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Best High-End Gaming Processors

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2013
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Best Gaming CPU for £180:

Core i5-3570K

Core i5-3570K
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz)
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache: 4 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Thermal Envelope:
77 W

The Core i5-3570K's base clock rate is only 300 MHz faster than the Core i5-3350P's. However, the K-series' unlocked ratio multiplier is a must-have for overclockers looking to unleash significant performance improvements. It is for this reason alone that you'll want to consider shelling out an additional £45 beyond Intel's more entry-level Core i5. After all, the pricier chip's HD Graphics 4000 engine is inconsequential to us. If you don't plan to overclock, then there's little reason to spend any more than £135 on the Core i5-3350P.

If you don't plan to overclock, then there's little reason to spend any more than £135 on the Core i5-3350P.

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

Diminishing Returns Kick In:

CPUs priced over £180 offer rapidly diminishing returns when it comes to performance in games. As such, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than the Core i5-3570K, especially since this multiplier-unlocked processor is easy to tune up to 4.5 GHz or so with the right cooler. Even at stock clocks, though, it matches or beats the old £800 Gulftown-based Core i7-990X Extreme Edition in game tests.

We have seen a small handful of games benefit from Hyper-Threaded Core i7 processors, though. Because we believe this is a trend that will continue as developers optimize their titles, we're including the Core i7-3770K as an honourable mention, now selling for £260. In a vast majority of games, the Core i7 won't demonstrate much advantage over the Core i5. But if you're a serious enthusiast who wants some future-proofing and values highly-threaded application performance, this processor may be worth the extra money.

In addition, there's certainly an argument to be made for using LGA 2011 as the ultimate gaming platform. LGA 2011-based CPUs have more available cache and as many as two more execution cores than the flagship LGA 1150/1155 models. Additionally, more bandwidth is delivered through a quad-channel memory controller. And with 40 lanes of third-gen PCIe connectivity available from Ivy Bridge-E based processors (we're assuming that if you're building on X79 today, you're using a Core i7-4000-series chip), the platform natively supports two x16 and one x8 slot, or one x16 and three x8 slots, alleviating potential bottlenecks in three- and four-way CrossFire or SLI configurations.

Although they sound impressive, those advantages don't necessarily translate into significant performance gains in modern titles. Our tests demonstrate fairly little difference between a £160 LGA 1155 Core i5-2500K and a £800 LGA 2011 Core i7-4960X, even when three-way graphics card configurations are involved. It turns out that memory bandwidth and PCIe throughput don't hold back the game performance of existing Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell-based machines.

Where we do see the potential for Ivy Bridge-E to drive additional performance is in processor-bound games like World of Warcraft or the multiplayer component of Battlefield 3. If you're running a three- or four-way array of graphics cards already, there's a good chance that you already own more than enough rendering muscle. An overclocked Core i7-4960X or -4930K could help the rest of your platform catch up to an insanely powerful arrangement of GPUs.

To summarize, while we generally recommend against purchasing any gaming CPU that retails for more than £180 from a value point of view (sink that money into graphics and the motherboard instead), there are those of you who have no trouble throwing down serious money on the best of the best, and who require the fastest possible performance available. If this describes your goals, the following CPUs may be for you:

Best Gaming CPU for £255

Honourable Mention:
Core i7-3770K

Core i7-3770K
Codename: Ivy Bridge
Process: 22 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 4/8
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.5 GHz (3.9 GHz)
Socket: LGA 1155
L2 Cache:   4x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Thermal Envelope:
95 W

The Core i7-3770K only enjoys a 100 MHz-higher clock rate than the Core i5-3570K. Its real advantage is an extra 2 MB of L3 cache and Intel's Hyper-Threading feature.

Neither of those extras have a big impact on gaming, but there is a small number of titles (like Crysis 3) that take advantage of extra resources, translating to a performance increase. Having said that, this is still rare, and the Core i7-3770K will be more useful to power users who want better performance in well-threaded apps, in addition to the best frame rates in games.

Why not the new Core i7-4770K? As Chris covered in his launch story, it's really not all that impressive compared to Core i7-3770K. You need an LGA 1150-based motherboard to support it, and Intel currently wants more for it in the United States. We're passing on making Haswell a recommendation for now.

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

Best Gaming CPU for £445: (or for any price)
Core i7-3930K

Core i7-3930K
Codename: Sandy Bridge-E
Process: 32 nm
CPU Cores/Threads: 6/12
Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): 3.2 GHz (3.8 GHz)
Socket: LGA 2011
L2 Cache:   6x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 12 MB
Thermal Envelope:
130 W

Take the £800 Core i7-3970X, remove 3 MB of L3 cache, and drop the base clock rate by 300 MHz. What do end up with? Three hundred pounds and change left over, and an Intel Core i7-3930K.

The 300 MHz difference in clock rate is hardly relevant, given unlocked multiplier ratios benefiting both CPUs. And you'd be hard-pressed to quantify the advantage of 15 MB of shared L3 cache over 12 MB. Moreover, a greater-than-£300 savings lets you buy a nice motherboard and cooler, while still getting the same four-channel memory subsystem and 40-lane PCI Express 3.0-capable controller.

Read our review of the Sandy Bridge-E based CPUs here.

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  • 0 Hide
    lorribot , 23 November 2013 01:48
    Was that a cut and paste from last month?

    When (if ever) are we going to see updated FX processors to challang Intel in the mid range? Have AMD just given up on this area?
  • 0 Hide
    MajinCry , 23 November 2013 11:21
    AMD Wouldn't stand a chance; Intel has FAR more money and *cough* measures in place to prevent AMD from becoming a threat.

    Though, if HSA is transparent to all forms of software (I.E, already-made programs/games), I'd expect AMD to become the champ. At least for a short while.
  • 1 Hide
    Treeroy , 24 November 2013 14:33
    Why is the i5-3570K the recommend CPU for £180? The i5-4670K is the same price...
  • 0 Hide
    Pailin , 24 November 2013 17:12
    also depends upon which games you play. For CryEngine based games I would Easily choose an AMD 8350 over the i5 for performance and especially the i7 for price/performance ratio.

    Not all game support Hyperthreaded logical cores, but more do support multi core CPUs like AMD's 8 cores.

    Sure right now I do not see an OC'd i5 holding you back much either, but can only be a good thing to see AMD do well and help make the CPU market even more competative in the near future... really feels like Intel have been dragging their feet in recent years while keeping prices up (also good for AMD who were left a bit far behind for a while there)
  • 0 Hide
    anthonyla65 , 1 December 2013 01:25
    Can't see how a 740K is better than a Haswell G3420. I know its a dual but its 55W TDP and probably still much faster at stock clock. I know the 740K can be OC'd, but you are severely limited in upgrade path and it could run way past the 100W when OC'd aswell. Fast Dual > Slow quad in my opinion. The G3420 outperforms the X4 640 easily (performs similar to a PII 965) so it would destroy this 740K and would have a motherboard where you can swap it out for a i5 4670K if required. With the 740K you're stuck, unless you replace the motherboard too as FM2 is dead end.

    And I think they recommended the i5 3570K instead of the Haswell i5 4670K, because Ivy Bridge can clock much higher than haswell and also runs cooler.
  • 0 Hide
    MMSR , 1 December 2013 18:33
    What I don't understand..

    Aren't gamers most likely to buy a stand alone GPU?
    Why bother with CPU's with integrated GPU.

    Why pay for something you will never use?
  • 0 Hide
    MajinCry , 1 December 2013 18:44
    I predict we will be getting APUs with high-end GPUs, a la P$4 and XBone.
  • 0 Hide
    MMSR , 1 December 2013 19:06
    Yeah, but does machines are not for tweakers, those are for the masses.

    What about the guys that pimp their systems with all kinds of water, led, etc..
    And isnt it much easier to upgrade just your GPU instead of CPU + MOBO?
  • 0 Hide
    chrisso , 7 December 2013 16:55
    The old chart layout was much easier to read.
  • 0 Hide
    Michael Robinson , 16 December 2013 17:07
    Guys, the info for the Athlon X4 750K is wrong!
    The table states 2 cores but I'm pretty sure it has 4.
  • 0 Hide
    Zeljko Vukovic , 17 December 2013 22:40
    And where are i3 Haswell processors?
  • 0 Hide
    Zeljko Vukovic , 18 December 2013 01:49
    And where are i3 Haswell processors?