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Best Gaming CPU: Entry-level

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

Pentium G860

Pentium G850
Codename: Sandy Bridge
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2
Clock Speed:   3GHz
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 Pentium G630 beat the FX-4100, -6100, and -8120 in our sub-£160 CPU gaming comparison. In fact, it finished right on par with the Phenom II X4 955.

At 3.0 GHz, the Pentium G860 is 300 MHz faster than the G630, earning our recommendation at the £50 price point. 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 G860 is an even faster option that uses less power.

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 G850 buys an additional 200 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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