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Best Gaming CPU: Entry-level

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: September 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. There's not much else to add, except that if you consider the Phenom II X4 to be a capable gaming CPU, Intel's Pentium G630 is just as viable with a lower thermal ceiling.

Best Gaming CPU for £70:

Pentium G2120

Pentium G2120
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2
Clock Speed: 3.1 GHz
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Thermal Envelope:
55 W

The extra £20 you spend beyond Intel's Pentium G630 buys an additional 400 MHz, DDR3-1600 memory support, and the company's 22 nm Ivy Bridge architecture in its Pentium G2120. Because the LGA 1155-based Core i3s and Pentiums are unfortunately crippled by locked multiplier ratios, paying a little more for a higher clock rate is worth the cost, we think. At 3.1 GHz, the Pentium G2120 is actually a capable budget gaming processor.

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  • 1 Hide
    mi1ez , 26 September 2012 17:43
    Quote:
    Intel added an Ivy Bridge-based model to the Pentium family as well with DDR3-1600 memory support and a 1.3 GHz core clock.

    1.3GHz? or 3.1GHz?