Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2011

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Onikage

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Apr 19, 2010
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yeah well, still waiting for ivy, i'll get the same speed if not faster than a 2700k but with less heat and less energy,and a better oc, maybe a better price too,,
 

Zero_

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I believe Intel owns sub $80 as well. The G850 costs just $82 and beats the Athlon II X3 455 easy, and the $60 Celeron G540 is faster than any Athlon II X2.

The only AMD CPU worth buying right now is the Phenom II X2 955.
 
love the new hierarchy chart :)
i read fx 4100's performance in a legitreviews article, that this got beaten by a core i3 and a llano a8 in a lot of cases and it sucks more power (at stock settings) than core i3. it does have a lower price tag than bigger fx cpus but what amd conveniently skips over is this - fx 4100 is a Dual Module, 4 core, 95w processor. it's more like a core i3 (65w), but unlocked and far more watt-hungry. imo one can get more out of a ph ii x4/x6 + 990x/990fx or an (oc over 3 ghz) a8 3850 + a75 combo for gaming.
 

amk-aka-Phantom

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*Sigh*... does this really have to come out every month? i5-2500K for gaming, Sandy Bridge Pentium or Core i3 for budget builds, i7-2600K for enthusiast or future-proof gaming, period. No need for a new article every month until IB is out :)
 

ojas

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Hmmm....i looked up Anandtech for benchmarks for the Pentium G860 and Phenom II x4 840, they didn't have them, so i had to compare the Phenom II x4 940 and Pentium G850, and well, Intel wins mostly, except in some threaded applications. Games favour Intel slightly too.

Here's the permalink
 

Zero_

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Request to editors.

When you do test out the FX4100, please make a direct comparison with the X4 955. Not the 965, not the 980, not the A8-3850. The 955.
 

gmcizzle

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Wow, Intel dominates basically every price range in the consumer field. I think giving AMD the $80 range was just out of pity, since the G850 beats the Athlon II X3 455, as mention above.
 

jrharbort

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The recommendations have remained unchanged for the past few months, with the exception of the $600+ range thanks to the introduction of the LGA2011 platform.

I used to recommend AMD for quite a while over Intel for budget gamers, but Sandy Bridge really pushed Intel above and beyond anything that AMD can offer at multiple price points. For once, Intel's prices are actually justified.

 
G

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I'm a gamer, just got the Intel Core i7-2600K from best-gaming-computer.info for around $300 and it satisfies all my gaming needs. I was tempted to go with the Core i7-3930K for even more speed but the double price tag 0f $600 turned me off. I can play any game now this this and don't see the need for anything faster. Maybe eventually.
 

AppleBlowsDonkeyBalls

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Intel is actually the best for gaming at all price points.

Celeron G530: $57
Athlon II X2 250: $62

The G530 beats the 250 by 15-25% in gaming.

Pentium G620: $72
Athlon II X3 445: $75

The G620 beats the 445 in gaming by 5-15%.

Pentium G850: $88
Athlon II X4 640: $100

The G850 beats the 640 in gaming by 5-15%.

Core i3-2100: $125; Core i3-2120: $130
Phenom II X4 955: $125; Phenom II X4 965: $130

Both beat the 955 and 965 in gaming by 5-10%, respectively.

Everything above these get no competition at all from AMD when it comes to gaming. The Phenom II X6 1090T isn't a gaming processor; if you want that you get a 955/965.
 
Please benchmark the Athlon II X4 631. It runs about equal to 300~400MHz higher clocked older athlon II's and is lower priced. At $89.99 its a much better deal than the X3's and price wise better than any older X4's. Possible this CPU can give the FX-4100 a run for the money.
 

giovanni86

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I always enjoy these each month, wish they had one for each component of a PC. But that would be quite a lot of work but i would like to see more articles on specific hardware like Motherboards, power supply's, hard-drives/SSD's, cases, CPU coolers. Might be a lot of work, i'd do it if i worked there =D. As always Core i5-2500K owns all, waiting on what IVY bridge offers, otherwise that $600 i-3930k seems like the best future proof bet.
 
[citation][nom]AppleBlowsDonkeyBalls[/nom]Intel is actually the best for gaming at all price points.Celeron G530: $57Athlon II X2 250: $62The G530 beats the 250 by 15-25% in gaming.Pentium G620: $72Athlon II X3 445: $75The G620 beats the 445 in gaming by 5-15%.Pentium G850: $88Athlon II X4 640: $100The G850 beats the 640 in gaming by 5-15%.Core i3-2100: $125; Core i3-2120: $130Phenom II X4 955: $125; Phenom II X4 965: $130Both beat the 955 and 965 in gaming by 5-10%, respectively.Everything above these get no competition at all from AMD when it comes to gaming. The Phenom II X6 1090T isn't a gaming processor; if you want that you get a 955/965.[/citation]
This depends if your buying for lab testing or real world gaming. The Phenom II X4 955 turns the tables on the 2100 in real world tests once you count latency, firewall, anti-virus, and VOIP such as team speak or vent. The same goes for the low end X6's as they match the i5 2300 and 2400 in real world tests.
http://media.bestofmicro.com/2/W/280040/original/MultiTasking.png
 

cleeve

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[citation][nom]crisan_tiberiu[/nom]Now that Sandy Bridge - E its out i think that the best CPU for the money is the Core i7 2600k. Dont get me wrong, the 2500k its a great chip but for 370$ you get an amazing CPU.[/citation]

The 2600K is good for productivity, but it doesn't game any faster than the 2500K.
 

zanny

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[citation][nom]JDW_SWB[/nom]The 2500K is such an amazing gaming CPU.It will really take something special, both in price and performance, to beat it.[/citation]

Probably the Ivy Bridge 3570k.
 
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