the Best CPU Processor 2018

photo: digitaltrends.com

Today we are talking best CPUs and this is a prompt follow up to our late December buying guide update, with a couple of surprise categories, and needless to say, the latest available CPUs and platforms in play. It must be noted that we have recently made 'best of' recommendations for both Intel and AMD motherboards, with just the X470 platform currently missing, and that is coming up very shortly.

With Ryzen now annually in the current market, it's brought more competition in the desktop CPU scene that we had seen lately, it is an exciting time to be a PC enthusiast. After all of the extensive testing you're knowledgeable about, we've produced this succinct guide about the best CPU options available at the moment.

1. AMD Ryzen 3 2200G

photo: digitaltrends.com

We have the best budget CPU and we went with the Intel Pentium G4600 that was pretty much impossible to beat at the moment. This time around though the Gold G5400 does not really provide anything new, a 200 MHz increase in clock frequency is not going to get it on the line now.

Even though a bit more expensive (yet still, less than $100), the Ryzen 3 2200Gprovides worlds more worth. Aside from being a genuine quad-core, the incorporated Vega 8 GPU is many times stronger for people that are holding off on purchasing a discrete graphics card.

The actual competition for the 2200G comes in the Core i3-8100 which costs around $20 more, but has smoked with no discrete graphics card. Then with a GTX 1060 or RX 580 they provide a similar gaming experience. For productivity workloads and standard usage they're equally matched though once overclocked the 2200G generally comes out on top.

How the Ryzen 3 2200G is an unlocked component which could be overclocked on cheap motherboards, can reap the benefits of higher clocked memory, packs a powerful integrated GPU, and is slightly less expensive than the Core i3-8100 makes it our #1 of funding CPU pick.

2. AMD Ryzen 5 2600x

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It must be noted that Intel's Core i5-8400 is an attractive option, it is a little cheaper too, and arguably provides better gaming performance in the current titles. But while the R5 2600 may not be quite as great for gaming, as it comes to productivity workloads it is in another league.

It is fair to say that the superior multi-threaded functionality offsets the slightly poorer gaming performance. Needless to say, when it comes to gaming I am generalizing because in certain names the 2nd-gen Ryzen CPU is quicker.

The 2600 and 2600X will also be unlocked CPUs and can be overclocked on cheap B350 motherboards. As we have mentioned before, we also enjoy that AMD has vowed to encourage the AM4 platform at least until 2020, which makes it a smart investment.

3. AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz Socket AM4

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For $300 to $330 the Ryzen 7 2700 series is difficult to beat when it comes to productivity workloads. The Core i7-8700 series still retains an edge for softly threaded workloads because of a clock speed advantage, but for the seriously taxing and time consuming stuff, the R7 2700 and 2700X offer notable benefits.

The 2nd-gen Ryzen CPUs also took a good step forward when it comes to gaming performance and here the 2700X is extremely commendable, especially when paired with the ideal memory.

As applications continue to make use of Ryzen 7's many threads, such as Adobe Premiere Pro CC, we are going to continue to see Ryzen walk off with the prize. Add to that the longer-term AM4 platform service, we feel like right now the Ryzen 7 series provides shoppers the most bang for their buck at the $300 price range.

4. Intel Core i7-8700K

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ntel's mainstream flagship Core i7 chip is a beast. The i7-8700K has incredible out of the box functionality, remarkable overclockability, and electricity consumption that's impressive to get a CPU running at over 4GHz by default.

If you have got a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or better, and you are following the very best gaming CPU the marketplace offers, then it is the Core i7-8700K which you search.

Whoever has it Intel might ditch support for your 8th-gen Core series sooner than anticipated which might be a issue, and while that would be a real shame if true, let's be fair, you could die of old age before a 5 GHz 6-core/12-thread CPU is noticeably slower in games compared to anything the future may hold.

At ~$350 the 8700K makes the most sense for people looking for extreme frame rates using the most recent and greatest GPUs, not those playing CS:GO on a GTX 1060. If money's no object and you just want the best for gaming, it is the Core i7 8700K palms down, you can not argue with the truth.

5. AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

photo: techspot.com

Believe it or not, this was the easiest pick of the bunch to make and it looks like nearly all shoppers also agree. As of writing, AMD's Threadripper 1950X occupies the 23rd position on Amazon's best CPU seller list -- an unbelievable effect for a $900 CPU that costs over two times as much as each CPU recorded before it.

In our final guide update, we predicted this segment that the best "money is no object" CPU, and we regretted calling it as we pushed ourselves into choosing what is arguably the fastest chip we would not buy ourselves.

" Frankly, for $899 versus $1,999, we would purchase the Threadripper 1950X within the i9-7980XE about 95 percent of the time, and that's why it's recommended on our PC buying guide's 'Extreme Machine.' But to get a "money is no object" processor, the Core i9 definitely deserves to be mentioned and possibly even crowned. "

    If overclocked, the i9-7980XE can be approximately 15-20% faster than an overclocked 1950X, even though it's not without trade-offs of the very same proportions in total power draw. At inventory, the Core i9 is similar to 10% faster than Threadripper, which again, does make it tough to recommend awarded its 100% cost premium.

Even though the 16-core/32-thread Core i9-7960X is sometimes quicker, additionally, it costs 100% more. 100% more for about the same performance is insanity.