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 |
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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