Home / CPU tier list 2026 Rankings · CPU
CPU tier list 2026 Processors ranked by real gaming performance — not raw multi-core scores. Each rating is the same normalized 0–100 figure our bottleneck calculator uses, anchored to the strongest gaming flagship. That's why a chip that wins at video rendering can still sit lower here; the full formula is on our methodology page. At the very top, the best gaming CPUs land within a few percent of each other — so the leaders share a near-identical score, and which one you pick barely changes your frames.
Updated September 2026 · Top CPUs per tier, ranked by score
Flagship #1 AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D
AMD · ~$484
Check → #2 AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D
AMD · ~$550
Check → #3 AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
AMD · ~$445
Check → #4 AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
AMD · ~$599
Check →
High-end #5 AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
AMD · ~$459
Check → #6 Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Intel · ~$530
Check → #7 AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD · ~$300
Check → #8 Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
Intel · ~$335
Check → #9 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
AMD · ~$434
Check → #10 Intel Core Ultra 9 285
Intel · ~$652
Check → #11 Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF
Intel · ~$284
Check → #12 Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
Intel · ~$190
Check → #13 Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF
Intel · ~$178
Check →
Upper mid-range #15 Intel Core i9-14900KS
Intel · ~$650
Check → #16 AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D
AMD · ~$224
Check → #17 AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
AMD · ~$335
Check → #18 Intel Core i9-13900KS
Intel · ~$430
Check → #19 Intel Core Ultra 5 235
Intel · ~$296
Check → #20 AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
AMD · ~$349
Check → #21 Intel Core i9-14900KF
Intel · ~$435
Check → #22 Intel Core i9-14900K
Intel · ~$470
Check → #23 Intel Core Ultra 7 265
Intel · ~$374
Check → #24 Intel Core Ultra 5 245
Intel
Check → #25 AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
AMD · ~$330
Check → #26 Intel Core i9-13900K
Intel · ~$562
Check → #27 Intel Core i9-14900F
Intel · ~$585
Check → #28 Intel Core i7-14700K
Intel · ~$366
Check → #29 Intel Core i7-14700KF
Intel · ~$329
Check → #30 Intel Core i9-13900KF
Intel · ~$1434
Check → #31 Intel Core Ultra 5 225
Intel · ~$179
Check → #32 AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
AMD · ~$309
Check → #33 AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD · ~$173
Check → #34 AMD Ryzen 9 7900
AMD · ~$390
Check → #35 Intel Core i7-13790F
Intel · ~$322
Check → #36 Intel Core i5-14600K
Intel · ~$260
Check → #37 AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
AMD · ~$549
Check → #38 Intel Core i5-14600KF
Intel · ~$240
Check →
Mainstream #39 Intel Core i5-13600K
Intel · ~$339
Check → #40 Intel Core i5-13600KF
Intel · ~$365
Check → #41 Intel Core i5-14600
Intel · ~$255
Check → #42 AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
AMD · ~$474
Check → #43 Intel Core i7-14700
Intel · ~$380
Check → #44 AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
AMD · ~$162
Check → #45 AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
AMD · ~$715
Check → #47 AMD Ryzen 5 7500F
AMD · ~$188
Check → #49 Intel Core i9-12900KS
Intel · ~$384
Check → #50 Intel Core Ultra 5 335
Intel
Check → #51 AMD Ryzen 5 7600
AMD · ~$207
Check → #53 Intel Core i3-14100F
Intel · ~$105
Check → #55 Intel Core i3-14100
Intel · ~$146
Check → #56 Intel Core i5-13490F
Intel · ~$184
Check → #57 Intel Core i7-13700F
Intel · ~$329
Check → #58 Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel · ~$430
Check → #59 Intel Core i5-14500
Intel · ~$430
Check → #60 AMD Ryzen 5 8400F
AMD · ~$123
Check → #62 AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
AMD · ~$235
Check →
Budget #63 Intel Core i9-9900K
Intel · ~$317
Check → #64 AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
AMD · ~$305
Check → #65 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
AMD · ~$142
Check → #66 AMD Ryzen 5 8600G
AMD · ~$199
Check → #67 Intel Core i7-9700K
Intel · ~$184
Check → #68 Intel Core i7-9700KF
Intel · ~$173
Check → #69 Intel Core i7-8086K
Intel · ~$185
Check → #71 Intel Core i5-10500
Intel · ~$142
Check → #72 AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
AMD · ~$2091
Check → #73 AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
AMD · ~$142
Check → #74 Intel Core i7-9700
Intel · ~$248
Check → #75 Intel Core i7-12700
Intel · ~$355
Check → #76 Intel Core i5-12490F
Intel · ~$140
Check → #77 Intel Core i7-9700F
Intel · ~$143
Check → #78 Intel Core i3-9350K
Intel · ~$127
Check → #79 Intel Core i5-9600K
Intel · ~$219
Check → #80 Intel Core i7-8700K
Intel · ~$143
Check → #81 Intel Core i5-9600KF
Intel · ~$90
Check → #83 AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
AMD · ~$435
Check → #84 AMD Ryzen 5 8500G
AMD · ~$147
Check → #85 Intel Core i7-12700F
Intel · ~$343
Check → #86 Intel Core i5-9600
Intel · ~$130
Check →
Entry #88 Intel Core i5-2400
Intel · ~$118
Check → #89 Intel Core i3-2130
Intel · ~$36
Check → #91 Intel Core i3-2120
Intel · ~$102
Check → #92 AMD Ryzen 5 2600
AMD · ~$265
Check → #93 Intel Core i5-10400F
Intel · ~$101
Check → #94 Intel Core i7-7700K
Intel · ~$135
Check → #95 Intel Core i5-8500
Intel · ~$85
Check → #96 Intel Core i5-9400F
Intel · ~$111
Check → #97 Intel Core i5-9400
Intel · ~$90
Check → #98 Intel Core i7-4930K
Intel · ~$75
Check → #100 Intel Core i5-8400
Intel · ~$103
Check → #102 Intel Core i7-6700K
Intel · ~$89
Check → #105 Intel Core i7-7700
Intel · ~$109
Check → #106 Intel Core i7-4790K
Intel · ~$111
Check → #107 Intel Core i7-6700
Intel · ~$103
Check → #108 Intel Core i7-4790
Intel · ~$87
Check → #109 Intel Core i5-6400
Intel · ~$57
Check → #110 Intel Core i5-4460
Intel · ~$52
Check → A top CPU is wasted behind a weak GPU at 4K — and vice-versa at 1080p. Pair any processor with a card in the calculator and see the real balance.