Last Updated on November 15, 2022 by admin
Best Cpu for Cities Skylines – The list of the best CPU for Cities Skylines are all from the latest generation of Intel and AMD processors. You can always go for older gen CPUs if you can find a good overall deal just make sure you look at the benchmarks when choosing.
All in all, you have to strike the right balance between multi-core and single-core performance of the CPU for this game. However, in our opinion, a good single-core performance matters more as it can drastically improve the frame rates.
ROUND UP
1.Intel Core i5-10600K
And Intel’s Core i5 series could definitely use some help — the third-gen Ryzen processors, for all of their headline-stealing high core counts in the higher-end models, did the most damage in Intel’s mid-range due to their superior value and ultra-competitive gaming performance.
The Core i5 and Ryzen 5 segments comprise the bulk of sales to the ever-growing cadre of gamers and enthusiasts looking for the best bang for the buck, so success here is key.
The Core i5-10600K’s combination of a higher thread count at similar pricing to the previous-gen, high stock clock frequencies, palatable power consumption, and agile overclockability cooks up a winner for the gaming and enthusiast crowds.
2.Intel Core i7-10700K
In fact, the 10700K offers the same number of cores and threads as the previous-gen Core i9-9900K, but for $114 less, making it a contender for our list of Best CPUs and a top-performer on our CPU Benchmark Hierarchy.
As expected, Intel reserved the best features for its halo Core i9-10900K, like support for its Thermal Velocity Boost that triggers higher boost speeds if the chip runs below a certain temperature. However, the Core i7-10700K still marks the debut of Turbo Max 3.0 to the Core i7 family.
This tech targets the 10700K’s two fastest cores, which peak at 5.1 GHz, with lightly threaded workloads to improve snappiness. That results in a surprisingly close competition for gaming supremacy between the Core i7-10700K and the Core i9-10900K.
3.Intel Core i5-9600K
Intel’s ninth-gen Core i7 and Core i9 processors come with more cores, too. Unfortunately, the Core i5-9600K we’re reviewing today does not. It includes the same six cores as its predecessor, along with a price tag that lands between Ryzen 5 2600X and Ryzen 7 2700. Worse, both competing CPUs are bundled with coolers, while Intel makes you buy your own.
The story isn’t all bad for Intel. It did switch to a solder-based thermal interface material between its die and heat spreader, enabling higher multi-core Turbo Boost frequencies. But those incremental improvements are hardly earth-shattering.
4.Intel Core i7-11700K
To start off, if you’d prefer a deeper dive into all the 11th Generation goodness we’ve got to spare (including info on motherboard compatibility and cost of adoption), head on over to our review of the Core i9-11900K flagship for all the details.
For now, here’s how the various CPUs in the “Rocket Lake” lineup shake out. (Note that for legibility’s sake we’ve left out the low-power 35-watt “T” versions of these chips, which will be of interest mostly to OEMs.)
5.Intel Core i5-11400F
That ‘F’ suffix in the Core i5 11400F denotes a lack of iGPU in the processor package, which is no bad thing for a budget gaming CPU, and normally means a cheaper chip. Times are strange, however, and the Core i5 11400 is exactly the same CPU but with those integrated GPU cores enabled.
It should be more expensive, but is actually available for a lot less right now.
Performance should be practically the same between the two so you can almost pick which of those two versions of the 11400 silicon is cheapest and be happy with your choice. Because the Core i5 11400/F is a great budget gaming CPU.
6.AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
AMD also stopped bundling air coolers with its chips with a TDP rating that exceeds 65W, so the 105W Ryzen 7 5800X comes without what used to be one of AMD’s most prized value-adds for the Ryzen 7 series – the Wraith Prism RGB cooler.
AMD’s cooler-less Ryzen 5000 series models require a 280mm AIO cooler (or equivalent air cooler), adding plenty of cost into the equation. That will likely dissuade gaming-focused enthusiasts from dropping the extra cash for the 5800X’s two additional cores that don’t deliver meaningful gaming performance gains over the Ryzen 5 5600X.
7.AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
The Ryzen 5 5600X takes the mid-range by storm with six cores and twelve threads powered by the Zen 3 architecture fabbed on the 7nm process. That potent combination equates to a ~19% improvement in instruction per cycle (IPC) throughput, making the 5600X an easy choice for our list of Best CPUs.
Other fine-grained improvements, like a vastly optimized boosting algorithm, improved memory overclocking, and reworked cache topology erases the last traces of Intel’s performance advantages while delivering a new level of power efficiency. In fact, as we’ll detail below, the Ryzen 5 5600X is the most power-efficient desktop PC chip we’ve ever tested.
8.AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
But what if AMD wasn’t the value alternative, instead being the performance leader? The third-gen Ryzen 5 processors certainly have the right mix of features to accomplish that goal.
These processors come with the same six cores and twelve threads as their predecessors, but AMD boosts performance with a new 7nm process and the Zen 2 microarchitecture that brings big speedups to all types of applications that span from gaming to productivity work. Not to mention the new PCIe 4.0 interface that offers twice the I/O throughput of the PCIe 3.0 standard that Intel uses for its chips.
9.AMD 100-100000158BOX
The AMD Ryzen 5 3500X comes without an integrated graphics engine, meaning its market is limited to systems with a discrete graphics card. That makes Intel’s new graphics-less F-series processors its natural competitor. Even with a similar number of cores and threads, the AMD Ryzen 5 3500X offers better overall performance in both gaming and productivity apps than Intel’s Core i5-9400F.
However, we could say the same about AMD’s other Ryzen 3000 series models that come with threading and offer a higher amount of performance. Unless you’re looking for a neat collector’s item, AMD’s existing retail chips, or the looming Ryzen 3 series processors, are almost certainly the better option.
10.Intel Core i9-9900K
AMD’s high core counts, aggressive prices, and nods to enthusiasts have earned it plenty of goodwill. Now it’s Intel’s turn to respond. The Core i9-9900K, for instance, ships in a a translucent plastic dodecahedron obviously meant to wow system builders, similar to the way AMD impressed with its Threadripper packaging.
Intel also switched back to using Solder Thermal Interface Material (STIM) between the die and heat spreader, facilitating better thermal transfer to cope with more cores and higher overclocks. Ninth-gen Core CPUs are also Intel’s first with hardware-based mitigations for the Meltdown and Foreshadow vulnerabilities. These should minimize the performance impact of circumventing recently discovered exploits.
Best Cpu for Cities Skylines – BUYER’S GUIDE
The CPUs compared are the Intel Core i5-6600K (4 Cores / 4 Threads / 3.90) GHz vs AMD Ryzen 7 1700X (8 Cores / 16 Threads / 3.4 GHz).
The benchmarks here are quite enlightening. The first is that a processor with a higher core count DOES NOT necessarily improve the Frame Per Second. Some scenes show the CPU with lower core count i.e Core i5-6600K perform better, whereas, in another scene the AMD Ryzen 7 1700X seems to perform better.
Overall though, the Frame Per Second performance is generally attributed to a better Single Core performance i.e a higher clock speed.
However, as the author of the video has pointed out, when it comes to the question of Simulation Speed, the processor with higher core count drastically outperforms the processor with a lower core count.
Basically, as your city grows, the game throttles the system resulting in slower simulation speed so that it does not tax the CPU performance much. This has all to do with the calculation happening instantaneously. Large the cities, the more calculation need to be done.
Since a processor with a higher core processor can perform multiple simultaneous calculations, it can maintain a fairly stable simulation speed even for much complex cities.
Key Takeaway
So what is the Key takeaway. How many cores and threads should you aim for?
Generally, the opinion is that the game does not benefit much from a processor that has higher than 4 cores / 8 threads. Again, while this may be true for the frame rate, it does not turn out to be true for the simulation speed.
In our opinion, single core performance should be the primary attribute to look for. Meaning, we recommend going for a processor with a higher clock speed as supposed to a higher core count as the primary target.
Fortunately, even the newer mainstream processors these days offer 6 cores and 12 threads. This should help you maintain a good frame rate given that you have a good GPU to accompany and enough RAM to handle all the assets.
On top of that a processor with 8 cores / 8 threads would outperform a processors with 4 cores / 8 threads. In other words, multithreading / hyperthreading is a secondary attribute. While preferable, it is the higher core count you should look for when given a choice.
If you have a higher budget, then you can look into high performance or extreme processors that feature 8 cores or more with multi-threading enabled.
WRAP UP
Best Cpu for Cities Skylines – Cities skylines is one of the most CPU intensive game out there and if you are planning on building a gaming rig dedicated to this game, then getting the right CPU is one of the first steps.
For starters, unlike most of the games out there that are highly reliant on GPU and can do well with a mainstream CPU such as the Ryzen 5 or the Core i5 processors, Cities Skylines is hungry for a powerful.
Amazon.com
