Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2010

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]schwizer[/nom]I'm guessing the specs for the 970 were copy/pasted from the 965 but the title and clock speed were not updated.[/citation]

Fixed! Clock was correct (it's a 3.5 GHz part), but the title still said 965. Thanks for the catch!
Chris

 

[f-14]

not trying to brag or anything so no hate plz.
for those of us lucky to have a microcenter nearby
check out their cpu prices
i3-540 $99.99
i5-760 $169.99
i7-950 $199.99

 

[coggsman]

[citation][nom]enzo matrix[/nom]Ok, why is the i5 760 only an honourable mention? You guys never explained why it was an honourable mention and not a recommended?[/citation]
What? Look again.

 

[bigfink]

Thanks for the heads up on microcenter. I live across the street from one so I just went and picked up a i7-950 for 200 bucks. Wow what a steal!

 

[hangfirew8]

[citation][nom]saint19[/nom]Microcerter always have a good price, but always add shipping price to that price,so, if you use your maths the price will be the same.[/citation]

Do the math yourself... I've never bought a CPU with $80 shipping, and most of the best MicroCenter deals are walk-in only. Sales tax in US runs 6-9% depending on what state your are in. Still not $80.

 

[mr_tuel]

My CPU, after 1.5 years of ownership, is still at the top of the list i7 920 FTW!

 

[husker]

[citation][nom]mr_tuel[/nom]My CPU, after 1.5 years of ownership, is still at the top of the list i7 920 FTW![/citation]
Yes, but it's not going to make it on this list anywhere at the price you paid. I always get the impression that people do not understand the concept of "Best For The Money". This does not mean the "The best that money can buy", it means the best in a particular price range. Just because a CPU is the best in a price range today, doesn't mean that it was ever a good buy in the past.

 

[englandr753]

[citation][nom]husker[/nom]Yes, but it's not going to make it on this list anywhere at the price you paid. I always get the impression that people do not understand the concept of "Best For The Money". This does not mean the "The best that money can buy", it means the best in a particular price range. Just because a CPU is the best in a price range today, doesn't mean that it was ever a good buy in the past.[/citation]

True statement. Same as when the EVGA 8800GTX ACS3 card was 599.99, I was quite happy my card was at the top of the list well over 2 years running and half way to 3 years before it got knocked off the top of the list.

Although it performed well, and still does, doesn't mean I ever got my 600.00 worth out of it.

 

[Stardude82]

[citation][nom]englandr753[/nom]True statement...[/citation]

But, certainly at launch the i7 920 was a great deal. AMD chips at the time were abysmal and price of the C2Q's was equivalent per clock. An i7 920 still retails around $250 from a launch price of $300. An i7 950 at the same price today is $300 and is only 12% faster after 2 years when, according to Moore's Law, it should be closer to 150% faster. From launch you would have had to wait almost a year to get an i5 750.

 

[ionut19]

My Core 2 Duo e6750 (purchased 2 years ago) OCd to 3.4 GHZ (2,66 stock) performs preety well in games. The only thing i changed was my nvidia 8800 GT to GeForce gtx 460 and its enaugh for now. Ill wait for the next gen CPUs next year

Same for me. Going quad in the summer if all is good depending on the prices of the new chips from intel. The 3 core CPU posted in this topic is a really good attraction since there is more than one board that can unlock the fourth core.
Will have to see the new CPU's first.

 

[WarraWarra]

This is a sad they when my 3 year old Intel Q9550 junk HTPC is still same or a bit less than AMD's latest best.
Surely this Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart is a bit confused / wrong ?

What am I supposed to upgrade too from Q9550 a 5% better i7 for my HTPC after spending $800 (mboard + ram + cpu + server Ati6850) ???
Get real!

Come on Intel / AMD we need at least 10% improvement over 3 year old CPU technology for HTPC's never mind for a basic gaming rig 4x cpu slot 4x8 cores and what about servers 16x cpu slot 16x8 cores minm.
This should have been the basic PC 2009/2010 standard already.

We are entering 2011 with these cpu's, come on throw a dog a freaking bone here, would you ?

 

[Onus]

My build pace has really slowed down. There is no game out there now that really needs more than a 3rd or 4th tier CPU to be enjoyable, and 2nd tier to be maxed. There needs to be a really immersive, AI-laden RPG (any genre) to need more CPU muscle; I hope it comes, but until it does the most noteworthy facet of SB/BD might be same muscle for much lower watts.
Come on devs, please make a game that can really give 4 or 6 (or more) cores something relevant to do.

 

[chickenhoagie]

[citation][nom]darkchazz[/nom]Glad to see my Phenom II 955 is on this list , I never regretted buying that cpu.[/citation]
kudos to that!

 

[razzb3d]

A phenom II 965 with 4GB of ddr3 and a GTX 460 runs 90% of current games @ 1920x1080 full detail. A i7 920 + 5850 runs any game @ full datail. I see no point in buying a 999 USD CPU. It's like driving a 600bhp race car on the street.

 

[dEAne]

Thank you very tom this is a big help to me.

 

[wanderlustx2]

Thanks for a good review but good God, the pop up on every page is annoying.

 

[wanderlustx2]

Also Microcenter has the i5 760 for $170 right now if you're interested.

 

[englandr753]

My build pace has really slowed down. There is no game out there now that really needs more than a 3rd or 4th tier CPU to be enjoyable, and 2nd tier to be maxed. There needs to be a really immersive, AI-laden RPG (any genre) to need more CPU muscle; I hope it comes, but until it does the most noteworthy facet of SB/BD might be same muscle for much lower watts.
Come on devs, please make a game that can really give 4 or 6 (or more) cores something relevant to do.

You and I are on the same page as usual. I haven't even had a desire to buy a video card with the exception of the HD5770 I'm using in my HTPC and I put my old 8800GTX ACS3 card back in my main gaming rig until I find a noteworthy card to upgrade to that I can justify buying for the games I actually play.

Until that time comes I will sit back and wait...

 

[gm0n3y]

The i5-760 is on sale for $175 at NewEgg right now.

 

[jj463rd]

The OEM AM3 Phenom II X3 740 BE is also on sale at newegg too $20 off or $68.99 with free shipping on this Black Thursday sale.Perhaps the best bang per buck (for a CPU).

 

[Onus]

The OEM AM3 Phenom II X3 740 BE is also on sale at newegg too $20 off or $68.99 with free shipping on this Black Thursday sale.Perhaps the best bang per buck (for a CPU).

Yeah, I'm sorely tempted to buy another one just to sit on a shelf until it's needed.

 

[Ubrales]

Great info! The hierarchy chart is a great comparison tool!

 

[HVDynamo]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]My build pace has really slowed down. There is no game out there now that really needs more than a 3rd or 4th tier CPU to be enjoyable, and 2nd tier to be maxed. There needs to be a really immersive, AI-laden RPG (any genre) to need more CPU muscle; I hope it comes, but until it does the most noteworthy facet of SB/BD might be same muscle for much lower watts.Come on devs, please make a game that can really give 4 or 6 (or more) cores something relevant to do.[/citation]

Although I agree with you that it would be nice to see the game devs catch up a bit, I am also happy that I don't need to spend the money on a new rig to play the games I want. Granted my rig is kind of old and still rocking a S939 Athlon 64 X2 4400+ It still plays every game I have wanted it at acceptable performance levels. I built it in early 2006 and all I have done is upgrade my video card once. I do "want" a new rig, but I am also a poor college student with more important places to spend what little money I have. Thankfully OC'ing my CPU has added a little extra horsepower to improve my experience.

 

[jwl3]

I have to ask again: Why is it beyond the point of reason to buy a CPU over $200? I have an overclocked i7-860 and the FPS still goes up as I increase the overclock. I have to imagine an overclocked i7-860 will beat out an overclocked i5-760.

On another note, I can't seem to squeeze out the same OC's as other people can, on any of the 10 machines that I've built over 10 years. Don't know what I'm doing wrong. Have a good heatsink, increased voltages. The limiter seems to be the memory, which has a very low potential for OC'ing.

 

[englandr753]

[citation][nom]JWL3[/nom]On another note, I can't seem to squeeze out the same OC's as other people can, on any of the 10 machines that I've built over 10 years. Don't know what I'm doing wrong. Have a good heatsink, increased voltages. The limiter seems to be the memory, which has a very low potential for OC'ing.[/citation]


I have to say its a 50/50 scenario. 50% luck of the draw getting the top end of the hardware selection and 50% knowledge of what to do with it.

I've gotten pretty high clocks but as you know from experience your almost always going to find someone else that is a step or two ahead of you so believe me, its not just you. Almost everyone is in the same boat...