Check My PC
Ranking · 133 processors · measured against 232 games

CPU Tier List 2027

Processors ranked on gaming work, not rendering or file compression. The percentage beside each chip is how many PC games list a recommended processor it matches or beats.

  1. S no graphics card will outrun it index 90–100 · 11 chips
  2. A a match for flagship cards index 78–89 · 20 chips
  3. B a match for upper-mid-range cards index 62–76 · 21 chips
  4. C right for 1080p and 1440p builds index 45–61 · 28 chips
  5. D holds back fast cards in CPU-heavy games index 28–44 · 25 chips
  6. F under the six-core line most new games expect index 3–27 · 28 chips
S

S tier: no graphics card will outrun it

8 to 24 cores. 6 from AMD, 5 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 100% of games.

A

A tier: a match for flagship cards

6 to 24 cores. 10 from AMD, 10 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 99% of games.

B

B tier: a match for upper-mid-range cards

6 to 16 cores. 9 from AMD, 12 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 96% of games.

C

C tier: right for 1080p and 1440p builds

4 to 12 cores. 10 from AMD, 18 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 78% of games.

D

D tier: holds back fast cards in CPU-heavy games

2 to 8 cores. 8 from AMD, 17 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 57% of games.

F

F tier: under the six-core line most new games expect

1 to 8 cores. 16 from AMD, 12 from Intel. The slowest chip here still meets the recommended processor of 11% of games.

About this ranking

Which processor is fastest for gaming in 2027?

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D (8 cores, 16 threads). It sets 100 on our gaming index.

Is AMD or Intel ahead right now?

AMD's best in our ranking is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D at 100; Intel's is the Intel Core i9-14900KS at 94. S tier holds 6 AMD and 5 Intel chips; A tier holds 10 AMD and 10 Intel chips.

How many cores does a gaming PC need?

Six is the floor most new releases are built around and eight gives headroom. The chip with the fewest cores that still meets every tracked game's recommended processor is the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, with 6.

When does the processor limit frame rate?

Mostly at 1080p, at high refresh rates, and in strategy, simulation and open-world games with many moving parts. At 4K the graphics card is usually the limit instead.