Processors play a crucial role in the performance of the system. Processors come with an array of specifications and features that can impact gaming performance. Celerons and Pentiums are sufficient for browsing the web and office applications.  However, Intel processor for gaming offers better performance. 

The i3 processors are a practically better version of Pentiums with more processing power. These CPUs paired with a good video card offer you a game with very high details. AMD at times comes out ahead in price/performance ratio. We will help you narrow down the list of choices to find gaming CPUs perfect for you. 

It is important to ensure your CPU is sufficient to get the most out of your desktop, PC, or Laptop.  Newer gaming CPUs make use of faster clock speeds, larger cache sizes, and higher thread counts to give out an improved performance. It needs to be paired with compatible modern hardware too. 

If you are thinking about what makes a CPU best in gaming? It’s the silicon which acts as the heart of the gaming PC, it gives full potential to your expensive graphic cards. It should be of a decent price mostly and should assure you the maintenance and running of that content creation, streaming, productivity, and whatever else you use your PC for.

Though CPU is the most crucial component for any gaming, most of them consider it to be the second most important part as they think GPU plays the vital role which is also correct as GPU manges the games in your PC like quality resolution and frame rates. Nevertheless, CPUs also contributed to the speed and accuracy of gaming and PCs. 

However, finding the best Intel processor for gaming depends on your requirements and usage.

What’s the best Intel processor for gaming?

Before you make any decisions go through the best options and explanations provided by us- 

The first and foremost thing you need to know is that Intel is no longer stuck in its older versions, it has its brand new 11th Gen in both laptops and CPU’s – Which are also called ‘Tiger Lake’. These are slim and light laptops. Next comes the 11th Gen Desktop processors which are called ‘Rocket Lake’ these are much newer and are a complete mixed bag. 

Here is how you can select that right system for you

Buying Guide: 

What do you need in a CPU? 

While you go out to buy a CPU for you the top most thing you take into consideration is where you want to use your computer like are you looking for a portable one or you chose a desktop experience. After deciding on the place you might want to analyze mostly for what you are going to use that PC we assume it for gaming. 

Learn How CPUs Work

Once you get the clarity of what type you are going to use, then the immediate next thing you should be working on is improving the baseline knowledge about how a processor affects your system’s performance. Mainly by doing your homework on how Clock Speed and Core Count factor will affect your gaming experience 

CPU Core Count

The gaming CPUs which we find in the gaming market these days have multiple cores, every core acts like an additional processor by which a CPU can process multiple instructions at the same time. Let that be any task say streaming gameplay or a video editing or any complex programs, higher the core count higher the processing level by CPU 

CPU Clock Speed

In a CPU both Core Count and Clock Speed are directly proportional to each other. Clock speed is also called Clock rate or frequency and it is the number of cycles a CPU can execute in a second. These days modern CPUs can execute billions of cycles per second. Higher the clock speed per core, the better. When choosing a new CPU, look for the highest clock speeds possible within your budget while

Learn About Additional CPU Features

Not only the Clock Speed and Core Count but there are also other features that we have to consider before choosing a CPU – Integrated Graphics 

Step 1: Integrated Graphics

Most of the CPUs by Intel use integrated graphics, which in short means that they can display graphics on screen without a separate GPU. Integrated Graphics can be useful while troubleshooting major issues with a GPU, they are also helpful in video streaming and editing. 

Those with an F designation – like the Intel Core i7-10700KF processor do not have integrated graphics as they are for users who use a specific GPU. 

Step 2: Laptop-Specific Features

Don’t be shocked if we tell you that laptops have the capabilities to perform like desktops especially for gaming, though you prioritize other works over gaming the modern laptops are built in such a way to meet the demands and workloads.

When choosing a gaming laptop, look for Intel CPUs with the H designation such as the Intel Core i7-10750H. These processors are specifically designed to prioritize power consumption and battery life for portable PCs.

Step 3: Overclocking

The other feature which you do not want to miss is the Overclock. It can be useful to increase the clock speed and with the help of Performance Maximizer, it makes it simple to get a stable overclock. If you like a little twitch in the performance of your hardware, look for the “K” designation at the end of the processor name, such as the Intel Core i7-10700K processor. This indicates that the CPU is designed to be overclocked. Remember you should have a proper cooling system and a motherboard that supports overclocking for this.

Step 4: Check the Benchmarks 

While the above specifications help you in choosing a CPU, there are certainly few CPU models that provide you the performance you need in the given budget. 

The best way to narrow down and look for Benchmarks that suit your PC is to research a game that you are interested in along with the model processor and evaluate the metrics to see if it matches your requirement. 

Step 5: Find the Right Intel® Core™ Processor for You

Now that you are aware of the basics, let’s choose the right CPU for you according to their performance.

The Intel core has a wide variety of CPUs with different features and capabilities, and as the basic rule goes more the number more the features likewise, the higher the core, thread, clock, and cache balanced the features are.

Here are a few basic CPU’s rated according to their performance

  • Intel® Core™ i3, for entry-level performance
  • Intel® Core™ i5, for mid-level performance
  • Intel® Core™ i7, for high-level performance
  • Intel® Core™ i9, for highest-level performance

Let’s take a look at  few specific 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors:

An 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11600K desktop processor has:

  • Up to 4.90 GHz max frequency
  • 6 cores and 12 threads
  • Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology)

An 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11700K desktop processor has:

  • Up to 5.0 GHz max frequency
  • 8 cores and 16 threads
  • Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology)

An 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900K desktop processor has:

  • Up to 5.3 GHz max frequency
  • 8 cores and 16 threads
  • Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology)

Let’s begin with selecting the Intel Core processor segments that meet your requirements and then look for additional features – we are lucky to find so many options in the present PC hardware market where you can find the one you like within your budget – more the options more the chance to choose the ideal processor for any system

Intel Core i5

Starting on with i5 where the processing power is more as it is quad-core, it usually provides us with maximum detailing when paired with capable video cards and is also pretty good in giving good transcoding and rendering performance. If you are in the plans of using 2 video cards and are ok with a little lesser processing power then you can go with i5.  Intel does not offer the best deals under this segment, i5s are expensive and AMD can beat i5 at the same price. If it is only processing power that you are looking for then check out the FX – 8350. They say 1 core of an i5 is much more powerful than 1 core of an FX-8350, and many games do not take advantage of all the processor’s cores. 

Intel Core i7

If it comes to pure processing power then i7 comes into the picture. These are efficient enough to create a good gaming experience, again when paired with good video cards. They offer decent encoding or rendering performance. If you have a heavy workload then you can think about this. Also, AMD does not offer any deals in this segment so you won’t get any alternative here making i7 quite a bit more expensive than the i5. The only thing that comes close to an i7 is the FX-9590. These are practically FX-8350 chips that come near to perfection. It offers the best Intel processor for gaming.

  • i3 – high-quality gaming (with 1 video card), ultra-quality WILL work but it’s advised to get an i5 in this scenario.
  • i5 – ultra-quality gaming (more than 1 video card), good rendering/transcoding performance.
  • i7 – ultra-quality gaming (more than 1 video card), damn good rendering/transcoding performance.
  • i7-Extreme – obviously ultra-quality gaming, ridiculous rendering/transcoding performance. But very expensive.

Conclusion for Intel processor for gaming:

We have shown you and explained to you the best Intel processor for gaming and their key requirements and based on what you should choose them, also do not forget the main specifications like Clock Speed, Core, Threads, Cache, IPC to take into consideration while selecting a CPU. we suggest you analyze your usage, requirement and check out the specifications before going for any processor.