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Best Mid-Range Gaming Processors

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

Honourable Mention:
FX-6300

FX-6300
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 £10 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 £100:

Core i3-4130

Core i3-4130
Codename: Haswell
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 2/4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.4 GHz
Socket: LGA 1150
Integrated GPU:
HD Graphics 4400 (350 MHz, 1.15 GHz Turbo)
Cache:  2 x 64 KB, 2 x 256 KB, 3 MB
Thermal Envelope:
54 W

Intel's Haswell-based CPUs are very capable in games, though we're increasingly seeing dual-core Pentiums lagging behind in our favorite titles. Conversely, benchmark data makes it clear that the company's Hyper-Threading technology is effective in helping improve the performance of Core i3 CPUs in those same blockbusters. Although a locked multiplier limits overclocking to a few-megahertz bump in BCLK frequency, we still consider Intel's Core i3-4130 to be a good starting point for gamers who might upgrade to a faster LGA 1150-based processor in the future.

Read our review of the Haswell-based 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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  • 1 Hide
    bemused_fred , 19 September 2013 10:07
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the FX-4130 is based on the bulldozer architecture, not Vishera. It's the FX-4300 that's based on the Vishera architecture.....
  • -1 Hide
    jldevoy , 19 September 2013 16:02
    Taking the 3770k over the 4770k because it needs a new motherboard was dumb; since i was on an x58 system before they both needed a new motherboard.
  • 0 Hide
    Fisheth , 24 September 2013 20:03
    Wish I saw this before I dropped 600 on a new PC... Show's what a little bit of research can do! Never saw this article before.
  • 0 Hide
    xystus , 7 October 2013 09:55
    I'm still playing on my 2500K @ 4.5GHz...on the one side it's good I haven't had the need to upgrade but on the other hand I am itching for an upgrade but I guess I'll have to wait another two years.