Best Gaming CPU for £165:
Core i5-2500K
| Core i5-2500K | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Sandy Bridge |
| Process: | 32 nm |
| CPU Cores/Threads: | 4 |
| Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): | 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz) |
| Socket: | LGA 1155 |
| L2 Cache: | 4 x 256 KB |
| L3 Cache: | 6 MB |
| Thermal Envelope: | 95 W |
From the standpoint of raw compute power, Core i5-2500K offers very little over the cheaper Core i5-3470. It does hold three distinctions, however: it runs, by default, a few hundred megahertz faster, it has no integrated graphics engine, and it has an unlocked CPU multiplier.
The 200 MHz advantage held over the Core i5-3470 is quantifiable, but arguably not very significant (particularly since the -2500K's Sandy Bridge architecture is a little slower than Ivy Bridge). And gamers with discrete graphics cards care little about the lack of an integrated graphics engine. But the unlocked CPU multiplier is a must for overclockers using any Sandy Bridge-based CPU. The Core i5-2500K is an obvious choice for enthusiasts looking for the best combination of overclocking headroom and gaming potential.
Read our review of the Sandy Bridge-based CPUs here.
Best Gaming CPU for £175: None
Honourable Mention:
Core i5-3570K
| Core i5-3570K | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Ivy Bridge |
| Process: | 22 nm |
| CPU Cores/Threads: | 4 |
| Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): | 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz) |
| Socket: | LGA 1155 |
| L2 Cache: | 4 x 256 KB |
| L3 Cache: | 6 MB |
| Thermal Envelope: | 77 W |
As far as overclocking is concerned, you should be able to hit similar clock rates on the Core i5-3570K as Sandy Bridge-based CPUs, though you may need to live with higher temperatures, as Ivy Bridge runs notoriously warmer.
Read our review of the Ivy Bridge-based CPUs here.
Past the Point of Reason:
CPUs priced over £165 offer rapidly diminishing returns when it comes to game performance. As such, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than the Core i5-2500K, especially since this multiplier-unlocked processor can be overclocked to great effect if more performance is desired. Even at stock clocks, it meets or beats the £800 Core i7-990X Extreme Edition when it comes to gaming.
But now that LGA 2011 is here, there's certainly an argument to be made for it as the ultimate gaming platform. LGA 2011-based CPUs have more available cache and as many as two more execution cores than the flagship LGA 1155 models. Additionally, more bandwidth is delivered through a quad-channel memory controller. And with 40 lanes of third-gen PCIe connectivity available from Sandy Bridge-E-based processors, the platform natively supports two x16 and one x8 slot, or one x16 and three x8 slots, alleviating potential bottlenecks in three- and four-way CrossFire or SLI configurations.
Although they sound impressive, those advantages don't necessarily translate into significant performance gains in modern titles. Our tests demonstrate fairly little difference between a £165 LGA 1155 Core i5-2500K and an £800 LGA 2011 Core i7-3960X, even when three-way graphics card configurations are involved. It turns out that memory bandwidth and PCIe throughput don't hold back the performance of existing Sandy Bridge machines.
Where we do see the potential for Sandy Bridge-E to drive additional performance is in processor-bound games like World of Warcraft or the multiplayer component of Battlefield 3. If you're running a three- or four-way array of graphics cards already, there's a good chance that you already own more than enough rendering muscle. An overclocked Core i7-3960X or -3930K could help the rest of your platform catch up to an insanely powerful arrangement of GPUs.
To summarize, while we generally recommend against purchasing any gaming CPU that retails for more than £165 from a value point of view (sink that money into graphics and the motherboard instead), there are those of you who have no trouble throwing down serious money on the best of the best, and who require the fastest possible performance available. If this describes your goals, the following CPU is for you:
Best Gaming CPU for £440: (or for any price)
Core i7-3930K
| Core i7-3930K | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Sandy Bridge-E |
| Process: | 32 nm |
| CPU Cores/Threads: | 6/12 |
| Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): | 3.2 GHz (3.8 GHz) |
| Socket: | LGA 2011 |
| L2 Cache: | 6x 256 KB |
| L3 Cache: | 12 MB |
| Thermal Envelope: | 130 W |
Take the £800 Core i7-3960X, remove 3 MB of L3 cache, and drop the base clock rate by 100 MHz. What do end up with? Three hundred pounds and change left over, and an Intel Core i7-3930K.
The 100 MHz difference in clock rate is hardly relevant, given unlocked multiplier ratios benefiting both CPUs. And you'd be hard-pressed to quantify the advantage of 15 MB of shared L3 cache over 12 MB. Moreover, a greater-than-£300 savings lets you buy a nice motherboard and cooler, while still getting the same four-channel memory subsystem and 40-lane PCI Express 3.0-capable controller.
Read our review of the new Sandy Bridge-E based CPUs here.
Also, it would be great to see tags on the table for the recommendations and commended chips...
The ONLY 3 CPUs worth mentioning should be:
Celeron G530 (£32) -- BARELY 10% slower than the more expensive Pentiums, and yet you completely ignore it in favour of the useless Pentiums?
Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition (£75) -- (if you REALLY want to tell me a crappy Pentium is going to go anywhere near an overclocked Phenom with full 4 cores then you're living in Intel's cuckoo land). The FX 4100 mention is worthless since the 965 will mop the floor with it and at a lower clockrate.
Intel i5 2500K (£150) -- nothing above this processor is even worth mentioning besides the 3570K, and you proved yet again how clueless you were by even mentioning the 3930K and its "four channel memory subsystem", when it has a memory controller that's significantly slower than that of the 2500K, let alone the IMC of the new Ivy Bridge CPUs.
Terrible review.