The Best CPUs - Late 2025 Update

[Steve]

CPU shopping now means weighing performance against platform costs and upgrade paths. With memory prices high and Intel's sockets aging fast, value depends on more than raw speed.

Read the full article here.

The Best CPUs - Late 2025 Update

 

[noel24]

What's the point? I was thinking about upgrading from 9700K to 9800X3D when it drops to $350, but now, what's the point?
I'm kinda sorry for Steve and other guys in the PC/gaming industry, as this form of entartainment is slowly dying. Soon, It will be only free mobile games and nVidia Geforce NOW, and maybe whatever similar Valve will come out with.

 

[cfenton]

I don't agree with the longevity argument at this point. There's one more generation, maybe two, on AM5 and unless it's a much bigger upgrade than the previous generation it's going to give you a 5-10% improvement over what's available now. The longevity argument made a lot more sense at the Zen 4 launch when you could probably count on going from Zen 4 to at least Zen 6. I still think AMD is the better choice in most categories, but that's because it's good now, not because I might be able to upgrade to something slightly better in a few years.

 

[urbanman2004]

Damn, my 9900X barely got a mention, lol...

 

[PierreJG]

I got an R5 5500 and RX6600XT some weeks ago and I am happy. Everything I play (not many new games) can run from 60fps to 150-200fps. To invest like 20k just for mobo/cpu and memory here it not really worth it for me tbh. Mainly use pc for web dev. Sad part is, if I want to get a gpu with that it will cost over 50k which at the end is not worth it.

 

[Jack77]

What's the point? I was thinking about upgrading from 9700K to 9800X3D when it drops to $350, but now, what's the point?
I'm kinda sorry for Steve and other guys in the PC/gaming industry, as this form of entartainment is slowly dying. Soon, It will be only free mobile games and nVidia Geforce NOW, and maybe whatever similar Valve will come out with.

Yep, I personally think that the future for a lot of PC gamers will be
* mini-pc's with mobile gpu's or with gpu docks
* Steam machines
* Nvidia Geforce NOW, running on a non-gaming PC or laptop
* turning to consoles

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

Yep, I personally think that the future for a lot of PC gamers will be
* mini-pc's with mobile gpu's or with gpu docks
* Steam machines
* Nvidia Geforce NOW, running on a non-gaming PC or laptop
* turning to consoles

You have forgot one
* resting in peace ... 6 feets under

Yeah. I am that old it can come any day.

 

[Loadedaxe]

A 9800X3D platform upgrade now exceeds $1,100 USD once you factor in the CPU, DDR5 memory, and increasingly expensive motherboards. With memory pricing where it is, I don’t think Intel, AMD, or motherboard manufacturers can realistically maintain these price levels. Especially since GPUs are already up $50-100 over the last few days.

For upgrades to make sense over the next few years, platform costs will need to drop, particularly when consumers are being asked to buy into DDR5 again.