Getting a new gaming PC is exciting stuff. Whether youre building one yourself or buying one of the best gaming PCs off the shelf, theres a lot to think about. And right at the heart of that is which processor you get. The processor is the beating heart of any PC, and getting it right is critical. If you make the wrong choice for your particular requirements, your whole experience will take a hit. And theres more to consider getting the best processor than just whether you go for Intel or AMD. Processors are complicated beasts, but there are a few key aspects to consider that will make your buying process a little easier. How to choose a gaming processor for your PCThe obvious one is setting your budget, and you should absolutely do that. Dont spend more than youre happy to, because that AMD Ryzen 9 might look awesome but its also pricey, and spending more than you want to is always a bad idea. But instead of focusing on budget, were going to outline some of the other main considerations you should make when choosing a gaming processor. The processor can affect many aspects of gaming, including frame rates, scalable display elements, and more besides. Heres how to make sure you get the best one for you.(Image credit: Future)1. Decide what you want to do with your PCWhen youre choosing a gaming PC its easy to get carried away. But before you choose any processor you need to be clear on exactly what you want from your gaming PC. If youre going to be concentrating on gaming and little else, you will be looking at a different processor if youre also going to want to stream at the same time. Of if your PC is going to be used for professional work or content creation, or any other intensive tasks. Why is this so important? Because overkill is one thing, but underestimating will be even worse.2. Understanding how many cores you needThis is where the previous step starts to become important. All modern Intel and AMD CPUs have multiple cores, ranging between 4 and 16 before you start getting into workstation territory. Gaming, believe it or not, doesnt actually need a massive amount of cores to produce a good performance. Even on a quad-core processor, you can have a decent time.Where the core count comes into play is if youre planning to undertake processor-intensive tasks outside of gaming. If youre playing and streaming from the same PC, for example, youll need more cores to take on the additional load. This is where AMD Ryzen processors have become popular in recent times, offering 8-core and even 16-core processors for a fairly attractive price. The additional headroom allows for gaming and streaming on the same PC with minimal impact to both.(Image credit: AMD)3. Clock speeds and overclockingGenerally speaking, for choosing a gaming processor the higher the clock speed the better. Its less of a thing on modern processors as clock speeds today are improved on years past, but its still something to consider. If a slightly higher clock speed is within your budget, then you should try and get that one.  As a byproduct of that, consider if youre looking to indulge in a spot of overclocking. If youre buying an AMD Ryzen processor, youre all set, each is unlocked and you can tinker to your hearts content. If youre interested in overclocking an Intel processor then youll need to make sure you purchase a ‘K variant. The model number will be designated with a ‘K at the end to signify its unlocked for overclocking, for example, the Intel Core i9-11900K. 4. Integrated graphics or not?Not all processors come with integrated graphics, and if you buy one and dont have a dedicated graphics card handy you wont even be able to see Windows 10 on the screen. In particular, this applies to AMD Ryzen processors that arent designated with a ‘G in their model number, and Intel processors designated with an ‘F. If youre getting into PC gaming then one of todays best graphics cards will probably be on your shopping list. But if you dont have it right away, or youre building a budget machine without one, youll need a processor with an integrated GPU to be able to use your PC. It is possible to get good gaming performance on some of todays latest integrated graphics, too. Of particular note is AMDs APU lineup, a combination of a Ryzen processor and Radeon GPU on the same chip. Depending on the game, even a solid 60 FPS experience is well within reach. (Image credit: Future)5. Read reviews and benchmarksWhen choosing a new processor it really can be worthwhile freeing up some time to check out the latest reviews and benchmarks. While reviewers will often not have the same system spec as youre targeting, they will all do one important thing: push the processor to its absolute limits. A good review will help you understand performance, power draw, thermal performance, and how good it is at single-core and multi-core tasks. Youll also get an idea of gaming performance, so it can help shore up your preferences or help you reshape them towards something else. But its a good idea to know what you want from a processor before you go hunting reviews, to make sure youre not tempted by something you dont need.There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing a gaming processor. Every persons needs are different from the next, but making a decision doesnt have to be difficult. As long as you know what kind of gaming PC youre shooting for and what you want to be able to do with it, the rest will fall into place. Set your budget before you begin the process, then look at what Intel and AMDs best have to offer you.