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 |
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.
1.3GHz? or 3.1GHz?