The term is frequently used to refer to the central processing unit (CPU), the main processor in a system. It can also refer to other specialized processors such as graphics processing units (GPU), quantum processing units (QPU), and digital signal processors (DSP).
Here you'll find the best processors in 2025, backed by our rigorous testing and decades of collective experience working with the best CPUs Intel and AMD have to offer.
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.