The Best CPUs 2019: This is what you should get

[Julio Franco]

All in all, while Intel does offer some interesting choices at certain price points, AMD remains king across our recommendations. After all the extensive testing you are familiar with, we've come up with this concise guide on the best CPU choices available right now.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/bestof/cpu/

 

[merikafyeah]

I can still hold off until 2020. I plan to go from Sandy Bridge to Ryzen 2. Hopefully by that time GPU pricing is no longer grossly inflated and DRAM price fixing is a tad less rampant with all parties involved recently getting heavily slapped on the wrists. SSDs with DRAM should also be coming down in price due to this.

 

[PerformanceV8]

Damn, AMD is doing pretty good on the CPU side, meanwhile their GPU division kinda sucks.

 

[DukeD]

I can still hold off until 2020. I plan to go from Sandy Bridge to Ryzen 2. Hopefully by that time GPU pricing is no longer grossly inflated and DRAM price fixing is a tad less rampant with all parties involved recently getting heavily slapped on the wrists. SSDs with DRAM should also be coming down in price due to this.

Totally agree.... GPU pricing is way out of line and DRAM prices are stupid high. I can wait.

 

[pawel04]

I can still hold off until 2020. I plan to go from Sandy Bridge to Ryzen 2. Hopefully by that time GPU pricing is no longer grossly inflated and DRAM price fixing is a tad less rampant with all parties involved recently getting heavily slapped on the wrists. SSDs with DRAM should also be coming down in price due to this.

While I want to agree with you, I've noticed my workloads on Lightroom and Photoshop being somewhat limited by my 2500k @4.5ghz. I think ill be getting the 2600x this year..

 

[R00sT3R]

It's really annoying when you 'want' to upgrade but can't really justify it from a 'need' point of view.

My i5 4690K has sat happily running at 4.5Ghz for the last 4yrs and still gives me all the juice I need in the stuff I run, I don't do production tasks so 6/12 or 8/16 cores/threads are simply not needed.

I'd love to build a shiny new PC, not because I need it but because I'm bored with my current one....derp.

 

[dj2017]

I think we should keep the date of this article. 4 out of 5 suggestions, from AMD?
What year is this? 2005?

 

[tipstir]

Review is good but what I really should get is what I can really afford and is on sale. Pot luck as we call it. I just want 1 new laptop and 1 new desktop. I do not know about waiting for 2020, 2030 or higher. You can't stop progress new gear will always come out with something better and faster.

 

[p51d007]

Nope, holding off. My i5 is still chugging along pretty well. I plan my upgrades not around gaming
performance, but around how well it works with photoshop, since that is what I use the most. Otherwise,
it's just browsing the web/youtube/streaming, which really doesn't need a screaming eagle to perform
well enough.

 

[senketsu]

I think we should keep the date of this article. 4 out of 5 suggestions, from AMD?
What year is this? 2005?

2018 It's deja vu all over again

 

[Shadowboxer]

Wow, I’m genuinely surprised that every recommendation isn’t a Ryzen product on this website! Still, I’d pick the cheaper (in the UK) 8100 over the 2200G any day, especially as I don’t regard the Vega APUs as fit for purpose if using them for 3D gaming. And currently in the U.K. the 1700 is savagely cheaper than a 2700 which is basically the same CPU with some minor tweaks so I’d get that. I’d also probably recommend the 8600K for gaming as It’s still the second best gaming CPU and you save a large amount of cash.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

I just built a new PC (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/) and sprung for the I7-8700K-based system. I was moving from a i7-2600 and I really wanted to go with AMD this time, but the 2700X still seemed too far behind the i7-8700K in gaming. I'll be gaming more than performing productivity-based work, so I justified the cost in that regard for gaming. Also, I scored the i7-8700K, Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 Z370 mobo, and the G.Skill Trident Z RGB RAM in a combo getting a $45 discount on top of sale pricing and rebates, so I think the "extra" was worth the cost of admission.

Now, it's just waiting for the GPU pricing to come down. I'm still debating the possibility of just buying a 1060 now and then picking up a new 1180 when they arrive. Although, there are some decent 1080 Ti deal right now, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger when the 11xx series is just around the corner.

Thoughts?

 

[Shadowboxer]

I just built a new PC (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/) and sprung for the I7-8700K-based system. I was moving from a i7-2600 and I really wanted to go with AMD this time, but the 2700X still seemed too far behind the i7-8700K in gaming. I'll be gaming more than performing productivity-based work, so I justified the cost in that regard for gaming. Also, I scored the i7-8700K, Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 Z370 mobo, and the G.Skill Trident Z RGB RAM in a combo getting a $45 discount on top of sale pricing and rebates, so I think the "extra" was worth the cost of admission.

Now, it's just waiting for the GPU pricing to come down. I'm still debating the possibility of just buying a 1060 now and then picking up a new 1180 when they arrive. Although, there are some decent 1080 Ti deal right now, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger when the 11xx series is just around the corner.

Thoughts?

I’m currently in desperate need of a new GPU to power my 4K monitor and I have almost bought a 1080 ti a few times now. However at this point I would wait until the 1180 drops which should be in he next 3/4 months hopefully. I wouldn’t pay out for a 1060 for just three months though. Maybe go online and pickup a second hand 780 or something for a lot less?

 

[FliGuyRyan]

I just built a new PC (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/) and sprung for the I7-8700K-based system. I was moving from a i7-2600 and I really wanted to go with AMD this time, but the 2700X still seemed too far behind the i7-8700K in gaming. I'll be gaming more than performing productivity-based work, so I justified the cost in that regard for gaming. Also, I scored the i7-8700K, Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 Z370 mobo, and the G.Skill Trident Z RGB RAM in a combo getting a $45 discount on top of sale pricing and rebates, so I think the "extra" was worth the cost of admission.

Now, it's just waiting for the GPU pricing to come down. I'm still debating the possibility of just buying a 1060 now and then picking up a new 1180 when they arrive. Although, there are some decent 1080 Ti deal right now, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger when the 11xx series is just around the corner.

Thoughts?

I’m currently in desperate need of a new GPU to power my 4K monitor and I have almost bought a 1080 ti a few times now. However at this point I would wait until the 1180 drops which should be in he next 3/4 months hopefully. I wouldn’t pay out for a 1060 for just three months though. Maybe go online and pickup a second hand 780 or something for a lot less?

I'm planning to pick up a 4K tv that plays nice as a monitor during Black Friday. So, maybe there will be a deal on the new 11xx series then as well. I'll have to research the best bang for the buck in the used market. I'm not familiar with the 7xx series.

Thanks for the suggestion... more research to do.

 

[katanastrike]

I can still hold off until 2020. I plan to go from Sandy Bridge to Ryzen 2. Hopefully by that time GPU pricing is no longer grossly inflated and DRAM price fixing is a tad less rampant with all parties involved recently getting heavily slapped on the wrists. SSDs with DRAM should also be coming down in price due to this.

While I want to agree with you, I've noticed my workloads on Lightroom and Photoshop being somewhat limited by my 2500k @4.5ghz. I think ill be getting the 2600x this year..

If you want to hold on to sandy bridge a little longer, I highly recommend dropping about $100 on eBay for a 2600 or 2600k. I do a lot of work in PS, Lightroom and After Effects and have had no issues with this hyper-threaded beast. Also for Photoshop, I think having extra RAM and a good fast scratch disk can do more for performance vs. a CPU upgrade

 

[Danielx64]

Why is everyone talking about the Ryzen 2700x and not Ryzen 2700? Is the Ryzen 2700 no good?

 

[Vulcanproject]

I build for games in which case Intel still wins especially when you factor in the cost of expensive fast DRAM Ryzen needs to extract the best performance.

Did you see the 2600X review done by Techspot? 3400MHz DRAM. I mean come on, you seen the price of that right now? You can get away with 2400-2800MHz on the intel parts and they don't suffer nearly as bad performance degradation. Techspot even used 3200MHz DRAM on the 2200G test! No way will most people pair that with such a cheap CPU at current prices.

I will concede however with Ryzen 2000 series launch the overall gap has narrowed to the point it doesn't really matter quite so much what you choose. You'll end up with something good from either side.

 

[poohbear]

AMD back to attack!!!!!!!! love it! Been holding on to this 4790k for a few years now, and a 2500k b4 it, but my next CPU might just be AMD! Miss the old AMD 2500 Barton days, those things overclocked like mad!

 

[pawel04]

If you want to hold on to sandy bridge a little longer, I highly recommend dropping about $100 on eBay for a 2600 or 2600k. I do a lot of work in PS, Lightroom and After Effects and have had no issues with this hyper-threaded beast. Also for Photoshop, I think having extra RAM and a good fast scratch disk can do more for performance vs. a CPU upgrade

Thanks for the recommendation but I always find it hard spending money on old parts (even if it is a decent option) haha, but I haven't considered a scratch disk yet so thanks for that one!(y)

 

[GreenNova343]

I build for games in which case Intel still wins especially when you factor in the cost of expensive fast DRAM Ryzen needs to extract the best performance.

Did you see the 2600X review done by Techspot? 3400MHz DRAM. I mean come on, you seen the price of that right now? You can get away with 2400-2800MHz on the intel parts and they don't suffer nearly as bad performance degradation. Techspot even used 3200MHz DRAM on the 2200G test! No way will most people pair that with such a cheap CPU at current prices.

I will concede however with Ryzen 2000 series launch the overall gap has narrowed to the point it doesn't really matter quite so much what you choose. You'll end up with something good from either side.

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series, 16GB kit (2x8GB): $160 from newegg for DDR4-2400/CAS 15 ([url[https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vWrxr/gskill-memory-f42400c15d16gvr[/url])

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series, 16GB kit (2x8GB): $165 from newegg for DDR4-3000/CAS 15 (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3C...b-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3000-memory-f4-3000c15d-16gvkb) or DDR4-3200/CAS 16 (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Nqp323/gskill-memory-f43200c16d16gvrb)

Yes, I can see how there's such a big price difference in paying for faster DDR4 RAM for Ryzen systems....

(/sarcasm)

 

[Vulcanproject]

I build for games in which case Intel still wins especially when you factor in the cost of expensive fast DRAM Ryzen needs to extract the best performance.

Did you see the 2600X review done by Techspot? 3400MHz DRAM. I mean come on, you seen the price of that right now? You can get away with 2400-2800MHz on the intel parts and they don't suffer nearly as bad performance degradation. Techspot even used 3200MHz DRAM on the 2200G test! No way will most people pair that with such a cheap CPU at current prices.

I will concede however with Ryzen 2000 series launch the overall gap has narrowed to the point it doesn't really matter quite so much what you choose. You'll end up with something good from either side.

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series, 16GB kit (2x8GB): $160 from newegg for DDR4-2400/CAS 15 ([url[https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vWrxr/gskill-memory-f42400c15d16gvr[/URL])

G.Skill Ripjaws V Series, 16GB kit (2x8GB): $165 from newegg for DDR4-3000/CAS 15 (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3C...b-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3000-memory-f4-3000c15d-16gvkb) or DDR4-3200/CAS 16 (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Nqp323/gskill-memory-f43200c16d16gvrb)

Yes, I can see how there's such a big price difference in paying for faster DDR4 RAM for Ryzen systems....

(/sarcasm)

You mean you didn't click through to see that the 3000MHz DRAM you first linked to was $179.99 and not the $165 you quoted for it?

Also, 3000MHz and 3200MHz DRAM isn't the 3400MHz DRAM that was used in the test. There are some numbers different, let me check. Wait....yes....yes.....I believe there is at least one different number there. Maybe you should re-read and check again yourself.

In summary then you might actually want to check your own links before you break out the sarcasm. Thanks kid, at least you tried.

In the meantime the point about sticking $200 RAM with a cheaper Ryzen in the reviews remains.

 

[Bjorntje]

Now, it's just waiting for the GPU pricing to come down. I'm still debating the possibility of just buying a 1060 now and then picking up a new 1180 when they arrive. Although, there are some decent 1080 Ti deal right now, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger when the 11xx series is just around the corner.

Thoughts?

I was ponderi g to keep my 1060 in my new build and wait out or go all out for a 1080 ti, but I decided on sticking a 1070 ti in there instead of 1080 ti.

Much better value for money, and with the change Ill buy a 1180 when the time comes and the cryptomarket comes crashing down.

 

[lazer]

Interesting how AMD seems to have overtaken Intel. Intel used to be the top processor for years and AMD was way behind, but things seems to have changed.

Wonder what happened at Intel that they now lag behind?

 

[EClyde]

I have found that the best CPU's of 2018 do not provide anything more then the best CPU's of 2015 except more money in some peoples pockets and less in others

 

[ddferrari]

Now, it's just waiting for the GPU pricing to come down. I'm still debating the possibility of just buying a 1060 now and then picking up a new 1180 when they arrive. Although, there are some decent 1080 Ti deal right now, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger when the 11xx series is just around the corner.

Thoughts?

I was ponderi g to keep my 1060 in my new build and wait out or go all out for a 1080 ti, but I decided on sticking a 1070 ti in there instead of 1080 ti.

Much better value for money, and with the change Ill buy a 1180 when the time comes and the cryptomarket comes crashing down.

Yes, it's a better value for driving 2560x1440p @60Hz, but anything beyond that (like 1440p@120Hz or 3440x1440) the 1080 Ti stomps it, offering about 50% more fps. For the folks in that crowd, the 1070 Ti doesn't offer much value at all. It couldn't crack the 90 fps mark in any of the tested games other than Doom.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gigabyte-gtx-1070-ti-gaming-8g,5338-3.html