Processor

The processor is the brain of your PC

Want your PC to keep up? Then your processor is not something to overlook. It's the one that handles all the calculations, all the tasks, whether you're launching a game on Warzone, streaming on Twitch, or running 15 Chrome tabs with Discord in the background. If you have a sluggish processor, your whole setup suffers. And clearly, you don't need to break the bank to get a good CPU today.

On DropReference, we list all the affordable processors, whether for a quick upgrade or to build a complete PC with our configurator. We keep an eye on prices and display the best offers in real-time. You save time, you save money.

AMD or Intel? The match continues

Today, you have two main camps: AMD Ryzen and Intel Core. Ryzen is often praised for its price/performance ratio, especially the 5000 and 7000 series. They're great for multitasking, recent games, and even a bit of video editing. On the other hand, Intel offers solid raw power with its Core i5, i7, and i9, especially since the 12^th generation. But watch out for sockets: an AMD AM4 processor won't fit on an Intel LGA 1700 motherboard. Luckily, our configurator takes care of all that for you.

Which CPU for what use?

• 🕹 Gaming: a Ryzen 5 or an Intel i5 is already solid.
• 🎬 Video editing / streaming: aim for a Ryzen 7 or Intel i7 to handle the load.
• 🖥 Office work / browsing: no need to splurge, a small Ryzen 3 or i3 does the job.

The idea is to find the right balance between performance and budget. You don't throw €400 at a CPU if you're just playing LoL and have a GTX 1650 beside it.

All CPUs, at the best price

Here, we reference all the most interesting offers on the market. You can filter by socket, number of cores, frequency, price… in short, you build your PC the way you want. And if you already have a motherboard, make sure to check compatibility: it would be silly to get caught out.

🛠 DropReference Tip: use our configurator to avoid compatibility errors. You choose your CPU, and we tell you right away if everything is compatible. No need to read 30 forums to find out if your Ryzen is compatible with your motherboard.