Intel’s 16-core flagship Alder Lake i9-12900K processor delivers a staggering performance improvement over it's predecessor (+70% 64-core). It features a new hybrid architecture which combines eight hyper-threaded performance cores with eight efficiency cores for a total of 24 threads. Alder Lake CPUs will require a new Z690 chipset which supports DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0. At an MRSP of $590 USD, the i9-12900K is aimed at power users who demand the best of the best. That said, Intel’s 10-core 12600K matches the 12900K’s performance for the majority of consumer use cases at a 50% price discount. [Nov '21CPUPro]
The Core i3-3225 Ivy Bridge processor offers both superb real world performance and excellent value for money. For raw single threaded performance the i3-3225 scores 28% lower than the i7-3770K but costs less than half as much. At first glance one might assume that I am crazy for recommending a puny Core-i3 over the mighty Core-i7's but for real world consumer use there is simply no point in having 4 cores and 8 threads, they will hardly ever be used. All of the third gen Ivy Bridge Core-i3s are superb but the i3-3225 sports the slightly more 3D capable HD 4000 Graphics vs the HD 2500 offered on the other models. For real-world performance in an energy efficient package with modest on-board graphics, this is a superb choice. For most use cases including: email, surfing, watching movies, listening to music and office apps, this processor will deliver almost as good an experience as any other processor on the market. [Jun '13CPUPro]
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.