Whether you're building a new PC or upgrading an older system, you'll need a great CPU and you'll want to get it at the best possible price. To help you choose the right processor, we maintain a list of the best CPUs and a CPU benchmark hierarchy that compares each recent SKU to the others, based on gaming performance.

Once you've decided which processors you're considering for your desktop, it's time to get shopping, and here's where the price index below can help. The tables below contain up-to-date lowest prices for every desktop Intel Core Ultra, 13th and 14th Gen Intel CPUs, and AMD Ryzen 9000, 7000, and 5000 series processors.

Each week, we check the major U.S. online stores and update the tables below with the cheapest price for each CPU whether it's on a sale today or not. So, whether you're looking for a Core i9-14900KF, a Ryzen 9 7950X3D, or a Ryzen 7 5800X, you should be able to find it at the lowest cost here. We've divided up the results by processor manufacturer and generation.

Intel Core Ultra CPU Prices

Intel Core Ultra: Lowest CPU Prices

The very latest processors from Intel, the Core Ultra 200S series uses a new naming convention for this most recent generation. With a focus on productivity and AI integration, the Core ultra range currently consists of the 24-core Intel Core 9 285K at the top-end to the Intel Core 5 245K. These "Arrow Lake" CPUs need the latest LGA 1851 socket compatible motherboards and DDR5 RAM.

Intel 13th / 14th Gen: Lowest CPU Prices

Intel 13th and 14th Gen Core: Lowest CPU Prices  

Ranging from the powerful, unlocked Core i9-13900K on the high end to the affordable Core i3-13100 on the low end, Intel's 13th Gen "Raptor Lake" processors have a lot to offer. The most recent, 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors have the same core counts and architecture but feature slightly faster clock speeds. Both 13th and 14th Gen CPUs are made from a 7nm process and most, but not all, of them feature a mix of efficiency and performance cores.

Intel 13th and 14th Gen Core CPUs require motherboards with 600 or 700 series chipsets and LGA 1700 sockets. Depending on the motherboard, you will be able to use either DDR4 or DDR5 RAM.

AMD Ryzen 9000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

AMD Ryzen 9000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

The latest processors from AMD, the 9000-series includes the new "king of gaming" - the 9800X3D as part of its line-up. With a lacklustre initial release, the early 9000-series processors like the 9900X failed to make big waves, however, the recent release of the 9800X3D with it's large stacked V-cache and improved cooling design has rocketed it to the top of the charts for gaming performance.

AMD Ryzen 7000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

AMD Ryzen 7000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

The Zen 4 7000-series Ryzen CPUs have up to 16 cores and 32 threads. Those with an X3D at the end of the model name have tremendous amounts of L3 cache thanks to AMD's 3D V-Cache innovation.

AMD's 7000-series processors use the AM5 socket and can only be paired with DDR5 memory as DDR4 RAM is not compatible with the AM5 standard.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series: Lowest CPU Prices

Still a very popular choice for upgrading an older system or building a budget gaming PC, AMD's Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 processors offer great performance for the price. The best price-for-performance option for gaming from this tier is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D which uses AMD's first iteration of 3D V-Cache technology which propelled this CPU to the top of benchmarking lists when first released.

AMD's Zen 3 5000-series Ryzen processors use the AM4 standard socket and must be paired with DDR4 RAM. Due to this series of CPUs being from the last generation of processors from AMD, you can often pick up some great deals on CPUs, motherboards (400 and 500 series), RAM, and GPUs from this gen.

These are the lowest prices we could find in the U.S. as of the publish date on this article (updated each weekday). However, you may also want to check out this curated list of the Best CPU deals.