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Best Entry-Level Gaming Processors

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: June 2013
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Best Gaming CPU for ~£60: Tie

Athlon II X4 640

Athlon II X4 640
Codename: Propus
Process: 45 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.0 GHz
Socket: AM3/AM3+
L1 Cache: 4 x 128 KB
L2 Cache: 4 x 512 KB
Thermal Envelope:
95 W

With modern games often able to take advantage of more than two processing cores, AMD's old quad-core chips (like the Athlon II X4 and Llano-based A6 and A8 APUs) look better now compared to Intel's dual-core models than they did before.

As a result, I cut the Pentium G860 from our recommendation list. The Athlon II X4 640 takes its place. Running at 3 GHz, this CPU performs roughly on par with the A8-3870K for less money. Use the savings on a discrete graphics card.

Read our review of the Athlon II X4 CPUs here.

Athlon X4 750K

Athlon X4 750K
Codename: Trinity
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2/4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz)
Socket: FM2
L2 Cache:   2 x 2 MB
Thermal Envelope:
100 W

At nearly £100, AMD's A10-5700 isn't a particularly compelling gaming processor. But imagine if it was £40 cheaper and included an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. No longer is that merely a dream; at long last the Athlon X4 750K is available in North America. Selling for £60, this is the cheapest enthusiast-friendly CPU you'll find. And while its lack of L3 cache is going to hurt a bit in games, enthusiasts can at least rest easy knowing that its 100 W TDP isn't being split between x86 cores and graphics. We can't wait to show you what we've done with this one in an upcoming comparison of AMD processors.

Read our review of the Trinity-based A series CPUs here.

Best Gaming CPU for £80:

Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition

Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Codename: Deneb
Process: 45 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.4 GHz
Socket: AM3/AM3+
L1 Cache: 4 x 128 KB
L2 Cache: 4 x 512 KB
L3 Cache:
6 MB
Thermal Envelope:
125 W

In Gaming Shoot-Out: 18 CPUs And APUs Under £160, Benchmarked, the Phenom II X4 made a significant comeback compared to its competition, since many of the newer titles we tested are able to utilize multiple threads.

Sporting 6 MB of L3 cache and an unlocked ratio multiplier, AMD's Phenom II X4 965 is a solid performer at its stock clock rates, and it has some room to scale up with overclocking, too. Thanks to the Socket AM3/AM3+ interface's long life, you can buy this chip today and then upgrade to an FX model down the road (though we don't really see much reason to do so, based on the FX's relative gaming performance). 

Read our review of the Phenom II X4 965 CPU here.

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    brianthesnail , 22 June 2013 20:55
    well it looks like AMD have taken intels crown away in the entry level processor market.... and although im a intel guy theres no doubt that the Athlon X4 750K is a class piece of kit for the price ... arm this with a £35 motherboard and you can have a quad core bundle for just over £100 that will run any game or program with ease ... I would have to recommend the 750K over the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition... its newer architecture and slightly lower price makes the 750k excellent value ... now weres my bank managers phone number !