truebottleneck
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 July 2026·Top CPUs per tier, ranked by score

Flagship

#1
AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D
AMD · ~$489
100
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#2
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D
AMD · ~$490
99
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#3
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
AMD · ~$449
97
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#4
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
AMD · ~$679
90
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High-end

#5
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
AMD · ~$539
83
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#6
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Intel · ~$500
83
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#7
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD · ~$340
79
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#8
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
Intel · ~$337
75
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#9
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
AMD · ~$500
75
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#10
Intel Core Ultra 9 285
Intel · ~$590
75
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#11
Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF
Intel · ~$249
74
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#12
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
Intel · ~$180
73
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#13
Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF
Intel · ~$200
72
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#14
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D
AMD
71
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Upper mid-range

#15
Intel Core i9-14900KS
Intel · ~$805
68
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#16
AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D
AMD
66
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#17
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
AMD · ~$329
65
Check →
#18
Intel Core i9-13900KS
Intel · ~$502
65
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#19
Intel Core Ultra 5 235
Intel · ~$287
64
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#20
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
AMD · ~$381
64
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#21
Intel Core i9-14900KF
Intel · ~$459
63
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#22
Intel Core i9-14900K
Intel · ~$480
63
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#23
Intel Core Ultra 7 265
Intel · ~$360
63
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#24
Intel Core Ultra 5 245
Intel
63
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#25
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
AMD · ~$330
62
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#26
Intel Core i9-13900K
Intel · ~$552
60
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#27
Intel Core i9-14900F
Intel · ~$561
59
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#28
Intel Core i7-14700K
Intel · ~$381
58
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#29
Intel Core i7-14700KF
Intel · ~$350
58
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#30
Intel Core i9-13900KF
Intel · ~$697
58
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#31
Intel Core Ultra 5 225
Intel · ~$170
57
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#32
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
AMD · ~$315
56
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#33
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD · ~$176
56
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#34
AMD Ryzen 9 7900
AMD · ~$403
55
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#35
Intel Core i7-13790F
Intel · ~$324
55
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#36
Intel Core i5-14600K
Intel · ~$248
55
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#37
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
AMD · ~$513
54
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#38
Intel Core i5-14600KF
Intel · ~$258
54
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Mainstream

#39
Intel Core i5-13600K
Intel · ~$319
49
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#40
Intel Core i5-13600KF
Intel · ~$365
49
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#41
Intel Core i5-14600
Intel · ~$255
49
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#42
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
AMD · ~$489
48
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#43
Intel Core i7-14700
Intel · ~$380
48
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#44
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
AMD · ~$166
48
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#45
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
AMD · ~$509
48
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#46
AMD Ryzen 7 9700F
AMD
48
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#47
AMD Ryzen 5 7500F
AMD · ~$152
48
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#48
AMD Ryzen 7 7700G
AMD
47
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#49
Intel Core i9-12900KS
Intel · ~$435
47
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#50
Intel Core Ultra 5 335
Intel
46
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#51
AMD Ryzen 5 7600
AMD · ~$210
46
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#52
AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE
AMD
46
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#53
Intel Core i3-14100F
Intel · ~$115
44
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#54
AMD Ryzen 3 8300G
AMD
44
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#55
Intel Core i3-14100
Intel · ~$210
44
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#56
Intel Core i5-13490F
Intel · ~$185
44
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#57
Intel Core i7-13700F
Intel · ~$386
44
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#58
Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel · ~$440
43
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#59
Intel Core i5-14500
Intel · ~$389
43
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#60
AMD Ryzen 5 8400F
AMD · ~$150
43
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#61
AMD Ryzen 5 7400F
AMD
43
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#62
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
AMD · ~$232
43
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Budget

#63
Intel Core i9-9900K
Intel · ~$317
34
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#64
AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT
AMD · ~$281
34
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#65
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
AMD · ~$149
34
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#66
AMD Ryzen 5 8600G
AMD · ~$199
34
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#67
Intel Core i7-9700K
Intel · ~$184
33
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#68
Intel Core i7-9700KF
Intel · ~$173
33
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#69
Intel Core i7-8086K
Intel · ~$185
33
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#70
Intel Core i5-10505
Intel
33
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#71
Intel Core i5-10500
Intel · ~$142
33
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#72
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
AMD · ~$1853
32
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#73
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
AMD · ~$133
32
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#74
Intel Core i7-9700
Intel · ~$248
32
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#75
Intel Core i7-12700
Intel · ~$399
32
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#76
Intel Core i5-12490F
Intel · ~$151
32
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#77
Intel Core i7-9700F
Intel · ~$143
32
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#78
Intel Core i3-9350K
Intel · ~$127
32
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#79
Intel Core i5-9600K
Intel · ~$219
32
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#80
Intel Core i7-8700K
Intel · ~$143
32
Check →
#81
Intel Core i5-9600KF
Intel · ~$90
32
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#82
AMD Ryzen 5 4400G
AMD
32
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#83
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
AMD · ~$647
32
Check →
#84
AMD Ryzen 5 8500G
AMD · ~$149
31
Check →
#85
Intel Core i7-12700F
Intel · ~$325
31
Check →
#86
Intel Core i5-9600
Intel · ~$130
31
Check →

Entry

#87
Intel Core i5-4470
Intel
19
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#88
Intel Core i5-2400
Intel · ~$118
18
Check →
#89
Intel Core i3-2130
Intel · ~$36
18
Check →
#90
Intel Core i3-2140
Intel
18
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#91
Intel Core i3-2120
Intel · ~$102
18
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#92
AMD Ryzen 5 2600
AMD · ~$303
16
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#93
Intel Core i5-10400F
Intel · ~$101
15
Check →
#94
Intel Core i7-7700K
Intel · ~$135
12
Check →
#95
Intel Core i5-8500
Intel · ~$85
12
Check →
#96
Intel Core i5-9400F
Intel · ~$111
12
Check →
#97
Intel Core i5-9400
Intel · ~$90
12
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#98
Intel Core i7-4930K
Intel · ~$75
12
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#99
AMD Ryzen 5 2500X
AMD
12
Check →
#100
Intel Core i5-8400
Intel · ~$103
12
Check →
#101
AMD Ryzen 5 3350GE
AMD
11
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#102
Intel Core i7-6700K
Intel · ~$89
11
Check →
#103
AMD Ryzen 5 3350G
AMD
11
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#104
Intel Core i5-3170K
Intel
11
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#105
Intel Core i7-7700
Intel · ~$109
11
Check →
#106
Intel Core i7-4790K
Intel · ~$111
10
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#107
Intel Core i7-6700
Intel · ~$103
10
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#108
Intel Core i7-4790
Intel · ~$87
9
Check →
#109
Intel Core i5-6400
Intel · ~$57
6
Check →
#110
Intel Core i5-4460
Intel · ~$52
6
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.