One of the strangest things about gaming is that no matter the year, we always look at games as if they’re at the pinnacle of computer graphics. Where can we go from here? Can it get better? The great thing is, it seems that the improvements to graphics aren’t slowing down any time soon.
The increased demand from our systems also results in an increased demand for greater performance. One of the core components that takes the brunt of this demand is the CPU, as games get better, thankfully, so do our processors.
With this being said, today we’re going to take a look at some of the various CPU’s that are currently widely available. Each of these will have their own set of pros and cons but ultimately, depending on what you are looking to play will have a huge impact on the hardware you opt for.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Cores – 12
Threads – 24
Base Clock – 3.8 GHz
Turbo Clock – 4.6 GHz
Overclocking – Yes
L3 Cache – 64 MB
TDP – 105 W
The Ryzen 9 3990X is a monster of a processor. If your primary need for a processor isn’t running games, this processor simply blows its competitors out of the water. When it comes to gaming, paired with an equivalently powerful GPU, you’ll be able to achieve ultra settings on the games of your choice, with up to 240 FPS for gamers who run games on the minimum in a competitive setting.
Priced similarly to Intel’s i9-9900K, you’ll receive more bang for your buck in a number of ways. Firstly, the sheer number of cores and threads is impressive, but while this might not translate into pure gaming performance, any other task such as rendering, video editing or CAD work will be achieved flawlessly.
When paired with an RTX 2080 Ti graphics card, benchmarks show the Ryzen 9 3990X able to run titles such as Forza Horizon 4, Assassins Creed: Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 133 FPS, 103 FPS and 105 FPS respectively when running in the stock configuration.
Intel i9-9900K
Cores – 8
Threads – 16
Base Clock – 3.6 GHz
Turbo Clock – 5.0 GHz
Overclocking – Yes
L3 Cache – 16 MB
TDP – 95 W
Currently, the Intel i9-9900K is one of the fastest Intel CPU’s available for playing games. Being the best of the best, the i9-9900K could be seen as overkill for many games, but as more and more games are released with increasingly demanding graphics, this is a great way to future proof your machine.
With excellent per-core performance, the Core i9-9900K can do much more than play games. This processor will easily make an excellent companion to a streaming PC or a general workstation.
When paired with an RTX 2080 Ti graphics card, benchmarks show the Intel i9-9900K is able to run titles such as Fortnite and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at 252 FPS and 516 FPS respectively when running in the stock configuration.
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Cores – 8
Threads – 16
Base Clock – 3.6 GHz
Turbo Clock – 4.4 GHz
Overclocking – Yes
L3 Cache – 32 MB
TDP – 65 W
If you’re looking for more of a mid-range CPU, AMD’s Ryzen 7 3700X is a great option. While you may not get the crazy core counts you’d find on the higher range models, you’ll still be able to experience great gaming performance and enjoy the benefits of AMD’s Zen 2 architecture.
When it comes to overclocking, AMD’s precision boost overdrive (PBO) is still a better alternative. When paired with a decent graphics card you won’t notice much difference when compared to say, running an Intel i7-9700K processor.
When paired with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, benchmarks have this CPU able to run titles such as Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Total War: Warhammer II at 118 FPS and 100 FPS when running at a resolution of 1080p
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
Cores – 4
Threads – 8
Base Clock – 3.7 GHz
Turbo Clock – 4.2 GHz
Overclocking – Yes
L3 Cache – 4 MB
TDP – 65 W
Moving on to the more budget side of things, the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G is a great CPU for budget builds. A great selling point of this CPU is that it also comes with an integrated graphics card that works well in budget builds. While we’d still recommend a dedicated GPU, it’s still a nice feature to have if your budget limits you.
While counted as a budget CPU, the Ryzen 5 3400G still packs a punch. It may be more suitable to running lower requirement titles, so if you’ve been looking to play some eSports titles with less intensive system requirements, this processor will take this in its stride.
If you choose to stick with the integrated GPU you can still expect pretty impressive benchmarks with titles such as Fortnite and World of Tanks running at 81 FPS and 198 FPS on the lowest settings at a resolution of 1080p
Intel Core i5-9600K
Cores – 6
Threads – 6
Base Clock – 3.7 GHz
Turbo Clock – 4.6 GHz
Overclocking – Yes
L3 Cache – 9 MB
TDP – 95 W
This offering from Intel is a very capable processor when it comes to gaming. If you’re looking for a more mid-range CPU for your system, this is a great pick (though some reviewers differ on this opinion… see video below). With the ability to be overclocked, this CPU offers great value for money. The performance gap of higher budget CPU’s can be made shorter by a bit of careful overclocking.
With the power the Core i5-9600K provides, you’ll easily be able to run games at 4K resolution. While running games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Hitman (2016) at a resolution of 1080p on ultra settings, benchmarks show average frame rates of 102 FPS and 132 FPS respectively.
Final Word
With so many options available these days it’s hard to know which CPU to choose. While it still heavily depends on the rest of your components, you’ll hopefully have a better idea of the type of performance you can achieve when using the CPU’s we’ve mentioned.
The processor of your choice is only as good as the rest of your system allows it to be though. If you don’t have adequate cooling solutions, a compatible motherboard or a decent graphics card, you’ll find you’ll start to hit performance bottlenecks in your system.
Choosing your components with your CPU choice in mind is a good way to ensure that they all work well together. After all, it would be a shame if you built a whole system only to find out your gaming performance is hindered by your graphics card or RAM choice.
Thanks for reading everybody. Do you own any of these CPU’s? Do you think they’re up to the task of playing modern games? Is there truly such thing as “future proof”? Let us know in the comment section below.
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