CPUs
Our picks: Processors
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CPUs Guides
Budget Gaming CPUs: Intel Core i5-14600K, Core Ultra 5 245K, Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8600G
Four affordable processors for gaming PCs on a budget, which platform each puts you on, and how to keep the whole build balanced.
Gaming CPUs Beyond the 9800X3D: Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Ryzen 7 9700X, Core Ultra 9 285K and Ryzen 5 7600
Four processors for different kinds of gaming PC, from a 16-core X3D chip for gaming plus heavy work to a budget AM5 starter CPU.
How to Avoid a CPU Bottleneck in Your Gaming PC
A CPU bottleneck wastes the graphics card you already paid for. Here is how to spot one, understand its causes, and pick a CPU that keeps pace with your GPU.
CPU Core Count vs. Clock Speed: What Actually Matters for Gaming
More cores and higher clock speeds both sound like wins, but games use them very differently. Here is how to read a CPU spec sheet for gaming.