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Best Gaming CPU: Mid-range

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: January 2013
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Best Gaming CPU for £90:

Core i3-3220

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

Intel's Ivy Bridge-based CPUs are very capable gaming processors. Benchmark data makes it clear that Intel's Hyper-Threading technology is effective in mitigating the limitations of a dual-core CPU in games. Although a locked multiplier limits overclocking to a few-megahertz bump in BCLK frequency, we still consider this chip to be a good starting point for gamers who might upgrade to a faster LGA 1155-based processor in the future.

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

Honourable Mention:
FX-4300

FX-4300
Codename: Vishera
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2/4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.8 GHz (4.0 GHz)
Socket: AM3+
L2 Cache:   2 x 2 MB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Thermal Envelope:
95 W

At stock clock rates, AMD's FX-4300 is able to keep up with the Phenom II X4 965 and just about reach the Core i3-3220. However, its TDP is 35 W lower than the Phenom, and an unlocked multiplier is an advantage over the Core i3. We're giving it an honorable mention for the few reasons folks might want to consider a low-cost CPU built on the Piledriver architecture.

Read our review of the Vishera-based FX CPUs here.

Best Gaming CPU for £135:
Core i5-3350P

Core i5-3350P
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.1 GHz (3.3 GHz)
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache:   4 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Thermal Envelope:
69 W

Intel's Sandy and Ivy Bridge-based Core i5 processors are well-known for their gaming prowess at reasonable prices, and the Core i5-3350P is a particularly interesting option at £135.

The P suffix is an indication that Intel disables its HD Graphics engine, but we're perfectly alright with such a decision. If you're buying a gaming processor, you're going to want discrete graphics anyway. Consequently, this CPU ducks in under 70 W.

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

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  • 0 Hide
    MajinCry , 18 January 2013 23:17
    FINALLY! The 965 is on the list!
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , 24 January 2013 16:07
    Hm. Looking at other sites, and their benchmarks, FX-6300 seems to be pretty nice, reaching i5 in several tests, at a bit over half the price.
  • 0 Hide
    redh4t , 24 January 2013 17:48
    It depends on what graphic card u are. FX6300 bottlenecks some high-end AMD cards like 7950~7970. I would recommend go with nVidia card + 6300, because nVidia cards are less CPU related.
  • 0 Hide
    jonboy79 , 27 January 2013 17:24
    Ive been doing some research and the fx6300 will keep up just with a i5 once been overclocked, and will totaly smoke a i3, but just £10 more than the i3, was the under £90 number made up so you didnt have to mention it.
  • 0 Hide
    jaguarcd32x , 1 February 2013 04:55
    Yes the reason why Nvidia Kepler GPU's don't get bottlenecked by a slower budget CPUis because Kepler cards can fetch textures straight from RAM. Other GPU's have to wait on the CPU marking textures for use before fetching them. There for if you have a budget or slow CPU and are only upgrading your GPU, then Nvidia Kepler will give you better performance.

    This is also one of the reasons why 680 matches 7970 despite having less VRAM. It also has better memory controllers.