Best CPU company
AMD or Intel? Team blue or team red? The answer to that question could come down to whether you want power or value for money, more cores or a faster clock speed?
Presented by Samsung
Winner: Intel
The current market leader, Intel is a global superpower in the world of technology. Its CPUs are used in more PCs than any other and its range spans low-power budget products through to high performance parts.
Finalists
AMD
Since its founding in 1969, AMD has aggressively pursued market share in both consumer and enterprise, with a range of CPUs that has grown substantially with last year’s Ryzen and Threadripper products.
Best Value CPU
Winner: Intel Core i5-8400
The i5-8400 is a 6-core design with a turbo boost up to 4.0GHz. This makes it a very compelling budget gaming CPU option.
Finalists
The 1500X is a terrific value quad core CPU with a decent clock speed making it a good all-rounder across a range of workloads.
The Ryzen 5 1600 brings 6c/12t to a price point that was unfathomable a year ago. Performance is competitive plus there’s the bonus inclusion of a very competent cooler.
The quad core i3-8100 is amazing value, essentially replacing the previous generation i5 models and halving the price at the same time. That’s got to be commended.
Best Performance CPU
Winner: Intel Core i9-7960X
Many users probably don’t need a 7960X, but they surely do want one. 16 cores eats through content creation applications with ease, while it’s competent with lightly threaded loads too.
Finalists
Threadripper is aptly named. If you’re using the appropriate software or heavily multitasking, the 1950X combined with the feature packed X399 platform is simply incredible.
Finally we have six cores on the mainstream Intel platform. With its aggressive turbo modes and increased core count, the 8700K offers excellent performance for work or play.
AMD came roaring back with Ryzen. The 1700X boasts 8 cores and is perfect for content creators and multitasking. It’s no slouch in single threaded workloads either.
