Intel’s Alder Lake i5-12400F offers six hyper-threaded performance cores at an MSRP of just $180 USD. This represents excellent value for consumers and, in particular, gamers. It has a boost frequency of 4.4 GHz, 18 MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 65W. The F-version of the CPU does not have integrated graphics, however this will be of little concern to gamers with discrete GPUs. Whilst Intel’s overclockable i5-12600K has four additional efficiency cores and offers around 12% more performance than the 12400F, it also costs around 50% more. The 12400F offers great value, but to achieve optimal performance the requisite B660 motherboard (which supports 3200+ RAM) is, at least for now, difficult to find at reasonable ($150 USD) prices. AMD’s top value hex-core Ryzen 5 5600X offers similar performance for 50% more money. Despite Intel’s price / performance lead, AMD’s prolific marketers (forums, youtube, reddit etc.) have historically outsold Intel whilst carrying a similar handicap.[Jan '22CPUPro]
The refreshed i9-7980XE (which in my opinion is one of my favourite CPU from Intel even with slightly bloated pricing), comes with soldered TIM which can transfer heat from die to IHS better but overclocking enthusiasts disappoints as the solder itself transfer lower heat than metallic thermal paste such as Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and can complicate relidding. [Dec '19ColdSpy]
We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.