Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: February 2011

[cleeve]

February was full of surprises after the fallout from Intel's Cougar Point chipset problem, including retail availability of the Phenom II X4 975 BE and Intel's Pentium E5800 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition introduction. A handful of prices fell, too.

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: February 2011 : Read more

 

[agnickolov]

We are all waiting with bated breath the new updated Cougar Point motherboards...

 

[wribbs]

Well as you said yourself you're not counting on motherboards to be available for the SB chips until March so I wasn't expecting to see them return for this month's round of Best Gaming CPUs For The Money. I think they should have been left out as this is February's guide. I would agree though that people building now should wait for their return though.

I also think we need some sort of inclusion of typical motherboard cost for each CPU.

 

[fstrthnu]

I'm almost scared to see what Intel's going to throw at us for the new $750-1000 category. Hexacore or even octacore Intel Extreme-Edition Sandy Bridge? Yowza!

 

[fstrthnu]

[citation][nom]fstrthnu[/nom]I'm almost scared to see what Intel's going to throw at us for the new $750-1000 category. Hexacore or even octacore Intel Extreme-Edition Sandy Bridge? Yowza![/citation]
Er, that is, their new addition for that price point, not that it's an all-new category. The 980x is still there for whoever's foolish enough to buy it at this point

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I am not planning to upgrade this year. I have a good system that is definitely more than adequate for the work I do.

 

[binoyski]

Don Woligroski, please!, please!, when you wrote "we already have a story in the works that should prove this definitively" regarding multi-gpu setups(p67 & NF200), again, please!, include 5670x1080 resolutions, not just single monitor gaming. You know peeps using 2x(22/23/24) 1080p monitors for their gaming. I want to really see benchmarks w/c motherboard will perform better than the others.

 

[jj463rd]

Hopefully AMD's Zambezi (Bulldozer) will reach the top of the CPU hierarchy and be at least on equal footing with Intel in the next couple of months.
Sadly only their Phenom II X4 975 BE is on a second tier (and just barely).
Yes,it would be nice to have AMD have a high performance desktop CPU since 2006 even if just for a couple of months time.

 

[pinkfloydminnesota]

Excellent. I wish the graphics card best of would break down to as few options.

 

[7amood]

This is one of the most anticipated articles (along with GPU of the month)
it only needs more info such as:
base clock
multiplier range
base voltage

this is the third time for me to requiest these.
If you have these CPUs during review, why don't u add the info here, it's a necessity for overclockers.

plzthnxbai

 

[Onus]

Where do the i5-2400 and i5-2400S fall on the chart?

 

[darkchazz]

wow my Phenom II 955 is still on this list

 

[philologos]

Umm... why is the Phenom II X4 975 six levels above the 970? There is a whopping 100 MHz difference between the two.

 

[jfby]

It's tough when an i7-930 or similar is no longer on the list. Oh well; it gets the job done and at 4.0 GHz I think it will get it done for some time.

 

[Onus]

That there are so few CPU recommendations is good, and I'm hoping illustrates a point. Concerning GPUs, everyone knows that certain ones are simply not up to the task of running modern games at all, let alone well.
Considering CPUs however, while clearly an i5-2500K will squish an Athlon II (or a C2D), are there any games that the Athlon II simply can't play? There are settings changes that affect how powerful a GPU needs to be, but can anything similar be done to make a game playable on a weak CPU?

 

[joshyboy82]

Who cares if AMD is on the top or not. The better the Intel processor is, the cheaper AMD is. We all win. Those who want the best always pay the premium, and those who want the cheapest never get the best. Fanboy shit makes no sense to me, buy the best you can afford. The end.

 

[tpi2007]

[citation][nom]wribbs[/nom]Well as you said yourself you're not counting on motherboards to be available for the SB chips until March so I wasn't expecting to see them return for this month's round of Best Gaming CPUs For The Money. I think they should have been left out as this is February's guide. I would agree though that people building now should wait for their return though.I also think we need some sort of inclusion of typical motherboard cost for each CPU.[/citation]


I agree with everything you said, except removing Sandy Bridge from the list (at least completely). But I don't agree with the author of the article Don Woligroski either.

The responsible thing to do right now is put all of the Sandy Bridge processors in the Honorable mention section, with a specific note before introducing each processor saying they will regain their recommended position when motherboards are available again.

I mean, you can't seriously recommend a CPU that does not have a motherboard to go with on sale right now, no matter if it is available in 15 days or a month. Imagine Intel discovers another problem (I hope not) and the relaunch has to be delayed again ? These recommendations should be for CPU's on sale now you can actually build a computer with. Sure, you know the performance of Sandy Bridge, but if a week ago AMD had shipped to you a sample of each Bulldozer CPU along with retail price, would you put them up in the recommendations, despite them not being available to the public ?

For all we know, the general public will only have access to the revised Motherboards by the time you write the next article, in a month!

And if the boards arrive sooner, why not just update this article when they do ? What is the problem with that ?

 

[kresso]

[citation][nom]tpi2007[/nom]I agree with everything you said, except removing Sandy Bridge from the list (at least completely). But I don't agree with the author of the article Don Woligroski either.The responsible thing to do right now is put all of the Sandy Bridge processors in the Honorable mention section, with a specific note before introducing each processor saying they will regain their recommended position when motherboards are available again.I mean, you can't seriously recommend a CPU that does not have a motherboard to go with on sale right now, no matter if it is available in 15 days or a month. Imagine Intel discovers another problem (I hope not) and the relaunch has to be delayed again ? These recommendations should be for CPU's on sale now you can actually build a computer with. Sure, you know the performance of Sandy Bridge, but if a week ago AMD had shipped to you a sample of each Bulldozer CPU along with retail price, would you put them up in the recommendations, despite them not being available to the public ? For all we know, the general public will only have access to the revised Motherboards by the time you write the next article, in a month! And if the boards arrive sooner, why not just update this article when they do ? What is the problem with that ?[/citation]

I don't agree. I think that the list is just fine. There is no problem with the Sandy Bridge processors, and performance is as they say. Yes there is the motherboard problem, but that is clearly stated.

 

[nforce4max]

You left out the Phenom II X4 820 that is going for $105 on newegg for free ship plus it is a 95w edition. For the same price as many athlon x4 s why bother when you can get this.

 

[tsk_cable]

[citation][nom]nforce4max[/nom]You left out the Phenom II X4 820 that is going for $105 on newegg for free ship plus it is a 95w edition. For the same price as many athlon x4 s why bother when you can get this.[/citation]

Phenon II x4 820 don't have L3 cache as the Athlons, so its a matter of clock / prices

 

[bhaberle]

I also think that the list is fine. We have already seen the final product of SB. They are just fixing an issue. It will be back in no time, and I will be sure to be there to buy it. =D

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I have a silly question: Why recommend the 635 at $98.99 when the 640 gives you a 100 MHz bump for $99.99?

 

[Guest]

New intels might finnally pull me away from my old X4 940 lol...
AMD... where is this Bulldozer you speak of???

 

[hollif50]

Come on Intel! Get your chip-set problem worked out so I can be confident again. Keep your i-7 2500K. A great processor to be sure, but I want the 2600K for my new system... Let's see: a 1000W PSU, blue-ray, a AMD6870; all the top-quality bits. Haven't been this excited about affordable performance since the Q6600 came out...

 

[Onus]

You left out the Phenom II X4 820 that is going for $105 on newegg for free ship plus it is a 95w edition. For the same price as many athlon x4 s why bother when you can get this.

AMD calling that chip a Phenom II was dishonest. It has a Propus core, with no L3. A more honest designation would have been Athlon II X4 650.