PC Gamer Hardware Awards: The best gaming CPU of 2024

19 hours ago 32

(Image credit: Future)

This year, there has been a glut of fresh CPUs from AMD and Intel for desktop PCs, with both vendors launching new processor architectures and model variants of older designs.

Over in the Team Red corner, 2024 started with a Zen 3 chip, in the form of the Ryzen 7 5700X3D. Essentially nothing more than a processor not quite good enough to be sold as a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, it's arguably better because it's a lot cheaper but not much slower.

Zen 5 made an official appearance in August, to a somewhat muted reception. That's because despite being a complete architectural overhaul, it isn't that much faster than Zen 4. But for sheer processing power, the Ryzen 9 9950X is hard to beat. Particularly when it uses less power than the competition.

We all had high hopes for Intel's Core Ultra 200S chips but it's fair to say that they missed the mark. Truth be told, most PC gaming enthusiasts were really only interested in one CPU and when the Ryzen 7 9800X3D finally appeared, we weren't disappointed. AMD's third generation of 3D V-Cache is just as magic as ever.

I've specifically mentioned these three processors because those are the nominees for best gaming CPU of 2024. We'll announce the winner on New Year's Eve but for now, let's see why they were chosen.

Best gaming CPU 2024: the nominees

The winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for the best gaming CPU will be announced on New Year's Eve. AMD wins no matter what but only one of its 2024 CPUs can be crowned best.

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Nick, gaming, and computers all first met in 1981, with the love affair starting on a Sinclair ZX81 in kit form and a book on ZX Basic. He ended up becoming a physics and IT teacher, but by the late 1990s decided it was time to cut his teeth writing for a long defunct UK tech site. He went on to do the same at Madonion, helping to write the help files for 3DMark and PCMark. After a short stint working at Beyond3D.com, Nick joined Futuremark (MadOnion rebranded) full-time, as editor-in-chief for its gaming and hardware section, YouGamers. After the site shutdown, he became an engineering and computing lecturer for many years, but missed the writing bug. Cue four years at TechSpot.com and over 100 long articles on anything and everything. He freely admits to being far too obsessed with GPUs and open world grindy RPGs, but who isn't these days?