Best CPU for ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme 2021

The ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme is one of the best motherboards. It's also one of the best X570 chipset-touting boards from ASUS for AMD processors, and we've rounded up the best CPUs for the ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme right here.

Best overall

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

Staff pick

If you want the absolute best Ryzen processor for the ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme, look no further than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. It's the top-ranking desktop processor from AMD for the AM4 socket. This monster has 16 cores and 32 threads and is a perfect match for such a motherboard.

$746 at Amazon

$749 at Newegg

Runner-up

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Sporting 12 cores and 24 threads, this is one impressive processor. It may be the entry-level Ryzen 9, but you've got more performance here than you'll likely need. You'll be able to overclock it using the ASUS UEFI BIOS to get even more out of the CPU for a killer enthusiast machine.

$560 at Amazon

$560 at Newegg

Best value

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

We wouldn't recommend using anything that isn't an AMD Ryzen 9 processor with this motherboard from ASUS, as it has many great features that this range of top-end CPUs would be able to truly utilize. Still, if you simply cannot afford one and don't want to go with a previous-gen chip, there's always the excellent mid-range Ryzen 7 5800X with eight cores and 16 threads.

$394 at Amazon

$400 at Newegg

Choosing the best CPU

There's no "wrong" processor to choose for a motherboard, so long as it supports the socket. The ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme is a killer motherboard with plenty of high-end features that make up the premium price. To make the most out of the board, you'll want an AMD Ryzen 9 processor.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is the best CPU for consumers before entering Threadripper territory. It has an impressive 16 cores and 32 threads with a clock speed of 3.4GHz. You can even overclock this thing to extract yet more performance from the power-hungry CPU.

If you don't need that much performance or don't have nearly $1,000 to spend on a processor, we'd recommend the Ryzen 9 5900X, which is the entry model for the 5000 series of Ryzen 9 CPUs. It's still a mighty processor with 12 cores and 24 threads and is better suited to tasks like gaming.