What's the best gaming CPU right now, and is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D worth it over Intel?

The best gaming CPU to buy right now is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It's two years old and still on top. Tom's Hardware, whose gaming CPU list was last updated on October 29, 2026, measured it 35% faster in games than Intel's flagship Core Ultra 9 285K. In its March 2026 review, Intel's newer Core Ultra 7 270K Plus came out 20% slower than the 9800X3D. So yes, for a gaming PC the 9800X3D is worth it over Intel. Intel is the better buy if you also do a lot of multi-core work, want to spend less, or play at 4K, where the graphics card sets your frame rate. Checked November 6, 2026.

What is the best gaming CPU right now?

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Tom's Hardware's November 2026 update keeps it as the "Overall Best CPU for Gaming" and calls it "The fastest gaming CPU money can buy". AMD launched it on November 7, 2024. Per AMD's spec page it has 8 cores and 16 threads, a 4.7 GHz base clock, boost "Up to 5.2 GHz", 96 MB of L3 cache and a 120W TDP, on the AM5 socket with DDR5-5600 memory.

The 96 MB of L3 cache is the reason it wins. AMD stacks extra cache (it calls it 3D V-Cache) under the CPU cores, and games, which keep pulling the same data again and again, run faster when that data sits in cache instead of in system RAM. That's also why chips with more cores but less cache lose to it in games.

Nothing new is about to change this. Tom's Hardware wrote in its November 2026 update: "we don't expect a new major launch until the calendars turn to the new year", and "All eyes are on 2027 for AMD and Intel's next-generation processors". Intel's next desktop generation, Nova Lake, has no shipping date or independent review yet.

Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D worth it over Intel?

For a gaming PC, yes. Here's how it compares with Intel's two chips that matter, from Tom's Hardware's tests and the makers' own spec pages.

• Against the Core Ultra 9 285K the 9800X3D isn't close. Tom's Hardware puts it "almost unbelievably 35% faster than the current-gen Intel flagship", and the 285K costs more. Intel's spec page lists the 285K's recommended customer price at $589.00 to $599.00 (read Nov 6, 2026).
• Against the newer Core Ultra 7 270K Plus the gap is smaller and the price is lower. Intel said the 270K Plus is within 10% of the 9800X3D. Tom's Hardware's reviewer wrote: "My results are different. With the 17-game test suite I looked at, the 270K Plus was 20% slower than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D". Intel's own price guidance for the 270K Plus is $339.00 to $349.00 (read Nov 6, 2026), and Tom's lists it at about $320.
• Intel's fastest gaming chip is still an old one. Tom's says the Core i9-14900K "remains Intel's fastest gaming CPU", and it measured the 9800X3D 30% faster than it.

When is Intel the better buy?

Buy Intel if one of these fits you:

• You do heavy multi-core work as much as you game. Tom's Hardware says the 270K Plus is near the top of its multithreaded rankings, "more than doubling the performance of the Ryzen 7 9700X". The 9800X3D is an 8-core chip, so video encoding, 3D rendering and big code builds go faster on Intel's 24 cores.
• Your budget is around $200 to $350 for the CPU. Tom's picks Intel's Core Ultra 5 250K Plus (about $220 in its list) as its best mid-range gaming CPU, and the 270K Plus as an alternate to the 9800X3D.
• You already own an LGA 1851 board. The 270K Plus drops into existing 800-series boards, per Tom's. On a new build, keep in mind that Tom's lists "LGA 1851 is on its way out the door" as a reason to avoid it, while AM5 boards also take AMD's 9000-series chips.

If you want AMD cache on a budget, Tom's names the Ryzen 5 7600X3D (about $250 in its list) "the best value gaming CPU you can get right now".

Should you get the 9850X3D or the 9800X3D?

Get the 9800X3D unless the two cost the same. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is the same 8-core, 96 MB chip with a higher boost clock: "Up to 5.6 GHz" on AMD's spec page, against 5.2 GHz. AMD launched it on January 29, 2026 at $499.

In Tom's Hardware's 16-game test at 1080p it averaged 211.2 FPS against 204.6 FPS for the 9800X3D, a 3.2% lead. It also drew "a whopping 30% more power (106W vs. 81.4W) during gaming", and Tom's found the 9800X3D "is able to make up the performance gap" with AMD's Precision Boost Overdrive turned on. Tom's still recommends the 9800X3D, noting the 9850X3D is "only 3.3% faster despite costing around 6% more".

Is the 9950X3D or 9950X3D2 better for gaming?

No faster in games, much more money. Tom's Hardware says the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 "Matches the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in games" and calls it "Very expensive". The 16-core chips make sense only if you also render, encode or compile all day and want top gaming speed in the same PC. As Tom's puts it: "Eight cores is sufficient for gaming".

Does the CPU matter at 1440p and 4K?

Less than at 1080p. The 35% and 20% gaps come from tests built to show CPU differences: Tom's runs its CPU tests at 1080p with a top-end graphics card (an RTX 5090 in its 2026 reviews) so the card isn't the limit. At higher resolutions your graphics card does most of the work. Tom's notes that 3D V-Cache's benefit "is less pronounced as your display resolution climbs".

So match the CPU to your monitor and card:

• High-refresh 1080p or 1440p (144 Hz and up, esports, sims, strategy games): the 9800X3D is worth it.
• 4K with a mid-range card: a cheaper CPU loses little. Spend the difference on the graphics card; see the best GPU for 1440p gaming and our 1080p vs 1440p vs 4K guide.
• Already on an older CPU? Check where your frame rate is lost first: how to increase FPS in PC games.

What else do you need to buy with a 9800X3D?

Three things to budget for, per AMD's spec page and Tom's:

• A cooler. AMD's page says "Not Included" under thermal solution and "Liquid cooler recommended for optimal performance". Tom's says it runs cooler than Intel's chips and has "Reasonable cooling requirements".
• An AM5 motherboard. AMD lists A620, B650, B650E, B840, B850, X670, X670E, X870 and X870E boards.
• DDR5 memory. AMD lists DDR5-5600 as the supported speed. Tom's warns that "DDR5 prices are peaking", so price the memory before you choose a platform. Our gaming RAM guide covers how much you need, and how much to spend on a gaming PC covers the whole budget.

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AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

8 cores, 16 threads, 96 MB L3 cache, boost up to 5.2 GHz, 120W, AM5, per AMD's spec page (read Nov 6, 2026). No cooler in the box.

Best for: The highest frame rates a CPU can give you in games.

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The short version: for a gaming PC, buy the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, put the money you save over a 16-core chip into the graphics card, and pick Intel only if multi-core work or price matters more to you than the last 20% of frame rate. Numbers checked on November 6, 2026.