The Best Intel CPUs in 2024

Intel’s Raptor Lake and its subsequent 14th generation Raptor Lake Refresh-based lineup have taken the market by storm as they compete on various price points against AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series. While Intel is soundly beating said processors with ease at most price points when it comes to multicore performance it does lag behind some AMD processors in gaming, efficiency, and thermal requirements.

This is even as a resurgent AMD pushes its Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D processors to gain lost ground versus Intel at the higher end while arguably wresting the gaming crown from Intel’s highest-end offerings using the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which stands tall as the best value and performance gaming CPU.

Intel’s value proposition with the 13th and (the latest) 14th generation concentrates on its ability to pack a mix of larger performance cores (P-cores) and efficiency cores (E-cores) to make for more potent multithreaded CPUs that can game quite well but also handle productivity tasks often better than their AMD counterparts simply by offering more cores at each performance tier versus the competition.

While the gaming performance crown for gaming might slightly elude the Santa-Clara-based boys in blue even as the 14th generation sees a widespread release, it has narrowed considerably with Intel pulling ahead in multiple benchmarks across the board.

The team at Game Rant has made a list of the best processors one may want to consider. Most of them are (somewhat unsurprisingly) 14th-generation processors that continue to supplant Intel’s 13th & 12th-generation offerings across the board at different price points.

The Best Intel CPUs in 2024

The Intel Core i7 14700K is the only unlocked CPU from Intel’s 14th generation CPUs that sees an increase in core count versus its last-generation Raptor-lake-based alternative. The 14700K sees an additional 4 efficiency cores in play which makes it a 20-core, 28-thread CPU thanks to the added 4 threads on offer. It also sees a 200 MHz performance core clock bump while efficiency cores see a smaller 100 MHz increase.

The Intel Core i7 14700K essentially replaces the 13700K for gamers looking for sub 5.5 GHz clocks thanks to its higher boost clocks and comes closer to its Core i9 counterpart this generation thanks to the increased cores in play. Due to the increased clocks, it also runs hotter and is more demanding in terms of power than its predecessor in 2024. The team at Game Rant recommends pairing it with an excellent liquid cooler to avoid throttling at higher clocks, especially for productivity and gaming use cases.

Note: The Intel Core i7 14700K CPU comes with a free Ghostrunner 2 Game Bundle as part of an ongoing Intel CPU Promotion at select retailers.

The Intel Core i5 14600KF 14-Core, 20-Thread CPU replaces its predecessor as the best gaming CPU from Intel thanks to a mix of value and performance gains on offer. It offers a 200 MHz performance core clock gain in addition to a 100 MHz efficiency core gain even as it stays in the same core configuration as the Intel Core i5 13600KF which remained a consumer favorite since it launched thanks to its more affordable pricing.

With a faster 5.3GHz boost clock and the potential to ratchet it up further with a better motherboard, the 14600KF is a no-brainer upgrade consideration for users considering the 13600KF. It benefits from a small discount over the 14600K but skips an iGPU to do so while having some demanding thermal requirements that can still be covered by more budget cooling options than its 8 P-core alternatives in the shape of the Intel Core i7 14700K and Core i9 14900K. This makes it an easier recommend for system builders or users who have had some experience with PC building in the past versus the more mainstream Core i5 14600K.

Note: The Intel Core i5 14600KF CPU comes with a free Ghostrunner 2 Game Bundle as part of an ongoing Intel CPU Promotion at select retailers.

The Intel Core i3 12100F replaces the Intel Core i3 13100 thanks to a significant price cut for the 12th generation CPU that is otherwise identical to its 13th generation counterpart with the same Golden Cove P-cores. It clocks in 200Mhz slower on Turbo Boost versus the CPU it replaces, but it offers significant savings versus the Intel Core i3 13100 and its iGPU-less version, the Intel Core i3 13100F.

As both are essentially rebadged Alder Lake CPUs like the Intel Core 12100F, the clock speed difference alone doesn’t justify the much higher costs incurred for getting a 13th-generation badge for Intel’s newer processors. If you do need a built-in GPU (assuming you are not going for a discrete option), Intel’s Core i3 12100 is still a better, cheaper option than the 13th-generation alternatives but less so than the 12100F which can be grabbed for as little as $100 on Newegg at the time of writing.

With no 14th generation Intel alternatives available yet and the difference between the 12100/12100F and the 13100/13100F limited to a 200MHz clock speed with the latter also using Alder Lake cores, the Intel Core i3 12100F remains firmly in place as a budget CPU offering. This is simply due to a lack of a better option and its successor offering a poor upgrade in terms of price-to-performance as a replacement even as the 12100F costs just under $100 a pop and has a decent upgrade path to a multitude of 12th, 13th and 14th generation CPUs.

Note: The Intel Core i3 12100F CPU currently comes with a collectible Intel Screwdriver bundled free of charge at Newegg.

The Intel Core i5-13500 is essentially a locked version of the Intel Core i5 13600K or 13600KF, delivering significantly more power than the more mainstream Intel Core i5 13400 which is considered the de facto replacement for the 12400. It already outperforms the last generation 12600K/12600KF which also retails at approximately the same price point, making it a simply better pick for those looking for more value without having to deal with performance issues down the line.

It does, however, only get served in a locked form with fixed boost clocks, limiting tinkering potential on motherboards that allow users to overclock to get more performance out of a processor without having to turn to more expensive components. At the same time, as a locked processor from Intel, it does come with a perk of a pre-provided stock cooler that, while not ideal, can serve as a decent solution until you decide to upgrade to something better.

The Intel Core i5 13500, while essentially a locked version of the more powerful (and unlocked) Intel Core i5 13600KF, faces stellar performance from both the upcoming Ryzen 5 7500F and the Ryzen 5 7600X. Those beat it conclusively when it comes to single-core performance while also commanding a better price point than Intel’s mid-range offering, making it an unappealing CPU for gaming when compared to the competition.

Intel’s chip however does manage to pack in an additional 8 E-cores into the mix against the hexacore AMD offerings, allowing it to gain considerable ground on multicore performance. This makes it a more balanced, albeit more expensive alternative to AMD’s best-priced CPU in 2024.

With a replacement locked Intel Core i5 CPU yet to show in the 14th generation Intel lineup, the Core i5 13500 remains a value-buy with users that already have a dedicated CPU cooler also having the unlocked Intel Core i5 14600KF to consider at $50 more. For new builds where users want to save money where possible, the $50 savings matter as does the cost of spending more to get an aftermarket CPU cooler, making the Intel Core i5 13500 an excellent, well-priced offering currently.

Note: The Intel Core i5 13500 CPU currently comes with a collectible Intel Screwdriver bundled free of charge at Newegg.

The Intel Core i9 14900K is Intel’s fastest CPU and also happens to be a brute when handling multithreaded workloads while winning in some gaming benchmarks handily versus the competition. It can push 6GHz in single-core performance while offering higher clocks versus its predecessor.

The 14900K does have significant power needs when maxed out and it comes with thermal requirements to boot, especially if one means to sustain its performance at higher clocks. Users would benefit from leveraging some of the best AIO coolers in the business to allow it to thrive at the high temperatures it will inadvertently touch almost immediately when under load.

Naysayers will however brand the 14900K a rebadged Intel Core i9 13900KS, offering little gains over the 13900K for last-gen flagship owners with next to no gains versus the better-binned 13900KS. They would be right, but Intel makes no secret of it, essentially calling the lineup “Raptor Lake Refresh” for the same reason.

While the 14900K is not a justifiable upgrade for users on the 13th generation Core i9 CPUs, it does perform slightly better and that might be enough to get it over the fence for some enthusiasts. It targets users on Intel’s 11th generation or older CPUs as a better upgrade than its predecessor. It offers essentially a cheaper and more widely available Intel Core i9 13900KS, with the Intel XTU overclocking kick in tow to add value.

Note: The Intel Core i9 14900K CPU comes with a free Ghostrunner 2 Game Bundle as part of an ongoing Intel CPU Promotion at select retailers.

Intel’s older Alder Lake-based Core i5 12600KF CPU offers exceptional value for money versus its competition from both Intel and AMD alike as it trades under $200 for an unlocked CPU that beats all of Intel’s equivalent locked CPUs in 2024 for gaming with a significant price-to-performance ratio advantage.

The 10-core CPU works across the board with all Intel’s LGA 1700-touting motherboards with compatibility offered from the get-go thanks to its age. It beats the Intel Core i5 13400 and 13500 in gaming benchmarks easily but does lose out significantly to the latter in most multicore benchmarks thanks to its added 4 efficiency cores.

The Intel Core i5 12600KF is not a new CPU and thanks to its value proposition primarily due to multiple cuts in play, remains a credible gaming CPU that can handle all modern titles with ease, making it a no-brainer for gamers looking to get more for less when it comes to gaming on an Intel CPU in 2024. However, at the steep discount it trades at currently, it is a viable deca-core offering that can hold its own with most mainstream desktop and laptop CPUs with ease even as it offers superior value for money than all, if not most of its competition.

Picking a 14th Generation Intel CPU Over a 13th Generation Intel CPU

Intel’s 14th-generation processors are essentially 13th-generation Intel Raptor Lake processors with better clocks, and in the 14700K’s case, more efficiency cores. The aptly-named, Intel Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs however do offer a massive advantage to consumers when it comes to pricing in an inflation-prone PC market during 2024. They replace their namesake 13th-generation CPUs at the same price points while driving prices lower for the latter.

It does however raise the obvious question: Is moving from the 13th generation to the 14th generation Intel CPUs worth it? For users upgrading to the same product class, the answer is a clear “no” given the slim performance gains and increased thermal requirements for an essentially higher-clocked version of their CPUs. For users moving across performance classes (ie: i5 to i7 or i7 to i9), the upgrade does make sense in some cases with the Core i7 14700K being a clear winner thanks to its increased core count.

Intel’s 14th Generation CPU Tradeoffs

For newer users, the 14th-generation CPUs make more sense. The 14600K trades quite close to the 13600K while the 14700K offers 4 more efficiency cores compared to the 13700K, while things get interesting regarding the Core i9 14900K. The 14900K is a marginally faster 13900KS, which is a better-binned version of the 13900K. Users who got the 6GHz variant would be hard-pressed to make a buy case for the 14900K, but for gamers and enthusiasts looking for the fastest CPU possible from Intel, the 14900K is exactly that: A revamped 13900KS with much better availability.

Arguments can be made in favor of Intel’s 14th-generation CPUs especially the 14700K and the 14900K. They both support Intel’s new APO (Intel® Application Optimization) offering which has proven to be a godsend for some games that implement it, offering anywhere between 15 to 20% performance gains currently. This does however

The current generation 14600K is however remiss sadly from the APO-supporting processors list with Intel’s official position on the matter suggesting it is geared towards current-gen CPUs with at least 8 P-Cores: “Settings within Intel® Application Optimization are custom determined for each supported processor, as they consider the number of P-cores, E-cores, and Intel® Hyperthreading Technology. Due to the massive amount of custom testing that went into the optimized setting parameters specifically gaming applications, Intel chose to align support for our gaming-focused processors.”

Intel also offers AI-based tuning for overclocking exclusively for the Intel Core i9 14900K/KF CPUs both of which can be pushed to single-core frequencies greater than 6.1 or 6.2GHz in some cases using the AI-empowered XTU tool. This makes it noticeably faster in games at the high-end enthusiast tier where users are willing and able to spend hundreds of dollars to eke out that extra bit of performance that their CPU is capable of to avoid bottlenecking GPUs like the RTX 4090.

Picking a 13th Generation Intel CPU Over a 12th Generation Intel CPU

As the 14th generation of Intel CPUs come into play in a burgeoning socket LGA 1700 market, the 12th generation has seen multiple price markdowns that often make it a surprisingly better bargain than its 13th-generation alternatives, something that is worth exploring at times. However, most of these deals are inconsistent or subject to limited quantities, which factors in negatively when recommending said CPUs as great bargains relative to the newest Intel offerings.

Intel’s 13th Generation CPU Tradeoffs

Intel’s 13th-generation CPUs offer slightly better IPC counts thanks to their newer Raptor Lake CPU cores along with better clocks. Towards the higher end, Intel’s 13th-generation CPUs pack considerably more cores making them far better at multicore workloads. That’s in addition to already better single-core performance due to better clocks and slightly newer architecture.

The 13th-generation CPUs offer better support for DDR5 memory while offering compatibility with DDR4 memory much like their 12th-generation alternatives and work with both 12th and 13th-generation motherboards. The 12th-generation motherboards nearly always need a mandatory BIOS update to recognize the newer 13th-generation processors, unless they ship with the requisite update from the factory.

Conclusion

Assuming one must have the best of the best when it comes to Intel processors, the Intel Core i9 14900K (which is essentially a cheaper Intel Core i9 13900KS) processor is pretty much a no-brainer until Intel releases a newer generation of Meteor Lake chips. For those on a budget, consider the Core i5 13500. It will save buyers the need to get a 3rd party cooler as part of their build, while still delivering stellar performance compared to AMD’s 7000 series and Intel’s own 12th gen.

If users, however, need an overclockable gaming processor, one feels the 14600KF offers the best blend of value and performance. But if they are looking for the fastest CPU for gaming, period, consider reading the team’s guide about how the Intel Core i9 14900K and 14900KF stack against AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU for gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the fastest Intel CPU right now?

The Intel Core i9 14900K is Intel’s fastest consumer-grade CPU, offering 24 cores and clock speeds of up to 6GHz across its 8 performance-centric P-Cores.

Q: What is the latest generation of Intel CPU Currently?

Intel’s 14th generation Raptor Lake Refresh processor lineup is currently its latest available consumer-grade CPU offering.