Which CPU for budget gaming

z6f

Honorable
Dec 12, 2012
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I'm going to be building a budget gaming PC in January and I don't know which CPU to pick.

My budget is £400/$650 and I already have a HDD, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and OS

I'll be pairing the CPU with a 2gb Radeon 7850. I'm looking to play games such as Saints Row: The Third and Portal 2 on medium/high/max

Here are the list of potential CPUs and their prices:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black - £70.80
AMD FX-6100 - £84.72
AMD Phenom II X6 1045T - £86.30
Intel Core i3-2120 - £87.84
Intel Core i3-3220 - £89.70
AMD A10-5800K - £92.62
AMD FX-4300 - £97.45
AMD FX-6200 - £99.08
Intel Core i3-3225 - £99.98
AMD FX-6300 - £103.97I

If I buy an AMD processor, I will 99.9% be overclocking on stock cooler.

Thanks in advance
 

m3incorp

Honorable
Dec 15, 2012
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10,520
I like the intel i-5 3570k for it's overall performance vs price point. Out of the CPU's you listed, the i3-3225 or i3-3220 will both do just fine for gaming.
 
no option for i5? if you can squeeze budget a bit more you can get i5 3470 which performs almost similar with the legendary 3570k

in this build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tNk6
3470 fits your budget

but if you only have above choice, i would go with Intel Core i3-3220 - £89.70
performs the same with phenom, less power consumption. overall winner on daily task
 

DeusAres

Distinguished
Try this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£81.65 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£68.02 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card (£174.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£31.18 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £418.75
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-23 20:09 GMT+0000)

If you don't already have the HD 7850, I suggest you grab the HD 7870 instead. It will give you a significant increase in performance. You should be able to play most games on ultra settings with this build.
 

z6f

Honorable
Dec 12, 2012
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10,530


There is 7850 by VTX3D on Amazon UK for £127. Is £273 enough for the other components?
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

That's not going to help in games. Games are typically bound by not having enough GPU horsepower. Getting an i5 isn't going to help at his budget. Rather, he should go with an i3 to save cash. Then use that saved cash to sink in a high end GPU.

The i3's are plenty fast. Just get a Z75 or Z77 based board to go along with it and you can upgrade to an i5 3570k once you've acquired the necessary funds.
 

z6f

Honorable
Dec 12, 2012
27
0
10,530
ok I'm down to 4 builds.

Which build will last 1-3 years without upgrading major components(cpu, gpu, mobo)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor (£89.70 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£50.60 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£13.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 5770 1GB Video Card (£142.91 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.05 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £411.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-24 18:52 GMT+0000)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£103.97 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£52.74 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£13.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 5770 1GB Video Card (£142.91 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£39.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £403.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-24 18:52 GMT+0000)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£131.98 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£41.64 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card (£123.78 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £407.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-24 18:53 GMT+0000)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£142.68 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£50.60 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory (£13.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card (£85.00 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£65.05 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £406.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-24 18:53 GMT+0000)

The 6870 is a place holder for a 1gb 7850 and the 5770 is a place holder for a 2gb 7850