Intel's 14th-Gen Raptor Lake processors have arrived, with the highest-end overclockable models landing first. 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. 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. Your CPU is considered a computer's most important component. 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.
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. 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.
