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Best Gaming CPU: Entry-level

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: April 2012
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Best Gaming CPU for ~£50:

Pentium G630

Pentium G630
Codename: Sandy Bridge
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2
Clock Speed: 2.7 GHz
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Thermal Envelope:
65 W

It turns out that the budget-oriented Sandy Bridge-based Pentium family performs very well in games. Specifically, Intel's £50 Pentium G630 beat the FX-4100, -6100, and -8120 in our recent sub-£160 CPU gaming comparison. In fact, it finished right on par with the Phenom II X4 955.

As a result, Intel displaces AMD at the bottom rung of our recommendation list yet again this month. That's something we haven't seen for a very long while. There's not much else to add, except that if you consider the Phenom II to be a capable gaming CPU, Intel's Pentium G630 is just as viable.

Best Gaming CPU for £70:

Pentium G860

Pentium G860
Codename: Sandy Bridge
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2
Clock Speed: 3.0 GHz
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Thermal Envelope:
65 W

An extra £20 buys you 300 MHz more compared to the £50 Pentium G630.

This makes enough of a performance difference to push today's £70 processor recommendation out in front of AMD's Phenom II X4 955 in our sub-£160 CPU gaming comparison. Because the LGA 1155-based Core i3s and Pentiums are unfortunately crippled by locked multiplier ratios, paying a little extra for more stock frequency could be worth the added cost in this case.

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  • 1 Hide
    bemused_fred , 2 April 2012 15:57
    Why are the standard i7's not considered good value for money? It's only 20 quid more and comes with hyperthreading. I'm not criticizing, I'm just unsure.

    Good article, BTW
  • 1 Hide
    blubbey , 2 April 2012 16:36
    Bemused_FredWhy are the standard i7's not considered good value for money? It's only 20 quid more and comes with hyperthreading. I'm not criticizing, I'm just unsure. Good article, BTW

    Because HT doesn't improve gaming performance and this is a list based on gaming performance.
  • 0 Hide
    l2ez4m , 2 April 2012 19:04
    Just a small typo - Core i5-2550K doesn't have integrated Intel graphics
  • 0 Hide
    bemused_fred , 3 April 2012 00:16
    blubbeyBecause HT doesn't improve gaming performance and this is a list based on gaming performance.


    Ah, thanks. Makes sense.
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , 3 April 2012 07:17
    Hold on. How is the 2550K better than the 2500k? The 2500k is always picked in this article (deserves it I might add)
  • 0 Hide
    aje21 , 4 April 2012 21:21
    Primey0Hold on. How is the 2550K better than the 2500k? The 2500k is always picked in this article (deserves it I might add)

    Did you read the opening text?
  • 0 Hide
    kilohawk , 14 April 2012 20:10
    blubbeyBecause HT doesn't improve gaming performance and this is a list based on gaming performance.


    Yes it does, well, if you play Multi Player BF3 anyway....