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How To Pick the Right CPU for Your Next PC Upgrade

By / Tech / May 19, 2025

Choosing the right CPU can be a bit confusing. That’s why we prepared a list of all the things you must consider when buying a new processor.

Picture of Intel and AMD CPU boxes
Intel and AMD CPU boxes (Image via Intel || AMD)

Choosing the right CPU is critical to ensuring your next PC upgrade is worth the money you spend. Without the right knowledge, you may buy something that’s only a few points better, which would be a waste of money. There are many things to consider when purchasing a new processor, such as the motherboard platform, memory compatibility, power requirements, and more.

In this article, we will go through some of the major factors you must consider when buying a new CPU for your next upgrade or new PC build.

Things To Consider When Choosing the Right CPU

The processor is the brain behind your computer, so it must be rock solid to ensure all operations happen the right way. Therefore, it is the most critical component of your PC and must be chosen wisely. Here are some things you must consider when choosing the right CPU:

What Do You Want To Do With Your PC?

Picture of Intel Core i7 box
Intel Core i7 box (Image via Intel)

The first question you must ask yourself is what you plan to do with your computer with the new processor. Is it going to be used for research, video editing/production, gaming, or a simple PC for browsing the web and watching movies? If it’s just for watching movies, browsing the web, or writing Word documents, then a simple Intel Core i3 CPU with quad cores would be enough.

If you want to do video editing, production workloads, or even gaming, a processor with 6 – 8 cores would be the right choice, especially in 2025. However, if you plan to do some research in physics, the medical field, or even some advanced simulations, you need a high-end processor with 12 cores or higher, depending on the exact field of research. So, keep that in mind when choosing the right CPU.

AMD or Intel: Which Should You Get?

AMD and Intel are the two major companies that sell consumer processors. While they are both great, there are some fundamental differences between the processors of the two companies. AMD CPUs tend to be more power-efficient and also produce less heat. On the other hand, Intel CPUs have higher core counts, which can be crucial in some aspects, but they consume more power and heat up more.

However, AMD’s X3D processors are better for gaming. They have proven better at providing higher FPS than other AMD and even Intel processors, but they are more expensive than other CPUs with a similar core count. Then there’s the question of motherboard compatibility and platform longevity, which is another area where AMD has proven to be a better choice for consumers.

AMD’s AM4 motherboards supported four generations of CPUs, which Intel boards don’t. They hardly support one or two generations before being scraped off for a newer generation of processors. Therefore, AMD is the right CPU choice for gaming and platform longevity.

DDR4 vs DDR5-Based Motherboard: Which Is Better?

Picture of AMD Ryzen 7 chip
AMD Ryzen 7 chip (Image via AMD)

The latest generation of CPUs from both Intel and AMD only supports DDR5, so if you end up choosing those processors, you will have no choice but to buy DDR5 RAM kits. The only problem is that DDR5 RAM kits are quite expensive. However, AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series of CPUs support DDR4, so you will be able to save some costs there if you buy them.

Similarly, Intel’s previous 12th, 13th, and 15th generation of processors support both DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, so you can choose one and buy a motherboard specifically for that. For example, if you buy a 14th Gen Intel Core i5-14600K CPU and a Z790 DDR4-based motherboard, you must choose DDR4 RAM only.

However, if you get a Z790 DDR5-based board, you can only add DDR5 RAM. You can’t interchange between DDR4 and DDR5 RAM kits after buying the motherboard because they are not pin-to-pin compatible. Therefore, make the right choice before buying the motherboard and RAM kit.

Which CPU Should You Buy?

Essentially, there are four things you will need to consider when choosing a CPU:

  • Purpose of the CPU
  • Processor brand
  • Motherboard Platform
  • DDR4 vs DDR5 RAM support

If you still have a problem choosing the right CPU, jot down a few processor names and compare them against the points mentioned above. The CPU that ticks the most checkboxes should be the one to buy. However, an AMD Ryzen X3D processor, like the Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D, would be the best choice if you only plan to play games. They are the best at gaming as of this writing.

We provide the latest news and “How To’s” for Tech content. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles related to PC GPUs, CPU and GPU comparisons, mobile phones, and more:

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