Best Intel CPU for under $350

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

I'm switching over from AMD since I now can finally afford an Intel CPU. I use my PC mostly for gaming so whatever CPU I got would need to favor gaming performance. MY budget is no more than $350.

lightcloud · Aug 11, 2014

If you will be overclocking then go with the i7-4770K.

TopLuca · Aug 11, 2014

For gaming all what you really need is an I5 , the 4690K with a good Asus Motherboard will make a very good combo. And then maybe you'll save more money towards another component in your build.

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

So I should go with the i5-4690k if I want to save some money? And if I overclock I should go with the i7-4770k? Would it be worth the money to buy a i7-4930k?

LookItsRain · Aug 11, 2014

For gaming, 4690k is the best for the money. The extra money you save can go into an ssd or anything else.

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

Sorry, I meant i7-4790k. The i7-4930k isn't in my budget! lol

lightcloud · Aug 11, 2014

Matthew-san :

LookItsRain :

Yes for gaming use only then an i5 will be great and reasonable. The extra money should first go into your GPU, but if that's seems to be strong and powerful then check and see if your PSU can handle the overclock.

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

The i5-4690k won't bottleneck any GPU's, even the high-end cards such as the GTX 780Ti? I just want to make sure so I won't have to upgrade my CPU for a few years. I'd like whatever I get to be future-proof for awhile.

TopLuca · Aug 11, 2014

Matthew-san :

Nope , You'll be fine.

lightcloud · Aug 11, 2014

Matthew-san :

He processor will last a long time maybe 2-3 years. But after that if it slows down a bit just overclock it.

legend001523 · Aug 11, 2014

What they said ^^

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

Okay thanks guys. I have a EVGA GTX 770 4 GB Superclocked GPU and a 144 Hz monitor that I'd like to make the most out of but my current AMD CPU has been hurting my performance in some games. I'm a big fan of the "Total War" series and those games are optimized for Intel processors so that's another reason why I was looking into the best Intel CPU's. Those games can be pretty tough to run if you have a shabby CPU.

legend001523 · Aug 11, 2014

Matthew-san :

I have a i5 3210m and I manage to get shogun 2 on ultra or high during big fights, with a i5 4690k, it'll be really smooth, though the fps may be lower than a 60hz monitor

lightcloud · Aug 11, 2014

legend001523 :

Lol.

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

What's weird is that I can play Rome II on extreme with 30-35 fps with several thousand units on screen at once but on Shogun 2 I can only play it on high with several thousand units on screen. I guess they optimized Rome II better for AMD CPU's than they did for Shogun 2.

legend001523 · Aug 11, 2014

lightcloud :

Helping out on saving you money on your thread ahahaha

Matthew-san · Aug 11, 2014

I was tempted to give legend best solution but I changed my mine at the last second lol.

lightcloud · Aug 11, 2014

legend001523 :

Good luck it is pretty tough for me to help others but not myself.

Best Intel CPU for under $350

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