Best CPU for Starfield in 2024 – Premium, best overall, and budget picks
Your comprehensive guide to the best CPU for Starfield
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Starfield is all set to release on the 6th of September 2023, leaving you a week or two to get your battle station star-ready. We’re here to help you navigate the treacherous skies that are choosing the Best CPU for Bethesda’s highly anticipated new IP, Starfield.
And we’re going to have fun doing it, maybe poke some fun at Bethesda along the way for taking 5 years from announcement to release.
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We’ve based this set of CPUs on the stated system requirements set out by Bethesda and our pick’s performance against those. Without further delay, let’s get into the best CPU for Starfield in 2024
What is the best CPU for Starfield in 2024?
The best CPU for Starfield is a sort of subjective matter because the real best CPU is useless to you if you can’t afford it, that’s why we’ve gone ahead and tailored some picks to suit all budgets. We’ve got three picks, premium, best overall, and budget, for you to sink your teeth into.
This is the best premium pick CPU we have found for Strafield – the Intel core i9-13900K
Intel Core i9-13900K
Cores
24
Threads
32
Base speed
P-cores 3 GHz / E-cores 2.2 GHz
Boost speed
P-cores 5.8 GHz / E-cores 4.3 GHz
Cache
36MB
TDP
125 W / 253 W boost.
The Intel Core i9-13900K is one of the most powerful Intel CPUs on the market so far, that may change soon with the Raptor Lake Refresh on the horizon, but we’ll update you on that when necessary. This very well may be the best CPU for Starfield in 2024, for the time being.
The 13900K has an impressive list of specifications that makes it well-suited to being the best premium pick CPU for Starfield. Here are the specifications:
| Core i9-13900K | Specs |
|---|---|
| Total Cores | 24 |
| Number of Performance-cores | 8 |
| Number of Efficient-cores | 16 |
| Total Threads | 32 |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 5.80 GHz |
| Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost Frequency | 5.80 GHz |
| Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency ‡ | 5.70 GHz |
| Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency | 5.40 GHz |
| Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency | 4.30 GHz |
| Performance-core Base Frequency | 3.00 GHz |
| Efficient-core Base Frequency | 2.20 GHz |
| Cache | 36 MB Intel® Smart Cache |
| Total L2 Cache | 32 MB |
| Processor Base Power | 125 W |
| Maximum Turbo Power | 253 W |
It appears as though Starfield is going to be a pretty intensive game, that’s where the 13900K’s 24 total CPU cores shine. The high number of CPU cores coupled with the high boost clocks and the added efficiency of the Split core technology, make the 13900K the perfect premium CPU for Starfield.
Should you feel less inclined to part with such a sum of money, we have the best overall CPU pick for Starfield coming right up.
Best overall CPU for Starfield – Ryzen 7 7700X
This is the best CPU that we have found overall for Starfield, Introducing the Ryzen 7 7700X
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
Cores
8
Threads
16
Base speed
4.5GHz
Boost speed
5.4GHz
Cache
32MB
Socket
AM5
The recommended Starfield system requirements state that you need an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Core i5-10600K to run the game optimally. We want to shoot for a little more than just optimal. Introducing the Ryzen 7 7700X, an AM5 CPU with an eye for efficiency and multi-core processing power.
The 7700X boasts an impressive list of specifications that place it as the front-runner to be the best overall CPU for Starfield. This is what we’re talking about:
| Ryzen 7 7700X | Specs |
|---|---|
| Number of CPU Cores | 8 |
| Number of Threads | 16 |
| Max. Boost Clock | Up to 5.4GHz |
| Base Clock | 4.5GHz |
| L1 Cache | 512KB |
| L2 Cache | 8MB |
| L3 Cache | 32MB |
| Default TDP | 105W |
| Processor Technology for CPU Cores | TSMC 5nm FinFET |
| Unlocked for Overclocking | Yes |
| CPU Socket | AM5 |
As you can see, the Ryzen 7 7700X is more than capable of running Starfield. Thanks to its 16-total thread count, each is capable of up to 5.4 GHz, its sizable L3 cache, and its relatively low TDP, it is the best overall CPU for Starfield. There are many CPUs suited to the job, but the Ryzen 7 7700X takes the cake for us, It’s the perfect mix of performance and budget.
Speaking of budget, we have a best-budget CPU pick for Starfield coming right up.
Best budget CPU for Starfield – Ryzen 5 5600X
This is the best budget CPU that we have found for Starfield, this is the Ryzen 5 5600X
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Speed
3.7GHz/ 4.6GHz
Core (Threads)
6/12
Socket
AM4
TDP
65W
The Ryzen 5 5600X is a classic among budget gamers, this CPU is the epitome of price-to-performance ratios, whilst still being sort of new enough to be relevant. The Ryzen 5 5600X is the CPU that you rely on when there’s simply nothing cheap that’s good enough.
The Ryzen 5 5600X may not look like much, but it beats the heck out of the recommended CPU for Starfield stated in the PC system requirements, the specs of the Ryzen 5 5600X are as follows:
| Ryzen 5 5600X | Specs |
|---|---|
| Number of CPU Cores | 6 |
| Number of Threads | 12 |
| Max. Boost Clock | Up to 4.6GHz |
| Base Clock | 3.7GHz |
| L2 Cache | 3MB |
| L3 Cache | 32MB |
| Default TDP | 65W |
| Processor Technology for CPU Cores | TSMC 7nm FinFET |
| Unlocked for Overclocking | Yes |
| CPU Socket | AM4 |
The Ryzen 5 5600X’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration has not been one to let AMD down just yet. Since games require only a few cores (no more than 4, usually) the 5600X cuts out the nonsense of extra cores to save cost and focus on what matters.
The Ryzen 5 5600X is very cost-effective and with a max boost speed of 4.6GHz, it’s no slouch either. If you’re looking for the best budget CPU for Starfield that doesn’t break the bank, the 5600X is the right CPU for you.
AMD has a partnership with Bethesda that may affect CPU performance
AMD and Bethesda have worked closely together through the development of Starfield which has some Nvidia users a little ticked off. The astute among you may have realized that the majority of these picks are AMD CPUs, there’s good reason for that.
It may come to light that there are some performance benefits for AMD CPUs because of the partnership between AMD and Bethesda, and presumably all AMD test systems. With that in mind, you might want to swap the 13900K for a 7950X, or 7950X3D for some more potential performance. However, we will not know of any CPU bias until we test the game ourselves.
There have been reports of Starfield not supporting non-AMD software features at launch, such as DLSS and Intel XeSS. So if you’re looking for the Best GPU for Starfield, you might want to choose accordingly.
What CPU does Bethesda reccomend for Starfield?
The recommended CPU requirements for Starfield are as follows:
- Minimum CPU requirement – AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
- Recommended CPU requirement – AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
As you can see, every CPU on this list exceeds the minimum CPU requirement in terms of performance, so you’re covered no matter what CPU you opt for in this guide. These requirements come to you directly from the Starfield page on Steam, so you know they’re accurate. Starfield, despite its graphical fidelity and its expansive universe, isn’t really that heavy on CPU load. It’s a shame the same can’t be said for GPU load.
We hope this guide helped you find the Best CPU for Starfield in 2024, no matter the CPU you choose from this article, you’re in good hands. We’ll update this guide if anything changes.
