Best CPUs of 2020 So Far (Gaming, Workstation, Overclocking, Budget, & Disappointment)
We're recapping the best CPUs of 2020 so far. With half the year over, and with ever more CPUs on the horizon, it's time to look at the best gaming CPUs, best budget CPUs, best production, & more.
Back-order a GN Mouse Mat here: store.gamersnexus.net/products/gn-wireframe-mouse-mat
All CPUs linked below.
Article and additional links: www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3589-best-cpus-of-2020-so-far-gaming-production-overclocking-budget
This CPU round-up recaps all our testing and benchmark data from the most recent CPU launches, including the Intel «10th Gen» CPUs and AMD Ryzen 3 3300X & 3100 launch. Our goals are to look for the best CPUs for gaming, the best CPUs for video editing (rendering) & programming (code compile), for 3D modeling and animation, for Photoshop, the most fun overclocking CPUs, the best budget CPUs, and the best overall CPU. Some of these categories consider price, some don't — it just depends on what's being discussed. The Intel vs. AMD Ryzen benchmarks have heated up lately, and so the results have shuffled from our previous Best Of round-up. For more depth on any given CPU, please check the corresponding reviews by searching the channel. We won't be going in as much excruciating detail in this one as in the reviews, as it's meant to be more of a buyer's guide.
BEST CPUs OF 2020 (So Far)
Best Overall Gaming CPU: Intel i5-10600K (Amazon) — geni.us/wYMMMj
Best Budget Gaming CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X (Amazon) — geni.us/rP3j
Honorable Mention: AMD Athlon 3000G (Amazon) — geni.us/yNcshn9
Best All-Around CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (Amazon) — geni.us/Czsy
Best Small Business & Hobbyist Production: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (Amazon) — geni.us/LynCy
Honorable Mention: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (Amazon) — geni.us/31e4Wc
Best High-End Workstation: AMD Threadripper 3990X (Amazon) — geni.us/xvKS5rE
Most Fun to Overclock: Intel i9-10900K (Amazon) — geni.us/Tps89G0
Biggest Disappointment: Intel i7-10700K (Amazon) — geni.us/JZO9YWZ
Honorable Mention: Intel i5-10400 (Amazon) — geni.us/BzZr4Z
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Recapping a Crazy First Half for CPUs
02:00 — Who This Content is For
03:20 — Best Gaming CPU Overall
06:15 — Best Budget Gaming CPU
09:30 — Best Overall CPU
12:10 — Best Small Business & Hobbyist Production CPU
14:12 — Best High-End Workstation CPU
17:05 — Most Fun CPU to Overclock
18:50 — Biggest Disappointment
19:45 — Worst Trend in CPUs
Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: www.patreon.com/gamersnexus
** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! **
Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video («this video is brought to you by») and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or «sponsored content» (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage.
Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates:
t: www.twitter.com/gamersnexus
f: www.facebook.com/gamersnexus
w: www.gamersnexus.net/
Editorial, Test Lead: Steve Burke
Testing, Additional Reporting: Patrick Lathan
Video: Keegan Gallick, Andrew Coleman
Wasting Money on Power Supplies: How Many Watts You Need for a PC PSU (2020)
We're testing how many watts you need for the average PC build, testing system load versus power supply 'size.' We're looking into how big a PSU is needed for gaming & work PCs in 2020.
Sponsor: Get 10% off Squarespace purchases (https://geni.us/BqEpf)
GN Wireframe Mouse Mat in stock & shipping now: store.gamersnexus.net/products/gn-wireframe-mouse-mat
This is more about providing hard numbers for existing builds and less about concept, but the concept is simple: You can always do this on your own by adding two reliable sets of GPU and CPU-only numbers (not total load numbers), then adding some buffer for other parts. In that sense, you don't really need a power supply calculator and can probably do it more accurately on your own.
Methodology used stems from our CPU & GPU testing methods (published earlier in the year in our methodology pieces — it's all the same parts). We describe verbally in this content whether we're using CPU or GPU graphics settings. Motherboard was a Z490 Maximus XII Extreme for Intel, X570 Master for AMD. The VRM efficiency will impact power needs as well, but ultimately, it's the GPU and CPU driving most of the power in the standard gaming PC. You will need to consider hard drive power consumption if running a large storage array.
Making a sweeping generalization here, we've noticed that a lot of people over-buy their power supply needs, and we'd assume that's because it's the safe thing to do. That is, «safe» with regard to ensuring no issues arise from buying too close to the PSU capacity. It's also the safe thing to do when you don't really know how to measure power supply needs. For the most part, you can take our component-level reviews (e.g. 10900K or 3900X review, or similar, and a 2080 Ti review, or similar) and add the two major parts' individual power consumption numbers to approximate the bulk of the PSU needs under full load. That's because we don't test total system power consumption for component reviews, but rather the power needs of that one component. In the instance of this specific video, though, we are using total system power consumption, and we're using that to measure the performance of a few builds we think are likely to occur in the 'wild.' That said, if you have minor component differences, you really should just be looking at power consumption numbers on a per-component basis and roughly adding things together. Or, if looking at the systems outlined in this video, you can extrapolate the jump between one CPU or GPU and the next and approximate the power needs much more accurately. Rather than using a «PSU calculator,» we think you should just actually do your own calculation by using data provided. In this instance, however, we've done most the legwork for common configurations to answer the question of how many watts are needed for a gaming or workstation PC's PSU.
Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: www.patreon.com/gamersnexus
RELATED PRODUCTS
Corsair AX1600i on Amazon: geni.us/bmIhFo
be quiet! Straight Power 11 650W PSU on Amazon: geni.us/TAHZ
Corsair RMX RM550X on Amazon: geni.us/6Bsbr8
List of 500W PSUs on Amazon: geni.us/mjrB
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — More Than Just Power (Watts) to Consider
02:40 — CPU, GPU Power Consumption & RTX 3080 in Future
03:40 — Testing Considerations & PSU Efficiency
06:30 — How Many Watts in PSU for Blender & Workstation Use
09:33 — How Many Watts for a Gaming PC (Red Dead 2)
12:01 — How Big a PSU Should Be (Three Kingdoms)
13:47 — F1 2019 Power Consumption Comparison
15:18 — 3DMark Timespy GT2 & CPU Physics Power Consumption
16:25 — CPU-Only Power Consumption from CPU Review
16:50 — Blender Total System Power Consumption
17:23 — More Than Just Wattage!
** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! **
Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video («this video is brought to you by») and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or «sponsored content» (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage.
Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates:
t: www.twitter.com/gamersnexus
f: www.facebook.com/gamersnexus
w: www.gamersnexus.net/
Editorial, Test Lead: Steve Burke
Testing: Mike Gaglione, John Tobin
Video: Keegan Gallick, Andrew Coleman
