CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2024: CPU Rankings

Our CPU benchmarks performance hierarchy ranks current and previous-gen Intel and AMD processors based on performance, including all of the best CPUs for Gaming. Below the CPU ranking charts and tables, this guide also gives you a basic introduction to CPU benchmarks and includes a list of commonly-used CPU benchmarks. We have benchmarked CPUs for over 25 years, so we’ve preserved many of our legacy historical CPU rankings on the second page of this article.

Your CPU is considered a computer’s most important component. CPU benchmark comparisons help us sort out the differences between chips, but you’ll find a dizzying collection of model numbers and specs from both Intel and AMD. We’ve listed the best cheap CPUs and best CPUs for workstations and even covered the Intel vs AMD feature debate in other articles, but if you want to know the CPU rankings and how you can run CPU benchmarks of your own, this CPU benchmarks hierarchy is for you.

The $480 Ryzen 9 9800X3D is now the fastest gaming chip money can buy, but the previous-gen $460 Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a relatively close second that can often be found at lower pricing. The eight-core 16-thread chips use AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology to accelerate gaming performance, but the tech doesn’t accelerate all games and results in reduced performance in some applications. However, for gaming, AMD’s 3D V-Cache tech is the uncontested leader.