If you’re building or upgrading a desktop PC, choosing the processor is the biggest decision you’ll make.
Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, a content creator working with 8K video, or a power user running demanding workloads like 3D rendering or AI training, choosing the right CPU is very crucial.
With Intel and AMD constantly pushing the limits of speed and efficiency, today’s desktop processors are absolute beasts with so many core counts, sky-high clock speeds, and game-changing features. But with so many options on the market, which ones truly stand out?
In this guide, we’re ranking the most powerful desktop CPUs right now, based on real-world performance, benchmarks, and raw processing power.
Updated: June 2025
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Overall
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Passmark Single-Core
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Passmark Multi-Core
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) on Geekbench 6 Single Core
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Cinebench 2024 Single Core
- Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core
- What is a Passmark Benchmark?
- What is Geekbench Benchmark?
- What is Cinebench Benchmark?
- Final Words
- Related Content
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Overall
This scoring system uses an average of Passmark, Geekbench 6, and Cinebench 2024 single-core and multicore benchmarks.
So, this is an average of a total of 6 different benchmarks to determine the best desktop processor.
These are the top Desktop(PC) processors overall right now. If you want to check the ranking based on individual benchmarks, you can scroll further to check that too.
| Overall Benchmark Score | Processor | Overall benchmark Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX | 32,166 |
| 2 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X | 29,256 |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X | 22,144 |
| 4 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 17,252 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X | 16,967 |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 16,370 |
| 7 | Intel Core i9-13900KS | 15,377 |
| 8 | Intel Core i9-14900KF | 14,896 |
| 9 | Intel Core i9-14900K | 14,894 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5965WX | 14,886 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Passmark Single-Core
This Desktop PC processor ranking is based on the Passmark single-core benchmarks.
| Rank | Processor | Passmarks (Single Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple M3 Ultra (28-Core) | 5,134 |
| 2 | Apple M3 Ultra (32-Core) | 5,099 |
| 3 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | 5,097 |
| 4 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF | 4,920 |
| 5 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | 4,895 |
| 6 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285 | 4,886 |
| 7 | Intel Core i9-14900KS | 4,829 |
| 8 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285 | 4,759 |
| 9 | Apple M3 (8-Core) | 4,741 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 4,739 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Passmark Multi-Core
Here are the Best Desktop PC processors for Multi-core performance based on Passmark.
| Rank | Processor | Passmarks (Multi Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX | 1,45,420 |
| 2 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X | 1,36,397 |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7985WX | 1,34,209 |
| 4 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X | 98,397 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7975WX | 96,058 |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX | 95,129 |
| 7 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX | 83,681 |
| 8 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7960WX | 83,646 |
| 9 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7965WX | 82,141 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X | 80,275 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) on Geekbench 6 Single Core
These are the top 10 Desktop PC processors based on Geekbench single-core performance
| Rank | Processor | Geekbench (Single Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple M4 Pro (12-Core) | 3,825 |
| 2 | Apple M4 Pro (14-Core) | 3,820 |
| 3 | Apple M4 (10-Core) | 3,790 |
| 4 | Apple M4 (8-Core) | 3,696 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 3,405 |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 3,389 |
| 7 | AMD Ryzen 5 9600X | 3,371 |
| 8 | AMD Ryzen 7 9700X | 3,354 |
| 9 | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 3,343 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | 3,343 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
These are the top 10 Desktop PC processors based on Geekbench multi-core performance
| Rank | Processor | Geekbench (Multi-Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 22,575 |
| 2 | Apple M4 Pro (14-Core) | 22,335 |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 21,503 |
| 4 | Intel Core i9-13900KS | 21,440 |
| 5 | Apple M2 Ultra (24-Core) | 21,385 |
| 6 | Intel Core i9-14900KF | 20,597 |
| 7 | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D | 20,507 |
| 8 | Intel Core i9-14900K | 20,414 |
| 9 | Intel Core i9-13900K | 20,059 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | 19,862 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Cinebench 2024 Single Core
These are the Best Desktop PC processors based on Cinebench 2024 single-core performance
| Rank | Processor | Cinebench (single Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | 145 |
| 2 | Intel Core i9-14900KS | 142 |
| 3 | Apple M3 Ultra (32-Core) | 141 |
| 3 | Apple M3 Ultra (28-Core) | 141 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 139 |
| 5 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF | 139 |
| 5 | Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | 139 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 139 |
| 5 | Intel Core i9-14900KF | 139 |
| 5 | Intel Core i9-14900K | 139 |
Top Desktop PC Processors(CPUs) Based on Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core
These are the Best Desktop PC processors based on Cinebench 2024 multi-core performance
| Rank | Processor | Cinebench (Multi-Core) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX | 6,677 |
| 2 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7980WX | 5,531 |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X | 3,685 |
| 4 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X | 3,302 |
| 5 | Apple M3 Ultra(8-Core) | 2,700 |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX | 2,504 |
| 7 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K | 2,416 |
| 8 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | 2,393 |
| 9 | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X | 2,340 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5965WX | 2,284 |
What is a Passmark Benchmark?
A PassMark benchmark is a score assigned to a computer component (like a CPU, GPU, or RAM) based on performance tests conducted using PassMark Software’s benchmarking tools.
These tests evaluate things like processing power, graphics performance, and memory speed. The higher the score, the better the performance.
What is Geekbench Benchmark?
Geekbench is another popular benchmarking tool that tests overall system performance. It focuses more on CPU and GPU performance with real-world workloads.
Geekbench is widely used to compare devices across platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS.
What is Cinebench Benchmark?
Cinebench is a benchmarking tool developed by Maxon that tests the performance of your CPU using real-world rendering tasks.
Unlike PassMark, which tests multiple aspects of a system, Cinebench focuses entirely on CPU performance, making it a go-to benchmark for professionals and enthusiasts.
Final Words
You can use this ranking list to check which Desktop PC processor or CPU performs best right now. It can give you a general idea about the Processor’s overall performance.
However, do keep in mind that these benchmarks alone are not enough to determine the best processor.
There are other aspects that you also need to consider, like thermal management, power efficiency, and reliability.
Your Motherboard, RAM, cooling systems, PC case design, and some other factors can have an impact on the processor’s performance.
Lastly, this ranking will change over time as new processors are released in the market. We will keep track of them and keep this ranking updated.
