Grab one of these great CPUs for your next custom PC build or upgrade
(Windows Phone Central)

The best CPU for your custom PC is one that matches your needs, doesn`t bottleneck the rest of your hardware, and doesn`t cost more than what you`ve budgeted. When looking for a new processor, it`s easy to automatically go for the more expensive option expecting a return in performance, and in most cases, you`d be correct in that assumption. However, the question is whether you need that kind of power and whether you really need to pay that much. For most people, the Intel Core i5-12600K should be an ideal mix of performance and price. This CPU is from Intel`s 12th Gen family of processors and is one of the most affordable SKUs. If it`s not quite what you`re looking for, there are plenty of other CPU options that we`ve rounded up here. Best overall: Intel Core i5-12600K Intel worked some magic with its Alder Lake processors. The company struggled to keep up with the performance gains AMD was making through its Ryzen CPUs, but all that changed with its move to a 10nm process. Alt...