R5Updated November 2026

Best Processors of 2026

Every current AMD Ryzen and Intel Core desktop processor, ranked by real-world gaming and application performance.

1. 

   01Best overall8.7

   AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

   AM5 · 8 · 16 · 5.2 GHz

   Eight Zen 5 cores with 96 MB of 3D V-Cache, still the benchmark for AM5 gaming builds.

   $479Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
2. 

   02Best value8.6

   AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

   AM5 · 8 · 16 · 5 GHz

   The Zen 4 gaming champion that is still cheaper than its newer successors.

   $360Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
3. 

   03Best value8.5

   AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D

   AM5 · 6 · 12 · 4.7 GHz

   A six-core chip with 96 MB of V-Cache that games well for far less than the 8-core X3D parts.

   $240Nov 9Buy at Official store
4. 

   048.4

   AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D

   AM5 · 8 · 16 · 5.6 GHz

   A binned 9800X3D with a 5.6 GHz boost: the fastest gaming chip on paper, but only marginally ahead of its cheaper sibling.

   $454Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
5. 

   058.3

   AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

   AM5 · 16 · 32 · 5.7 GHz

   Sixteen Zen 5 cores with 128 MB of cache: near-9800X3D gaming and top-tier productivity in one chip.

   $624Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
6. 

   068.2

   AMD Ryzen 9 9900X

   AM5 · 12 · 24 · 5.6 GHz

   A 12-core Zen 5 chip that has fallen to a much friendlier street price than its launch list.

   $338Nov 9Buy at Official store
7. 

   078.1

   AMD Ryzen 5 9600X

   AM5 · 6 · 12 · 5.4 GHz

   A 65 W six-core Zen 5 chip whose street price has dropped well below its launch list.

   $200Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
8. 

   088.0

   AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

   AM5 · 16 · 32 · 5.7 GHz

   A 16-core Zen 5 chip with top multithreaded performance on a mainstream platform, but beaten for gaming by X3D parts.

   $559Nov 9Buy at Best Buy
9. 

   09Best value8.0

   Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

   LGA1851 · 18 · 18 · 5.3 GHz

   An 18-core entry chip that Tom's Hardware names an Editor's Choice for its multithreaded value.

   $219MSRPBuy at Official store
10. 

    107.9

    AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

    AM5 · 8 · 16 · 5.5 GHz

    A 65 W eight-core Zen 5 chip that is easy to cool, but outclassed by X3D parts in games.

    $269Nov 9Buy at Best Buy

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