Desktop CPU Performance Ladder (2005–2026)
Intel Core vs AMD Ryzen — 21 years of desktop CPUs tier-ranked by real-world performance.
How to use this ladder
This tier list groups Desktop CPU Ladder into seven performance tiers from S (Supreme / flagship) to D (Legacy / entry-level). Each tier is ordered by release year, newest first. A newer chip one tier down often outperforms an older chip one tier up. Use this as a reference for relative positioning, not as a benchmark — actual FPS varies by game, resolution and driver. Tiers are updated quarterly to reflect new releases and re-benchmarks.
- Intel Core i9-15900KIntel2026
Nova Lake, 28C/40T (8P+16E+4LPE), 6.6GHz boost, reclaimed gaming crown from AMD
- AMD Ryzen 9 10950X3DAMD2026
Zen 6 X3D, 16C/32T, enlarged stacked L3 cache, multi-thread king with gaming cache
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3DAMD2025
Zen 5 X3D, 16C/32T, massive L3 cache, king of gaming CPUs
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3DAMD2023
Zen 3 X3D, 16C/32T, industry-first 3D-stacked L3, gaming flagship
- Intel Core i9-14900KIntel2023
Raptor Lake, 24C/32T, 6.0GHz boost, beastly multi-thread and gaming
- Intel Core i9-13900KIntel2022
Raptor Lake, 24C/32T, first Intel hybrid big.LITTLE desktop, top gaming
- AMD Ryzen 9 5950X3DAMD2022
Zen 3 X3D, 16C/32T, first X3D for AM4, big gaming uplift
- Intel Core i9-12900KIntel2021
Alder Lake, 16C/24T, hybrid P-core/E-core, dethroned AMD in gaming
- Intel Core i9-11900KIntel2021
Rocket Lake, 8C/16T, last-gen monolithic, strong single-thread
- AMD Ryzen 9 5950XAMD2020
Zen 3, 16C/32T, single-thread king, dominated gaming and productivity
- AMD Ryzen 9 10990XAMD2026
Zen 6, 12C/24T, no X3D but very high clocks, efficient high-end
- Intel Core i7-15700KIntel2026
Nova Lake, 24C/36T (6P+12E+6LPE), strong gaming and productivity
- AMD Ryzen 7 10800X3DAMD2026
Zen 6 X3D, 8C/16T, best price/performance gaming in 2026
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3DAMD2025
Zen 5 X3D, 12C/24T, big cache for gamers
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3DAMD2025
Zen 5 X3D, 8C/16T, best price/performance gaming
- AMD Ryzen 7 9700X3DAMD2025
Zen 5 X3D, 8C/16T, more cache than 7700X3D
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900XAMD2024
Zen 5, 12C/24T, no X3D but fast
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950XAMD2024
Zen 5, 16C/32T, flagship productivity
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950XAMD2023
Zen 4, 16C/32T, 5.7GHz boost, top productivity
- Intel Core i9-14900KSIntel2023
Raptor Lake special, 6.2GHz max boost, overclock king
- Intel Core i7-14700KIntel2023
Raptor Lake, 20C/28T, great gaming and multi-core
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900XAMD2023
Zen 4, 12C/24T, efficient flagship
- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3DAMD2023
Zen 4 X3D, 8C/16T, best gaming CPU for most users
- Intel Core i7-13700KIntel2022
Raptor Lake, 16C/24T, hybrid big.LITTLE, strong gaming
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3DAMD2022
Zen 3 X3D, 8C/16T, first mainstream X3D, huge gaming uplift
- Intel Core i9-10900KIntel2020
Comet Lake, 10C/20T, last-gen monolithic Intel, strong productivity
- Intel Core i5-15500KIntel2026
Nova Lake, 14C/20T (4P+8E+2LPE), sweet spot for gaming in 2026
- AMD Ryzen 5 10600XAMD2026
Zen 6, 6C/12T, great budget gaming with high IPC
- AMD Ryzen 9 9800XAMD2024
Zen 5, 12C/24T, efficient high-end
- AMD Ryzen 7 9700XAMD2024
Zen 5, 8C/16T, high-end gaming
- Intel Core i7-14700KFIntel2023
Raptor Lake, 20C/28T, no GPU, great value high-end
- Intel Core i5-14600KIntel2023
Raptor Lake, 14C/20T, sweet spot for gaming
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700XAMD2023
Zen 4, 8C/16T, fast single-thread
- Intel Core i7-13700Intel2022
Raptor Lake, 16C/24T, efficient version
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800XAMD2021
Zen 3, 8C/16T, strong gaming and productivity
- Intel Core i7-12700KIntel2021
Alder Lake, 12C/20T, hybrid architecture, strong gamer
- Intel Core i7-11700KIntel2021
Rocket Lake, 8C/16T, last-gen monolithic Intel
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900XAMD2020
Zen 3, 12C/24T, best productivity-per-dollar
- AMD Ryzen 7 3800XAMD2019
Zen 2, 8C/16T, first big Ryzen leapfrog
- Intel Core i9-9900KIntel2018
Coffee Lake, 8C/16T, long-standing gaming flagship
- AMD Ryzen 5 9600XAMD2024
Zen 5, 6C/12T, great budget gaming
- Intel Core i5-14600KFIntel2023
Raptor Lake, 14C/20T, no GPU, value king
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600XAMD2023
Zen 4, 6C/12T, strong budget gaming
- Intel Core i5-13600KIntel2022
Raptor Lake, 14C/20T, sweet spot hybrid
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3DAMD2022
Zen 3 X3D, 6C/12T, budget X3D for gamers
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600XAMD2021
Zen 3, 6C/12T, great value gaming
- Intel Core i5-12600KIntel2021
Alder Lake, 10C/16T, hybrid budget gamer
- Intel Core i5-10600KIntel2020
Comet Lake, 6C/12T, overclockable budget
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600XAMD2019
Zen 2, 6C/12T, budget gaming beast
- Intel Core i5-9600KIntel2018
Coffee Lake, 6C/6T, classic overclocking CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700XAMD2018
Zen+, 8C/16T, great multi-core budget
- Intel Core i5-13400Intel2023
Raptor Lake, 10C/16T, locked multiplier, solid productivity
- AMD Ryzen 5 7500FAMD2023
Zen 4, 6C/12T, no GPU, budget gaming
- Intel Core i5-12400FIntel2022
Alder Lake, 6C/12T, no GPU, budget gamer
- AMD Ryzen 5 5500AMD2021
Zen 3, 6C/12T, budget workstation
- Intel Core i5-11400Intel2021
Rocket Lake, 6C/12T, locked productivity
- Intel Core i5-10400Intel2020
Comet Lake, 6C/12T, budget office/gaming
- AMD Ryzen 5 2600XAMD2018
Zen+, 6C/12T, first value Ryzen
- AMD Ryzen 5 2600AMD2018
Zen+, 6C/12T, budget gaming classic
- Intel Core i5-8600KIntel2017
Coffee Lake, 6C/6T, overclockable mid-range
- AMD Ryzen 7 1700AMD2017
Zen 1, 8C/16T, first Ryzen, shook Intel
- Intel Core i5-12300Intel2022
Alder Lake, 4C/8T, budget productivity
- Intel Core i3-12100Intel2022
Alder Lake, 4C/8T, budget entry gaming
- AMD Ryzen 5 5300AMD2021
Zen 3, 4C/8T, budget office
- Intel Core i3-10100Intel2020
Comet Lake, 4C/8T, budget office box
- AMD Ryzen 5 2400GAMD2018
Zen+ APU, 4C/8T with Vega GPU, great budget
- Intel Core i5-7600KIntel2017
Kaby Lake, 4C/4T, classic overclocking
- AMD Ryzen 5 1600AMD2017
Zen 1, 6C/12T, budget Ryzen launch
- Intel Core i5-6600KIntel2015
Skylake, 4C/4T, long-lived overclocking
- Intel Core i5-4690KIntel2014
Haswell, 4C/4T, durable overclocking favorite
- AMD FX-8350AMD2012
Piledriver, 8C/8T, last FX-series before Ryzen
- Intel Core i3-9100FIntel2019
Coffee Lake, 4C/4T, budget entry gaming
- Intel Core i3-8100Intel2017
Coffee Lake, 4C/4T, locked entry
- Intel Core i5-4460Intel2014
Haswell, 4C/4T, budget office
- AMD FX-6300AMD2012
Piledriver, 6C/6T, budget AM3+ entry
- AMD Phenom II X4 955AMD2009
Deneb, 4C/4T, classic budget overclocker
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600Intel2006
Conroe, 2C/2T, legendary budget chip
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+AMD2006
Windsor, 2C/2T, first widespread dual-core
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600Intel2006
Kentsfield, 4C/4T, first mass-market quad-core
Methodology & update cadence
Tiers are assigned based on real-world benchmark consensus across multiple publications (AnandTech, TechPowerUp, Tom's Hardware, NotebookCheck). Gaming performance at 1080P/1440P/4K is weighted for consumer chips; multi-core and productivity benchmarks are weighted for workstation parts. Tiers are relative, not absolute — a chip's position reflects its standing at the time of its launch, not its performance today. New entries are added quarterly (March, June, September, December) as new chips launch and comprehensive benchmarks become available.
Last updated: 2026-08-02 · Next update: quarterly cadence