Best Gaming CPU for £55:
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 |
| Cache: | 2 x 64 KB + 4 x 16 KB, 2 x 2 MB |
| Thermal Envelope: | 100 W |
At around £95, 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. That isn't a dream any longer. At last, the Athlon X4 750K is available. Selling for roughly £55, this is the cheapest enthusiast-friendly CPU you'll find. And while its lack of L3 cache hurts in games, we at least like knowing that its 100 W thermal ceiling isn't divided between x86 cores and graphics.
Read our review of the Trinity-based A series CPUs here.
Best Gaming CPU for £85:
AMD FX-6300
| AMD FX-6300 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Vishera |
| Process: | 32 nm |
| CPU Cores/Threads: | 6/6 |
| Clock Speed (Max. Turbo): | 3.4 (4.1) GHz |
| Socket: | AM3+ |
| Cache (L1, L2, L3) | 3 x 64 KB + 6 x 16 KB, 3 x 2 MB, 8 MB |
| Thermal Envelope: | 95 W |
The FX-6300 fares well in gaming tests, presumably thanks to better multi-core utilization and optimization for AMD's architecture over time. While Intel's Core i3-4130 offers more potential, you won't be able to tell the difference most of the time. On the other hand, the FX-6300 costs less, sports an unlocked clock multiplier, and features six integer cores that unquestionably benefit performance in threaded desktop applications.
Now, if only we could bypass Intel's compiler...
Intel's done that sort of thing for a long time with most OEMs, such as Dell and Acer.
£107 with Far Cry Blood Dragon, i5 performance, easy OC to 8350 level, loads of great motherboards at low price point
throw in a sub £50 FM2 mobo and my existing 8gb ddr3 ram and im looking at a quad core bundle for a whisper over £100..... ( currently using a Pentium G620 ) ....
at the end of the day ( and with money tight ) it makes more sense buying the Athlon X4 750K and then overclocking it to 4.2ghz... that said with a 4ghz turbo clock I don't think I will need to ....
Something a little bit cheaper but still very powerful is AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core for around 200 $.