because it is the highest performing CPU on this list (it’s close), but because of all of the new Ryzen CPUs that have been released, the 2700 is one of the better options in terms of the performance you can get out of it for the price you pay to get it.

Yes, it’s true that in the grand scheme of things an Intel Core i5-9600K still performs better than the new Ryzen CPUs when gaming.

Gaming nowadays is just way more GPU-dependent than CPU dependent, and both Intel’s i5 and i7 processors and AMD’s new Ryzen CPUs are more than enough to avoid bottlenecking today’s top GPUs.

However, the one bright spot of the Ryzen 7 2700 is that with eight cores and 16 threads, the Ryzen 7 2700 is well-suited for things like video editing, streaming, and doing graphic design. Yes, the new 9700K has added more cores and they has closed the gap in multi-threaded applications. However, they are quite a bit more expensive to build with and so the Ryzen 7 2700 is still the way to go at certain price points if you will be doing a lot of editing as well as gaming.

Ultimately, though, if you are building your computer for more than just gaming and you don’t quite have the budget to fit in an i7-9700K, then the 7 2700 is definitely an option you’ll want to consider.

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AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Overview

I’d say that, as of right now, there are three only three attractive mid-range CPUs available. And, those are the Intel Core i5-8400, the Ryzen 5 2600, and the Intel Core i3-8100.

Each of those processors is affordable and will provide ideal in-game performance in just about any scenario, and, in the case of the Ryzen 5 2600, it can be overclocked and it has a stock cooler that is actually suited for mild overclocks.

Of those three, if you’re looking for the most all-around performance, then the Ryzen 5 2600 is probably your best bet. It has six cores and 12 threads and it comes in at well under $160.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to build a new mid-range gaming computer, you have a little over $150 to spend on your processor, and you want as many cores and threads as possible, then the Ryzen 5 2600 and a solid AM4 motherboard is the route to go.

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Intel Core i5-8400 Overview

In my opinion, if you look at just the CPU, the Intel Core i5-8400 is one of the better value options right now for anyone looking to build a mid-range gaming PC. The problem, though, is it cannot be overclocked, whereas the Ryzen 5 2600 can.

But, with six-cores and extremely good single-core performance, the i5-8400 is a solid option if your sole purpose is gaming. And, now that Intel has finally released their budget-friendly H-series and B-series motherboards, the 8400 offers a really affordable platform to build off of.

Ultimately, if you don’t have any plans to overclock and you’re looking to build a mid-range gaming computer, then i5-8400 offers a nice price-to-performance office to center your build around.

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Intel Core i3-8100 Overview

With Intel finally releasing their budget-friendly H-series and B-series motherboards for Coffee Lake chips and with the price of the 8100 coming down a bit, it really is one of the better budget-friendly-to-mid-range processor options currently available.

It’s quad-core processor that has a base clock speed of 3.6GHz. While it doesn’t have as many cores as the other options listed above it, quad-core processors are still enough for the majority of games currently out there.

So, if you’re looking to build a budget-friendly gaming computer, you don’t care about overclocking, and you’d rather spend more on your graphics card than on your processor, then the i3-8100 will give you a nice affordable option to build around

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AMD Ryzen 5 1400 Overview

If you want to overclock and you have a tight budget then the Ryzen 5 1400 is an option you’ll want to consider instead of the i3-8100.

Like the 8100, the Ryzen 5 1400 is a quad-core CPU. However, unlike the 8100, the 1400 has eight threads instead of just four. It also has a low TDP of 65W, and it can be overclocked.

Also, it comes with a very respectable stock CPU cooler. In fact, the stock cooler is decent enough to allow you to hit mild overclocks on the 1400.

Ultimately, the decision in this price range really comes down to how much money you have to spend. If you need an extra ~$20 in your budget to be able to move up to the next graphics card up, then go with the Intel Core i3-8100 over the 1400. If you want to overclock and have a little bit of money in your budget to spare, then go with the 1400.

In the end, both are excellent options that will perform well now and in the future.

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AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Overview

In the APU vs CPU battle, I’ve long rallied against APUs in general. In my opinion, past generations of AMD’s APUs have come with a couple of issues that have kept them from being relevant for building gaming PCs with.

Those problems were that, A) there was no upgrade path from the old FM2 socket to a high-end desktop processor, and B) the prices were too high and thus couldn’t compete with other budget CPU/dedicated GPU combos.

However, with AMD’s new APUs being built on the AM4 socket, there is now a real upgrade path for APU owners. And, with the state of the graphics card market, AMD’s Ryzen APUs actually make sense for certain budgets.

The 2400G comes with four cores, eight threads, the ability to overclock, and integrated Vega 11 graphics. It also has a base lock of 3.6GHz and a boost clock of 3.9GHz.

In my opinion, if you have ~$400 or so to spend on a gaming computer build, your best bet is to go with a Ryzen 2400G. There just currently isn’t a budget CPU/dedicated GPU combination that makes more sense than a 2400G at those price points.

So, in the end, while I have been an opponent of AMD’s APUs, I think this time around they got them right.

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AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Overview

In the past, I typically avoided recommending APUs. However, with the release of AMD’s new Ryzen APUs, and with GPU prices currently out of control, these new APUs seem to finally have a legitimate price point in which they make sense for budget gamers.

The Ryzen 3 2200G is a quad-core chip that has four threads. It comes packed with integrated AMD Vega 8 graphics.

The integrated graphics on the 2200G are actually powerful enough for the APU to handle most non-demanding PC games. So, games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Minecraft, etc.

The chip is unlocked as well, so you can also overclock it to get a little bit more performance out of it.

Ultimately, the Ryzen 3 2200G is a solid budget Ryzen CPU for gaming. It works well in gaming computer builds that come in under ~$400 or so and will serve as the perfect entry-point for 1080p gaming.

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Intel Core i3-8100 Overview

In the past, AMD typically took the crown for budget processors. However, the Intel Pentium G4560 has plenty of selling points to it that definitely makes it one of the best cheap processor currently available.

In fact, the Pentium G4560 is probably the best processor under $100, all things considered…

For starters, the G4560 is cheap. I mean like sub-$70 cheap. That makes it by far the most affordable CPU on this list. It can also be overclocked and it can get to 4.0 GHz fairly easily. And, unlike its predecessors, it is hyperthreaded and has four total threads.

But, perhaps the biggest benefit of going with a G4560 is the fact that, in the future, it can be upgraded to an Intel i5 or i7 CPU and be paired with a high-end video card.

So, ultimately, while the Pentium G4560 isn’t the fastest CPU on the market, it does offer a very interesting option at an incredibly affordable price that will not only give you decent performance but will give you a good foundation to upgrade on later. And, in the end, it is probably the best budget CPU currently available.

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