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Best Mid-Range Gaming Processors

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: July 2013
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Best Gaming CPU for £100:

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.

Best Gaming CPU for £110: None

Honourable Mention:
FX-6300

FX-4300
Codename: Vishera
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 6/6
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.5 GHz (4.1 GHz)
Socket: AM3+
L2 Cache:   3 x 2 MB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Thermal Envelope:
95 W

While Intel's -3220 is a faster gaming processor, you'd have a hard time telling the difference between it and AMD's FX-6300. On the other hand, the FX is a bit cheaper, features an unlocked ratio multiplier for easy overclocking, which the Core i3 lacks, and features six integer cores that benefit performance in .

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


Best Gaming CPU for £140:
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 £140.

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
    bemused_fred , 24 July 2013 09:18
    "The prices of Intel's Haswell-based CPUs are settling down a bit . In time, the company's most modern architecture will replace the Ivy Bridge-based Core i5-3570 and 3570K"


    The 3570, maybe. The I3 3220, maybe. But considering the huge problems that exist with overclocking Haswell, recommending the 4670K over the 3570K would be a terrible idea.
  • 0 Hide
    MajinCry , 24 July 2013 09:49
    Some of the prices are just plain wrong; I do smell a bit of foul play.

    The 965 BE, for example, goes for around £80. It should trump that i3 no problem. It's also cheaper.
  • 0 Hide
    damian86 , 1 August 2013 03:00
    Not sure what you call huge overclocking issues on Haswell as they can be easily oc'd to 4.6 even .7 I don't think most of the people will o.c their haswell to 7 ghz and keep it on LN 24/7 right? I mean Sandybridge was the big bang for overclocking but I don't understand what people expect, some huge change after Sandybridge, maybe not or not just yet.You need to remember this is all on a new technology -nm and that there are still more Haswell cpus to come out soon.