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Best Gaming CPU: Mid-range

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: September 2012
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Best Gaming CPU for £100: Tie

FX-4170

FX-4170
Codename: Zambezi
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 4.2 GHz (4.3 GHz)
Socket: AM3+
L2 Cache: 4 x 1 MB
L3 Cache:   8 MB
HyperTransport: 4000 MT/s
Thermal Envelope:
125 W
At its stock clock rate, AMD's FX-4100 isn't a particularly compelling gaming product compared to lower-priced options from Intel. However, enthusiasts are sure to appreciate its unlocked ratio multiplier and plenty of headroom to scale up. When it's pushed, this processor helps enable similar frame rates as some of our favorite Core i3 CPUs, though it uses significantly more power in the process.

But the FX-4170 comes with a much higher 4.2 GHz base clock, and consequently offers compelling performance out-of-the-box. With a price tag recently lowered to £100, it's at least capable of competing against the Core i3-2120. Unfortunately, the FX-4170 uses almost two times as much power to achieve similar frame rates. From a pure price/performance ratio, though, it's at least viable.


Core i3-3220

Core i3-3220
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2/4
Clock Speed: 3.3 GHz
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Thermal Envelope:
55 W

As our sub-£160 CPU gaming comparison article proved, Intel's older Core i3-2120 was a surprisingly capable gaming processor with the ability to beat some of the quad-core CPUs we've recommended at this price in the past. The company's Ivy Bridge-based Core i3-3220 boasts an even more efficient architecture, enabled by more advanced manufacturing technology and a thermal ceiling 10 W lower.

Yes, you have to essentially forsake the potential for overclocking, given (what we consider to be) enthusiast-unfriendly locks on the multiplier and a base clock with very little room to scale beyond 100 MHz. But its stock performance is compelling, and this CPU still warrants a recommendation.

Read our review of the Ivy Bridge-based CPUs here.

Best Gaming CPU for £145:
Core i5-3450

Core i5-3450
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.1 GHz (3.5 GHz)
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 4 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Thermal Envelope:
77 W

As fast as Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture is in games, its 22 nm Ivy Bridge design does perform slightly better per clock cycle, while using less power. For £145, the Core i5-3450 promises to offer predictably impressive performance, based on our experiences with Sandy Bridge-based chips in the same price range.

It is also worth noting that the third-gen Core processor features a lower TDP and includes 16 lanes of PCI Express 3.0 connectivity. If you're buying a 7-series motherboard and Radeon HD 7000- or GeForce GTX 600-series graphics card anyway, enabling a faster connection between the CPU and GPU might be an important check-list feature (even if it isn't currently an important performance consideration).

Read our review of the Ivy Bridge-based CPUs here.

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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?