Which Intel CPU best for gaming?

Skyfall74

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By next summer I would guess the latest version of any CPU will have been upgraded, so any research now will likely need to be redone closer to the time of purchase.
I am not a gamer but do build & repair PC's for a living so can only go on others recommendations for a gaming rig CPU, so Google is my friend. Choice as always will depend on your budget and what level of gaming you are after, but have a look at sites such as this
Best CPU For Gaming 2018 [UPDATED] - The Ultimate CPU Buying Guide
Best CPU for gaming 2018 | PC Gamer
Best Gaming CPUs

Mark.
 
With the Spectre and Meltdown fixes I would say aim for a CPU which has a fix for this built in as the updates for current CPUs have an overhead.
 
It seems like the coffee lake processors are better than the socket 2066 chips for gaming?

This is apparently because the coffee lake processors have a higher clock speed, whereas the socket 2066 chips are all about multicore processors, ie 10 cores. However the clock speed is less/compromised due to the number of processors on the 2066 chips.

Apparently having an excess number of cores doesn't really do gaming any favours?

How about the fact that coffee lake processors have an integrated graphics card, does this affect performance? Obviously a serious gamer would use a separate graphics card.
 
Right now , coffee lake core i5 8600 is the best value.

You can spend a lot more on i7 or Ryzen chips but they only give marginal gaming improvements over the i5 for hundreds of pounds extra in cost.

Intel AMD release new chips regularly , approx every 6 months so next summer this will be different.
Watch Toms Hardware and other sites for CPU gaming performance reviews.
 
the 8700k coffee lake cpu is known to be the best processor for gaming. is it the best value? As @andy1249, the i5 is likely the best value; however a lot depends on what kind of resolution you wish to game at? at 1080p, the processor bottlenecks but at 4k, the gpu deals with most of the workload with the cpu becoming less of an issue.
 
Just to be clear, if we are talking processors for gaming machines here, you need a separate GPU.
The GPUs built into the processors are weak for gaming.
 
Just to be clear, if we are talking processors for gaming machines here, you need a separate GPU.
The GPUs built into the processors are weak for gaming.

The op stated a gaming pc in the 1st post.
 
I would suggest taking a look at this video from Hardware Unboxed on Youtube.

Hardware Unboxed is (as far as I can tell) a reputable and professional hardware reviewing channel that gives unbiased and drama-free reviews/recommendations.

The linked video is their Top 5 Gaming CPUs (Entry level, affordable, value, high-end, no compromise). TLDW: the i5-8600k is their high-end recommendation.
 
For gaming i guess 1151 coffe lake should be best, search for CPUs with best speeds, not cores. Most games nowdays dont use that many cores...
 
Is there potential that games in the future may use more cores?

In that case going with the 2066 pin CPU's maybe still a feasible option today, knowing they will support future gaming well?
 
How do you know if a CPU is a bottleneck?

I have a Skylake i5 6600k and GTX 1080, I can play most games maxed and even some on 4k without it skipping a beat...

Are there any games that can push high-end PCs to their limit?
 
How do you know if a CPU is a bottleneck?

I have a Skylake i5 6600k and GTX 1080, I can play most games maxed and even some on 4k without it skipping a beat...

Are there any games that can push high-end PCs to their limit?

The concept of a perfectly balanced PC is a bit of a myth IMHO. Different games tax CPU and GPU differently, so one game may be "bottlenecked" by the CPU and another by the GPU. Obviously extreme pairings (pentium with 1080Ti) are examples of potential genuine bottlenecks, but I would suggest these are rare. What people mostly mean is "i have 'n' FPS and could theoretically get 'n+5' FPS from my GPU". The indication would be 100% CPU usage in task manager with less than 100% GPU usage (although I'm sure there are more technical measures).

Open world games at max settings with all the shiny stuff on (Witcher 3 with hairworks comes to mind) are the most likely to tax high end-PCs I think.
 
I think its clear that the coffee lake is the best option for the PRESENT, but which is more likely to future proof?

1) Buy a 2066 CPU pin motherboard capable of supporting the fastest 2066 CPU, potential for many more cores, quad memory control, 128Gb RAM max. Though of course the clock speed slightly less compared with coffee lake.

OR

2) Go with coffee lake, smaller number of cores, only dual memory control and 64Gb RAM max but of course slightly faster clock speed.

When I say future proof, I thinking very long term, as in, I'd rather not need to upgrade my m/b for up to a decade if possible.
 
I think its clear that the coffee lake is the best option for the PRESENT, but which is more likely to future proof?

Money in the bank.

You'll get a far better experience in four years time spending half the money now and half then then trying to buy something twice as expensive now.

The best argument for buying high end kit is if you want to chase the cutting edge, in which case you'll be replacing it every couple of years. As 'future proofing' it is, and always has been, the case that you're spending a lot extra just to avoid changing hardware for another couple of years.
 
I think its clear that the coffee lake is the best option for the PRESENT, but which is more likely to future proof?
...
When I say future proof, I thinking very long term, as in, I'd rather not need to upgrade my m/b for up to a decade if possible.

That is not a realistic expectation. At best the intel motherboards will support two generations of cpu. AMD has longer chipset (as in motherboard) support, but even then it won't be 10 years.
 

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