Modern CPUs are all so good that we’re the winner here, not the hardware. No matter what budget you have, you’ll easily find a processor that will suit you just fine. It’s the same if you want something just for gaming, a chip that’s more versatile, or if you need a CPU to power through any content creation task.
That said, we’re still waiting for the perfect processor. Some might be incredible for gaming but suck up mountains of power, where others only work great with the very latest operating systems or need additional software to reach its full potential.
There were three new releases this year that genuinely made us think that they were as close to being perfect as you can get right now. Three CPUs that are simply brilliant at what they do. Three chips that we’d recommend anyone should buy, because we know you won’t be disappointed.
There can only be one winner of our coveted PC Gamer Hardware Award for best gaming CPU in 2023, though, but which one of the three do you think it will be? Check out the nominees below and see which takes the crown when we announce the winner on New Year’s Eve.