Best $80 Gaming CPU

wheelswilly · Oct 19, 2014

Hey guys, so I'm trying to help my buddy make a budget gaming rig. To put it shortly, his CPU budget is only $80 unfortunately, and I'm not sure which is his best option.

Right now he has the Intel Pentium G3258 ($70) with the MSI Z97-G45 Mobo ($140) selected. Is that a good choice? He isn't planning on OCing. And if persuaded, he will switch to AMD. If you do recommend AMD however, could you recommend a compatible Mobo that stays around that $210 budget?

Thanks a lot fellas.

rolli59 · Oct 19, 2014

The Pentium is a good choice. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html

Trenchcoat · Oct 19, 2014

If we wait a week will this be a best $120+ cpu thread? If so, we should do that, and probably wait a few more weeks after.

barto · Oct 19, 2014

If he isn't going to be overclocking, drop the Z97 and save some cash and get a better CPU.

rockie_ · Oct 19, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $198.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-19 17:04 EDT-0400

or

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $172.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-19 17:07 EDT-0400

geofelt · Oct 19, 2014

The G3258/Z97 combo is as good as it gets for more than one reason.

1. Few games use more than one or two threads.
Each thread of the G3258 at stock 3.2 will be plenty for most games. If you oc to 4.0 and higher as the chip id designed to do, it can actually beat out a i7-4790K in many games.
2. A Z97 motherboard gives you many upgrade options. Up to a $300+ cpu like the i7-4790K or, to a future 14nm broadwell
upgrade.

rockie_ · Oct 20, 2014

any H97 mobo would do the job . But he needs a better CPU then G3258 .
Another option :
Core i3 4150 -$109
Asrock Z97 Extreme3 - SLI/Crossfire ready , 8 Phase power dsign for huge overclocking - $109

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