Table of Contents
After my first keyword research study on the most searched for GPUs in 2022, I thought I’d do the CPU counterpart justice and apply the same methodology and principles to find out which were the most searched for CPUs in 2022.
Study introduction
In my previous keyword research study, we found that the most searched GPUs in 2022 were by far from Nvidia with 78% of the total search queries, 21% for AMD, and 1% for the newly launched Intel dedicated graphics cards.
In the CPU department, things are looking 180 degrees different for AMD and Intel. As the old saying goes win some, lose some.
TLDR: AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600X wins 1st place, but there’s more…
Results analysis and conclusion
There were 151 CPUs included in this research, 33 from AMD, and 118 from Intel. Processors were no older than 2019 for relevancy and popularity purposes.
The surprising takeaway is that AMD owns 61.9% of the total search queries with just 33 models, while Intel only takes 38.1% with their impressive number of 118 processors. Not as a definitive win like we’ve seen in the GPU research but still, AMD is the clear winner in the CPU search intent of 2022.
Furthermore, AMD locks in the top 10 CPU searches in 2022 and goes beyond until the top 15. Intel’s i9 12900k was the most searched CPU from the blue team last year, closely followed by the 12400f.
Similar to my most searched GPUs in 2022 research, the first two places are held by more budget-friendly CPUs, the Ryzen 5 5600x with 7% of the total search volumes, followed by the Ryzen 5 3600 with 6%, which have their MSRP of $299 and $199 respectively.
In the high-end department, the last generation Ryzen 9 5950x was just a little more popular than the Core i9 12900k, while the Ryzen 5900x was searched more than two times compared to Intel’s i9 12700k rival.
When talking about the latest generation of high-end CPUs, the battle between the Ryzen 9 7950x and Intel’s Core i9 13900k is a tough one but Intel comes on top with 1.7M searches to AMD’s 1.4M.
It came as a surprise to see the all-mighty 5800X3D at number 7 in the top 151 most searched CPUs in 2022. Even if the 5800X3D is a beast for gaming purposes, the 5900x got a bit more attention from searchers, probably due to its better productivity performance.
To be fair, the Ryzen 5800X3D got almost 4 times more searches than its blue counterpart, the i5 13600k so that’s more than impressive in my book!
Full keyword research dataset
Worldwide search intent for CPUs in 2022 on Google search engine:
| Order | CPU | Searches | Percentage | MSRP | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 10,575,360 | 7.09% | $299 | 2020 |
| 2 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | 8,997,720 | 6.03% | $199 | 2019 |
| 3 | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | 7,508,400 | 5.03% | $449 | 2020 |
| 4 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600G | 6,978,360 | 4.68% | $259 | 2021 |
| 5 | AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | 5,058,000 | 3.39% | $549 | 2020 |
| 6 | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X | 5,025,840 | 3.37% | $329 | 2019 |
| 7 | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D | 4,658,160 | 3.12% | $449 | 2022 |
| 8 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | 4,094,520 | 2.75% | $249 | 2019 |
| 9 | AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | 3,982,080 | 2.67% | $499 | 2019 |
| 10 | AMD Ryzen 7 3800X | 3,708,000 | 2.49% | $399 | 2019 |
| 11 | AMD Ryzen 3 3100 | 3,414,120 | 2.29% | $99 | 2020 |
| 12 | AMD Ryzen 7 5700G | 3,130,560 | 2.10% | $359 | 2021 |
| 13 | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | 3,035,880 | 2.04% | $799 | 2020 |
| 14 | AMD Ryzen 5 3500X | 2,973,840 | 1.99% | $149 | 2019 |
| 15 | AMD Ryzen 3 3300X | 2,900,040 | 1.94% | $119 | 2020 |
| 16 | Intel I9 12900K | 2,818,560 | 1.89% | $589 | 2021 |
| 17 | Intel I5 12400F | 2,741,520 | 1.84% | $167 | 2022 |
| 18 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | 2,733,840 | 1.83% | $199 | 2022 |
| 19 | Intel I5 12600K | 2,464,800 | 1.65% | $289 | 2021 |
| 20 | Intel I7 12700K | 2,229,720 | 1.49% | $409 | 2021 |
| 21 | Intel I9 9900K | 2,224,920 | 1.49% | $499 | 2019 |
| 22 | Intel I5 10400F | 2,207,520 | 1.48% | $155 | 2020 |
| 23 | AMD Ryzen 5 5500 | 2,181,000 | 1.46% | $159 | 2022 |
| 24 | Intel I5 12400 | 2,162,400 | 1.45% | $192 | 2022 |
| 25 | AMD Ryzen 7 5700X | 2,150,400 | 1.44% | $299 | 2022 |
| 26 | Intel I7 9700K | 1,738,800 | 1.17% | $385 | 2019 |
| 27 | Intel I9 13900K | 1,730,280 | 1.16% | $589 | 2022 |
| 28 | Intel I5 9400F | 1,596,480 | 1.07% | $149 | 2019 |
| 29 | Intel I3 12100F | 1,588,080 | 1.06% | $97 | 2022 |
| 30 | Intel I3 10100F | 1,578,960 | 1.06% | $79 | 2020 |
| 31 | Intel I5 10400 | 1,479,120 | 0.99% | $182 | 2020 |
| 32 | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | 1,445,880 | 0.97% | $699 | 2022 |
| 33 | Intel I7 12700 | 1,421,160 | 0.95% | $339 | 2022 |
| 34 | Intel I3 10100 | 1,385,280 | 0.93% | $122 | 2020 |
| 35 | Intel I5 11400F | 1,368,840 | 0.92% | $157 | 2021 |
| 36 | AMD Ryzen 5 3400G | 1,308,480 | 0.88% | $149 | 2019 |
| 37 | Intel I3 12100 | 1,296,840 | 0.87% | $122 | 2022 |
| 38 | AMD Ryzen 5 4500 | 1,235,760 | 0.83% | $129 | 2022 |
| 39 | Intel I5 13600K | 1,200,720 | 0.80% | $319 | 2022 |
| 40 | Intel I5 11400 | 1,101,480 | 0.74% | $182 | 2021 |
| 41 | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | 1,022,280 | 0.69% | $299 | 2022 |
| 42 | Intel I7 10700K | 949,680 | 0.64% | $374 | 2020 |
| 43 | Intel I7 11700K | 921,360 | 0.62% | $399 | 2021 |
| 44 | Intel I7 13700K | 909,960 | 0.61% | $409 | 2022 |
| 45 | AMD Ryzen 5 4600G | 875,280 | 0.59% | $154 | 2022 |
| 46 | Intel I3 9100F | 849,720 | 0.57% | $88 | 2019 |
| 47 | Intel I7 10700 | 798,480 | 0.54% | $323 | 2020 |
| 48 | Intel I5 9600K | 788,640 | 0.53% | $263 | 2019 |
| 49 | Intel I5 12600 | 743,280 | 0.50% | $223 | 2022 |
| 50 | Intel I9 10900K | 741,120 | 0.50% | $488 | 2020 |
| 51 | Intel I9 11900K | 731,520 | 0.49% | $539 | 2021 |
| 52 | Intel I7 9700 | 715,560 | 0.48% | $335 | 2019 |
| 53 | AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | 645,000 | 0.43% | $399 | 2022 |
| 54 | Intel I5 12600KF | 644,640 | 0.43% | $264 | 2021 |
| 55 | Intel I5 12500 | 643,800 | 0.43% | $202 | 2022 |
| 56 | Intel I7 11700 | 634,080 | 0.43% | $323 | 2021 |
| 57 | AMD Ryzen 3 4100 | 630,360 | 0.42% | $99 | 2022 |
| 58 | Intel I9 12900KS | 605,760 | 0.41% | $739 | 2022 |
| 59 | Intel I7 12700F | 595,320 | 0.40% | $314 | 2022 |
| 60 | Intel I5 9400 | 577,080 | 0.39% | $182 | 2019 |
| 61 | Intel I5 11600K | 554,640 | 0.37% | $262 | 2021 |
| 62 | Intel I9 9900 | 554,280 | 0.37% | $449 | 2019 |
| 63 | Intel I7 12700KF | 544,680 | 0.37% | $384 | 2021 |
| 64 | AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | 476,640 | 0.32% | $549 | 2022 |
| 65 | AMD Ryzen 9 3950X | 473,520 | 0.32% | $749 | 2019 |
| 66 | Intel I5 10600K | 451,800 | 0.30% | $262 | 2020 |
| 67 | Intel I9 12900 | 437,640 | 0.29% | $489 | 2022 |
| 68 | Intel I3 9100 | 431,160 | 0.29% | $122 | 2019 |
| 69 | Intel I5 9500 | 425,040 | 0.28% | $202 | 2019 |
| 70 | Intel I7 10700F | 380,760 | 0.26% | $298 | 2020 |
| 71 | Intel I5 10500 | 376,680 | 0.25% | $192 | 2020 |
| 72 | AMD Ryzen 5 1600AF | 368,280 | 0.25% | $85 | 2019 |
| 73 | Intel I7 11700F | 318,600 | 0.21% | $298 | 2021 |
| 74 | Intel I5 11500 | 312,960 | 0.21% | $192 | 2021 |
| 75 | Intel I9 12900KF | 298,560 | 0.20% | $569 | 2022 |
| 76 | Intel I9 10850K | 285,240 | 0.19% | $453 | 2020 |
| 77 | Intel I5 9600 | 275,880 | 0.18% | $224 | 2019 |
| 78 | AMD Ryzen 5 3200G | 275,160 | 0.18% | $99 | 2019 |
| 79 | Intel I9 10900 | 260,400 | 0.17% | $439 | 2020 |
| 80 | Intel I5 13600KF | 258,480 | 0.17% | $294 | 2022 |
| 81 | Intel Celeron G6900 | 258,240 | 0.17% | $42 | 2022 |
| 82 | Intel I5 11600 | 235,320 | 0.16% | $213 | 2021 |
| 83 | Intel I9 11900 | 232,800 | 0.16% | $439 | 2021 |
| 84 | Intel I5 10600 | 232,440 | 0.16% | $213 | 2020 |
| 85 | Intel Pentium G7400 | 211,800 | 0.14% | $64 | 2022 |
| 86 | Intel I7 11700KF | 192,360 | 0.13% | $374 | 2021 |
| 87 | Intel I3 12300 | 189,240 | 0.13% | $143 | 2022 |
| 88 | Intel I5 9600KF | 188,160 | 0.13% | $262 | 2019 |
| 89 | Intel I3 10300 | 177,840 | 0.12% | $143 | 2020 |
| 90 | Intel I3 9300 | 163,080 | 0.11% | $152 | 2019 |
| 91 | Intel I7 13700KF | 157,440 | 0.11% | $384 | 2022 |
| 92 | Intel I5 10600KF | 154,320 | 0.10% | $237 | 2020 |
| 93 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT | 153,240 | 0.10% | $249 | 2020 |
| 94 | Intel I7 10700KF | 147,360 | 0.10% | $349 | 2020 |
| 95 | Intel I9 13900KF | 146,400 | 0.10% | $564 | 2022 |
| 96 | Intel I5 11600KF | 133,800 | 0.09% | $237 | 2021 |
| 97 | AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT | 120,000 | 0.08% | $499 | 2020 |
| 98 | AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT | 113,880 | 0.08% | $399 | 2020 |
| 99 | Intel I9 11900KF | 110,520 | 0.07% | $513 | 2021 |
| 100 | Intel I9 9900KS | 108,120 | 0.07% | $524 | 2019 |
| 101 | Intel I9 10900KF | 104,520 | 0.07% | $463 | 2020 |
| 102 | Intel I3 9320 | 101,520 | 0.07% | $162 | 2019 |
| 103 | Intel I9 12900F | 97,560 | 0.07% | $464 | 2022 |
| 104 | Intel I3 10320 | 96,600 | 0.06% | $154 | 2020 |
| 105 | Intel I5 10500T | 90,720 | 0.06% | $192 | 2020 |
| 106 | Intel I9 10900F | 87,360 | 0.06% | $422 | 2020 |
| 107 | Intel I5 9500T | 58,920 | 0.04% | $192 | 2019 |
| 108 | Intel I9 11900F | 56,040 | 0.04% | $422 | 2021 |
| 109 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200AF | 55,080 | 0.04% | $60 | 2020 |
| 110 | Intel I5 10505 | 54,600 | 0.04% | $192 | 2021 |
| 111 | Intel I7 12700T | 52,560 | 0.04% | $339 | 2022 |
| 112 | Intel I3 10100T | 46,800 | 0.03% | $122 | 2020 |
| 113 | Intel I5 12500T | 43,080 | 0.03% | $202 | 2022 |
| 114 | Intel I7 10700T | 42,240 | 0.03% | $323 | 2020 |
| 115 | Intel I9 12900T | 41,400 | 0.03% | $489 | 2022 |
| 116 | Intel I5 10400T | 40,800 | 0.03% | $182 | 2020 |
| 117 | Intel I7 9700T | 32,160 | 0.02% | $323 | 2019 |
| 118 | Intel I9 9900T | 31,920 | 0.02% | $439 | 2019 |
| 119 | Intel I3 12100T | 30,480 | 0.02% | $122 | 2022 |
| 120 | Intel I3 9100T | 29,280 | 0.02% | $122 | 2019 |
| 121 | Intel I5 9500F | 28,440 | 0.02% | $192 | 2019 |
| 122 | Intel I5 9400T | 26,640 | 0.02% | $182 | 2019 |
| 123 | Intel I7 11700T | 24,360 | 0.02% | $323 | 2021 |
| 124 | Intel I3 9350KF | 23,640 | 0.02% | $184 | 2019 |
| 125 | Intel I5 12400T | 21,000 | 0.01% | $192 | 2022 |
| 126 | Intel I9 10900T | 20,040 | 0.01% | $439 | 2020 |
| 127 | Intel I3 9350K | 18,600 | 0.01% | $184 | 2019 |
| 128 | Intel I5 11400T | 18,000 | 0.01% | $182 | 2021 |
| 129 | Intel I5 11500T | 16,680 | 0.01% | $192 | 2021 |
| 130 | Intel I5 12600T | 16,320 | 0.01% | $223 | 2022 |
| 131 | Intel I9 11900T | 15,240 | 0.01% | $439 | 2021 |
| 132 | Intel I5 9600T | 9,720 | 0.01% | $213 | 2019 |
| 133 | Intel Pentium G7400T | 8,880 | 0.01% | $64 | 2022 |
| 134 | Intel I3 12300T | 8,400 | 0.01% | $143 | 2022 |
| 135 | Intel I5 10600T | 8,400 | 0.01% | $213 | 2020 |
| 136 | Intel Celeron G6900T | 7,680 | 0.01% | $42 | 2022 |
| 137 | Intel I7 9700TE | 5,880 | 0.00% | $323 | 2019 |
| 138 | Intel I3 9300T | 5,520 | 0.00% | $143 | 2019 |
| 139 | Intel I5 11600T | 5,280 | 0.00% | $213 | 2021 |
| 140 | Intel I5 9500E | 5,280 | 0.00% | $192 | 2019 |
| 141 | Intel I7 10700E | 5,040 | 0.00% | $330 | 2020 |
| 142 | Intel I3 10300T | 4,800 | 0.00% | $143 | 2020 |
| 143 | Intel I3 10100E | 3,360 | 0.00% | $125 | 2020 |
| 144 | Intel I5 10500E | 3,120 | 0.00% | $195 | 2020 |
| 145 | Intel I9 10900E | 3,000 | 0.00% | $440 | 2020 |
| 146 | Intel I5 9500TE | 2,880 | 0.00% | $192 | 2019 |
| 147 | Intel I7 10700TE | 2,640 | 0.00% | $330 | 2020 |
| 148 | Intel I3 9100E | 2,160 | 0.00% | $122 | 2019 |
| 149 | Intel I5 10500TE | 2,040 | 0.00% | $195 | 2020 |
| 150 | Intel I3 10100TE | 2,040 | 0.00% | $125 | 2020 |
| 151 | Intel I3 9100TE | 1,560 | 0.00% | $122 | 2019 |
Credit: Study conducted by Raul Bilc for razzem.com
Legend
Order – The order of CPUs by their search volume.
CPU – The model name of each processor used in this research.
Searches – Number the total search volumes for each CPU in 2022 consisting of 5 cluster keywords.
*See the explanation below in the Research methodology segment.
Percentage – The percentage from the total searches of each CPU.
MSRP – Recommended launch price for each base model CPU.
Launch – Initial release date for each base model CPU.
Research methodology
- As per my previous research, this one was also conducted using a combination of 3 premium SEO tools: Ahrefs, SEM Rush, and Google Ads. The data is gathered over the entire period of 2022, from 1 January to 31 December.
- Targeting settings: Location – worldwide, Language – all.
- Data from Google’s search engine was exclusively used.
- I only used desktop CPU series no older than 2019 for relevancy and popularity purposes. The oldest Intel series used in the research was the 9th generation. As for AMD, some Zen+ 2nd generation models were the oldest (ones that were released in 2019), but mostly the Zen 2 3rd generation and above. These are all CPU series used in this research:
Intel – 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th generation.
AMD – Zen+ 2nd, Zen2 3rd, Zen3 4th, and Zen3 5th generation.
*I’ve included all variation models from Intel – K, KF, T, F, TE, and E, although some of them have very small or insignificant search volumes due to their low popularity. Even so, the results pan hard in AMD’s favour. - There were 5 cluster keyword variations used for each CPU model in an effort to gather as much data as possible:
Generic: “13600k” / “5800x3d”
Price: “13600k price” / “5800x3d price”
MSRP: “13600k msrp” / “5800x3d msrp”
Alternative: “intel i5 13600k” / “amd ryzen 5800x3d”
Alternative 2: “intel 13600k” / “amd 5800x3d”
Alternative 3: “i5 13600k” / “ryzen 5800x3d”
Other things to consider
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper, Intel Xenon and Intel X-series were not used in this research, as these CPU lines are aimed at the professional market rather than consumer gamers in our case.
- Zen3 4th generation processors that launched in 2023 (the Ryzen 7600 for example) were not used for obvious reasons.
- Again, these are not actual sales numbers, just search intent by users across the world in Google’s search engine in 2022.
Sources:
