Best processors 2018: top CPUs for your PC

Last year, when AMD’s Ryzen and Intel’s Coffee Lake burst out onto the scene, the long-standing rivalry between the two manufacturers blew up. And, now that Ryzen 2nd Generation is out, and Intel’s Cannon Lake is coming out next year, that fiery competition is going to keep burning. Luckily, this only benefits the consumer – there’s never been a better time to buy one of the best processors.

In 2018, the best processors come in every shape, size and budget. If you’re trying to save some cash, Intel has released some low-powered T-series processors. And, if you want to absolutely beef up your rig with the best theoretical performance, you might want to wait for Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Generation – as we’ve seen speculation that the 32-core beast shown off at Computex 2018 will just be the tip of the iceberg.

However, if you can’t get your hands on the latest and greatest processors, don’t worry – there are still plenty of great Kaby Lake and Ryzen processors that can still pack a punch. These older processors will also allow you to spend more on the best graphics cards.

Conversely, though, with so many great CPUs around, looking for best processor for gaming results in a flood of confusing model numbers. Fortunately, TechRadar has your back – we’ve created this list of the best processors available in 2018. Every single chip on this list was tested and reviewed by us, so you can be confident that they’ll be worth your time and money. So, sit back, relax and get ready to realize PC performance you’ve previously only dreamed of.

For the longest time, AMD has played second fiddle to Intel in many categories but value. Those days are over. With the Ryzen 7 2700X, and Ryzen 2nd Generation in general, AMD introduces the first 12nm CPUs and the performance backs that up, beating Intel in both single and multi-core workloads for the first time in recent history. If you’re looking for a high-performance CPU at a reasonable price, trust us, look no further.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X

When AMD released its Zen architecture-based Ryzen chips last year, it was promising a price-to-performance ratio that would finally put Intel in its place. However, at least with the first Ryzen chips, AMD fell short of Intel in sheer horsepower – until the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X. This block of silicon wasn’t just a better value than Intel’s Core i9-7900X, but it was also more flexible. Until that new 32-core Threadripper Gen 2 chip makes it to market, the Threadripper 1950X will stay on the top of the high-end CPU world.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

If you’re looking for an affordable CPU for content creation, look no further than the AMD Ryzen 5 2600X. With 6 cores and 12 threads and a base clock of 3.6GHz, you’re getting far better performance than the pricier Intel Core i5-8600K – with a dope RGB CPU cooler included. Sure, the gaming performance increase over the blue team is marginal, but when you start multi-tasking – and who doesn’t like having 100 Chrome tabs open while gaming – the value starts to show itself in spades.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X

If you’re looking to put together a gaming PC on the tightest budget, the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G can take you a long way. While it doesn’t feature the hyperthreading capability of its predecessor, the Ryzen 3 1200, the introduction of integrated graphics makes this APU one of the cheapest ways to experience casual PC gaming. We were even able to play Overwatch at 4K Ultra-HD resolution at ‘Epic’ settings.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G

Like the 7700K that preceded it on this list, the Intel Core i5-7600K is an unlocked, overclockable quad-core processor from Intel. However, it also suffers from the same integral shortcoming; that is that it’s barely an upgrade over the i5-6600K. Be that as it may, squeezing out only 300MHz over its precursor brings it nearly in line with the last-gen Core i7-6700K when overclocked. All the while, it won’t put too much of a dent in your budget either.

The primary contender to Intel’s Core i7-7700K, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X poses a convincing threat to Intel’s flagship. While it’s unfortunately more expensive than the 7700K, uncharacteristic for the oft value-focused Red Team, the Ryzen 7 1800X most certainly keeps up with some of Intel’s older chips. Plus, unlike the Core i7-5960X and -6700K it most intimately rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 1800X is much more qualified for VR now and into the future.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X

The naming convention is confusing, given that the Intel Core i7-7820X is part of Intel’s “Skylake-X” series rather than the X-class chips built on the 14nm Kaby Lake node, but semantics matter very little when you get to go hands-on with an Intel CPU boasting this many cores. Although the fact that you’ll need a new motherboard to use this octa-core monster might be enough to scare some users off to Ryzen, Intel loyalists shan’t mind the upgrade.

Intel's 18-core processor is all about brute force. With the ability to kick up all of its cores to 4.8GHz (by our testing at least), this monstrous CPU brings performance to a new level of insanity. The only caveats are this processor power draw and price are equally beastly.

Read the full review: Intel Core i9-7980XE

With the amount of money you’ll save by purchasing the Intel Pentium G4560 over a Core i3 chip, we promise you won’t mind the ever-so-slight loss in performance you can expect from this hardy value chip. As the first Pentium processor in quite some time to feature hyper-threading, the G4560 goes out of its way to show us all what we’ve been missing. And, in benchmarks, it proves itself eerily adjacent to the more expensive Intel Core i3-7100.

One of the only things that we were left wanting when AMD’s Ryzen CPUs blew up is that they didn’t support integrated graphics, limiting their appeal to PC enthusiasts. However, with the Ryzen 5 2400G, that’s all changed. Featuring impressive Vega graphics, it’s a great APU that anyone looking to build a HTPC will love. And, now that AMD has slashed the price, you can get in on this 4K action cheaper than ever.

Read the full review: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G