All Specs
The Intel Core i7-11700K ($399 MSRP) is the eight-core, 16-thread desktop CPU that the Core i9-11900K should have been. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X mostly beats it in flat-out performance, but the Core i7-11700K s reasonably competitive pricing (especially if you can find it at a discount) keeps the contest from being a runaway. Clear of many of the BIOS problems we ran into while testing the Core i9-11900K at launch, the Core i7-11700K shows that with a bit of platform maturity and some more aggressive pricing, Intel s not out of the desktop processor race just yet.
All Specs
Intel s Core i5-10400 ($182) is not the company s flagship six-core desktop CPU in its 10th Generation stack. (That honor goes to the unlocked Core i5-10600K, which we reviewed at launch last year.) But what the Core i5-10400 lacks in overclockability, it makes up for in tenacity. The chip stays in the race against AMD s onslaught of Editors Choice-winning powerhouse six-core CPUs, like the Ryzen 5 5600X and last-generation 3600X. The Core is a solid value pick for those who already own an LGA 1200 motherboard and are looking to game with a discrete GPU. But strictly as a midrange upgrade, AMD s Ryzen 5 chips make more sense in both cost-per-core and overall performance
Intel's entry-level Core i3-10100 CPU requires an all-new motherboard platform to install, and our sample chip's performance numbers are far enough below AMD's competing Ryzens to stifle most of its four-core appeal.
No integrated graphics
Overclocking didn t translate to actual major performance gains
As a six-core, 12-thread processor, the A$499 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X slots perfectly into the market for midrange gaming-focused CPUs, and brings with it the best balance of core count and cost in the company s latest launch of Zen 3-based processors. When put up against the so-so Intel Core i5-10600K, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X comes out shining on the other side, presenting serious competition for Intel (albeit at a slightly higher price point than we re used to from Ryzens). The Ryzen 5 5600X set records in some of our gaming results, as well as being one of the best values in price-to-performance that AMD offers in 2020. It lacks the integrated graphics that some buyers in the midrange might be looking for, but that s a small ding on an otherwise stellar showing for this Editors Choice pick among gaming CPUs, alongside the also-great budget-model Ryzen 3 3300X.
No integrated graphics
Overclocking didn t translate to actual major performance gains
As a six-core, 12-thread processor, the $299 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X slots perfectly into the market for midrange gaming-focused CPUs, and brings with it the best balance of core count and cost in the company s latest launch of Zen 3-based processors. When put up against the so-so Intel Core i5-10600K, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X comes out shining on the other side, presenting serious competition for Intel (albeit at a slightly higher price point than we re used to from Ryzens). The Ryzen 5 5600X set records in some of our gaming results, as well as being one of the best values in price-to-performance that AMD offers in 2020. It lacks the integrated graphics that some buyers in the midrange might be looking for, but that s a small ding on an otherwise stellar showing for this Editors Choice pick among gaming CPUs, alongside the also-great budget-model Ryzen 3 3300X.