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From the most powerful to the most value for money, here is our list of the five best Intel CPUs for your Gaming PC.
For several years, Intel has been one of the leaders in the CPU market, releasing the very best Intel CPUs for your gaming PC. With each model and generation upgrade, they have tried to one-up themselves and their competitors, like AMD. It definitely is doing an excellent job at that. When building a PC, it can be a tough choice to decide which CPU would suit the needs of your gaming PC the best. With new processors rapidly being released and the old-gen CPU’s prices dropping, it is an ideal time to pick the very best processor. In this post, we will go over the 5 best Intel CPUs for your gaming PC that we recommend.
1. Intel Core i5-13400F
Best Mid-range Intel Gaming CPU
Your budget is a crucial factor when buying the best Intel CPU for your gaming PC. There are some excellent processors out there that are impressive despite being relatively cheap. The Intel Core i5-13400F gives the best bang for your buck out there currently. It is equipped with 6 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores, with P-cores making Hyperthreading available. With a total thread count of 16 and a max clock speed of 4.6 GHz, this 13th-Gen i5 chip by Intel performs desirably while gaming or other tasks.
Specifications
- Cores: 6+4
- Threads: 16
- Base Clock Freq: 2.5 GHz P-cores and 1.8 GHz E-cores
- Max Boost Clock: 4.6 GHz P-cores and 3.3 GHz E-cores
- OC: No
- TDP: 65 W, 148 W (Turbo Max)
- L3 Cache: 20 MB
- Price: $162.58
The Core i5-13400F is an ‘F’ model, which means that it does not come with an integrated graphics card. Though this is not a big deal, it might strain your budget by having to go for an expensive GPU. It won’t be possible to enable overclocking on this processor either. It is also a power-hungry CPU, demanding up to 148 W on Max Turbo.
| Pros | Cons |
| Fairly budget friendly | No integrated GPU |
| 10-cores performance | High energy consumption when using Turbo Max |
| Compatible with cheap motherboards |
2. Intel Core i9-14900K
Flagship Intel CPU
No other chipset in Intel’s lineup of processors gives more performance than their flagship processor, the Intel Core i9-14900K. Performing heavy workloads and multitasking like gaming, video editing, and content creation comes at the cost of a high core count and excellent clock speeds. This processor is the very best that Intel has to offer right now, with a 24-core count. This is supported by 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores. The max clock speeds go as high as 6 GHz, delivering unmatched results. The architecture is Raptor Lake Refresh, an upgrade on its predecessor’s architecture. It also comes with an integrated graphics card, the Intel UHD Graphics 770. Sadly, this iGPU is not powerful enough to keep up with the performance of a 14th-Gen i9 chip.
Specifications
- Cores: 8+16
- Threads: 32
- Base Clock Freq: 3.2 GHz P-cores and 2.4 GHz E-cores
- Max Boost Clock: 6.0 GHz P-cores and 4.4 GHz E-cores
- OC: Yes
- TDP: 125 W, 253 W (Turbo Max)
- L3 Cache: 36 MB
- Price: $427.80
This CPU was released at the same price point as its predecessor, the Core i9-13900K. However, the performance upgrade isn’t quite large enough when it comes to gaming, despite the processor being marginally better. Power hungry doesn’t begin to cover the 253 W max TDP of the Core i9-14900K. It must be used with a large cooler for ideal temperatures.
| Pros | Cons |
| Really high clock speeds | Requires a lot of budget to perform at its best |
| Can be used with 600 or 700-series motherboards | Can get extremely hot |
| Unmatched multithreaded performance |
3. Intel Core i7-14700K
Best Intel CPU for Gaming
The Intel Core i7-14700K, despite its high price, delivers the best gaming performance out of all Intel CPUs. Even though it has a total core count of 20 (8 P-cores, 12 E-cores), its performance while gaming is comparable to the i9-14900K while being significantly economical. This chip is based on the Rapid Lake hybrid architecture. You can overclock this processor according to your needs as long as you are able to keep the temperatures under control. Even if overclocking is not your thing, with a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz and a max clock speed of 5.6 GHz, excellent multithreaded and single-threaded performance offer great results when it comes to heavy workloads.
Specifications
- Cores: 8+12
- Threads: 28
- Base Clock Freq: 3.4 GHz P-cores and 2.5 GHz E-cores
- Max Boost Clock: 5.6 GHz P-cores and 4.3 GHz E-cores
- OC: Yes
- TDP: 125 W, 253 W (Turbo Max)
- L3 Cache: 33 MB
- Price: $347.12
The presence of an integrated graphics card, the Intel UHD Graphics 770, is not a huge pro. Similar to the 14th-Gen i9 processor, it doesn’t do justice to this 14th-Gen i5 chip. Likewise, the power consumption is really high, just like the Core i9 chip, at 253 W on Turbo Max. This can lead to overheating issues if not fitted with a large CPU cooler.
| Pros | Cons |
| A great upgrade to the 13th-Gen i7 CPUs | Draws a lot of power to deliver performance |
| The best CPU for gaming at the cheapest cost | Reaches very high temperatures under max stress |
| Excellent multithreaded performance |
4. Intel Core i5-13600K
Best Mid-range CPU with an iGPU
If you are running on a tight budget and are unable to afford a pricey graphics card, the Intel Core i5-13600K is a viable option for your gaming PC. While it is not the most powerful processor in the market, the performance it delivers at its price point is exceptional. With the addition of an integrated graphics card, the Intel UHD Graphics 770 does a decent job while playing most titles, although not the latest ones.
Specifications
- Cores: 6+8
- Threads: 20
- Base Clock Freq: 3.5 GHz P-cores and 2.6 GHz E-cores
- Max Boost Clock: 5.1 GHz P-cores and 3.9 GHz E-cores
- OC: Yes
- TDP: 125 W, 181 W (Turbo Max)
- L3 Cache: 24 MB
- Price: $224.99
The higher performance of this processor comes at a cost of higher power usage, resulting in more heat generated. The temperatures of the i5-12600K are lower, but it is not as powerful and might not perform adequately enough in newer titles. It costs more than the 12th-Gen i5 CPU. The higher price is worth it because the 13th-Gen i5 chip is more future-proof, meaning that you might not need to upgrade for a while.
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent mid-range gaming CPU | Power usage can get slightly high |
| Comes with an iGPU | Can run hot unless coupled with a good cooler |
| High core count for the price |
5. Intel Core i3-13100F
Best Budget Intel CPU
When running on a really tight budget, unfortunately you may have to compromise in performance. When it comes to power, the Intel Core i3-13100F is the best gaming CPU under $100. This chip does its job well to be considered the best in its price range. Equipped with 4 P-cores, this processor can deliver excellent single-threaded performance and gives desirable results while gaming. It also yields good results while performing productivity tasks. With the support of DDR4, DDR5 memory, as well as PCIe 5.0, this chip becomes very enticing.
Specifications
- Cores: 4+0
- Threads: 8
- Base Clock Freq: 3.4 GHz
- Max Boost Clock: 4.5 GHz
- OC: No
- TDP: 58 W, 110 W (Turbo Max)
- L3 Cache: 12 MB
- Price: $79.00
Belonging to the ‘F’ series means that the i3-13100F lacks an iGPU and cannot be overclocked. It lacks Efficiency cores as well, which cause a performance hit when it comes to background tasks. However, the stock cooler included does a good job keeping the temperatures cool.
| Pros | Cons |
| Compatible with DDR5 and DDR4 RAM | Lacks in multithreaded performance |
| Supports PCIe 5.0 | Overclocking is locked |
| Best performance at the cheapest price | No iGPU |
Those were our five recommendations for the best Intel CPUs for your gaming PC.
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