If you don’t
have the time to research benchmarks, or if you don’t feel confident
enough in your ability to pick the right processor for your next gaming
machine, fear not. We at Tom’s Hardware have come to your aid with a
simple list of the best gaming CPUs offered for the money.
October Updates: AMD
First
up, let's talk Trinity. AMD's next-generation (now current-gen) APUs
launched in the channel earlier this month, and they generally serve up
better application performance and they definitely come armed with
better graphics performance. We're even impressed that AMD is pricing
the APUs aggressively.
Unfortunately, they sport the same 100 W
thermal ceilings as their Llano-based predecessors, creating a tough
comparison against 55 W Intel Core i3s, particularly for folks most
concerned about efficiency. Moreover, after just one product generation,
AMD's Socket FM1 interface is being retired in favor of the Socket FM2
required by Trinity-based APUs. The company tells us that this socket
will stick around for at least one more architecture update, at least.
By now, Trinity's strengths and weaknesses are no secret. We covered the mobile launch back in May (
AMD A10-4600M Review: Mobile Trinity Gets Tested) and followed with a pre-launch desktop preview right after Computex (
AMD Trinity On The Desktop: A10, A8, And A6 Get Benchmarked!), a gaming performance comparison (
Gaming At 1920x1080: AMD's Trinity Takes On Intel HD Graphics), and even an analysis of efficiency (
AMD's Trinity APU Efficiency: Undervolted And Overclocked).
In
case that was all too much information for you, we'll summarize: the
Trinity design improves on Llano using AMD's modular Piledriver
architecture, an updated VLIW4-based graphics implementation, and
improved power gating for better performance per watt. And, as we
mentioned earlier, the company is pricing its new chips more
aggressively than it did when Llano-based APUs first emerged. Let's talk
about the specific models we've found for sale.
We'll start at
the bottom with AMD's A4-5300. Armed with a single Piledriver module
(consisting of two integer clusters, but lots of other shared resources,
so not quite what we'd consider a dual-core CPU), the processor
operates at 3.4 GHz, but can accelerate up to 3.6 GHz by virtue of Turbo
Core technology. It also includes 128 shader cores operating at up to
724 MHz. And it's priced at $65, making the A4-5300 AMD's lowest-end
Trinity-based APU.
The A6-5400K is up next, also equipped with one
Piledriver module. It runs at a baseline 3.6 GHz, though, and can
speed-up to 3.8 GHz in lightly-threaded applications. A 192-shader
graphics engine is more performance-oriented, as is a 760 MHz peak
graphics frequency. Selling for $75, this APU is more interesting to us
because of its unlocked ratio multiplier.
AMD's new A8 and A10
families include a pair of Piledriver modules capable of working on four
threads at a time, though they feature different graphics
specifications. The A8-5600K offers a 3.6 GHz base frequency that scale
up to 3.9 GHz. Its 256 shaders operate at 760 MHz, and it sells for
$110. It has an unlocked multiplier as well. Finally, the A10-5800K is
selling for $130 with a 3.8 GHz base frequency and 4.2 GHz maximum Turbo
Core clock rate. It includes a more compelling 384-shader engine
running at 800 MHz. It's overclockable as well.
Are AMD's new APUs
worth building into a budget-oriented gaming platform? The A10s might
be, though we suspect that even at the $500 budget of our bottom-end
System Builder Marathon configuration, discrete graphics will prove a
smarter choice. Will you see APUs start showing up in our gaming CPU
recommendations? We'll have to consider factoring them in over the next
month or two as we run additional tests. But it might be that APUs make
more sense in our
Best Graphics Cards For The Money
column. Until we have more time for creating comparisons (and until we
can get our hands on a Piledriver-based FX processor with discrete
graphics), we're holding off on recommending Trinity-based APUs.
As far as pure CPUs go, there is one interesting Trinity-derived processor that AMD claims
should be
available, but still isn't: the Athlon X4 750K. Based on the company's
information, we expect it to sell for somewhere around $80. It's
essentially an A10-5700 APU with its SIMDs disabled. Consider its
unlocked multiplier, though, and the overclocking potential it might
have without a graphics engine sucking down power. The Athlon X4 could
be interesting. We don't have access to one yet, but we'll be testing it
as soon as we do.
Aside from its new products, AMD's pricing
continues to shift slightly. The A6-3500, Athlon II X4 640, FX-6100, and
FX-6200 all dropped $10 since last month. The Athlon X4 641 fell $15.
Intel
Intel
also introduced new processors over the past month, though all of them
employ different clock rates and feature adjustments as existing models.
For example, the $60 Celeron G555 is 100 MHz faster than the Celeron
G550. The $80 Pentium G645 is a Pentium G850 limited to 1033 MT/s
memory. The $150 Core i3-3240 is a 100 MHz-faster Core i3-3220. The $190
Core i5-3350P is a Core i5-3450P running 100 MHz slower by default and
up to 200 MHz slower at its highest Turbo Boost speed.
Although
the new models aren't particularly interesting, Intel's price shifts
are. The Core i3-2130 and Pentium G850 are about $20 cheaper. As a
result, the Pentium takes our $70 recommendation. The Pentium G870, Core
i3-2125, Core i5-3330, Core i7-2600K, and Core i7-3770K also dropped
about $10.
We're not certain if the slight tweaks are intended to
put pressure on AMD's latest efforts, but the timing makes us wonder.
After seemingly ignoring AMD ever since its Sandy Bridge-based CPUs
started shipping, strong graphics performance from Trinity-based APUs
and better application performance may be forcing Intel to acknowledge
the competition in the sub-$125 segment.
Some Notes About Our Recommendations
This
list is for gamers who want to get the most for their money. If you
don’t play games, then the CPUs on this list may not be suitable for
your particular needs.
The criteria to get on this list are
strictly price/performance. We acknowledge that there are other factors
that come into play, such as platform price or CPU overclockability, but
we're not going to complicate things by factoring in motherboard costs.
We may add honorable mentions for outstanding products in the future,
though. For now, our recommendations are based on stock clock speeds and
performance at that price.
Cost and availability change on a
daily basis. We can’t offer up-to-the-minute accurate pricing
information in the text, but we can list some good chips that you
probably won’t regret buying at the price ranges we suggest (and our
PriceGrabber-based engine will help track down some of the best prices
for you).
The list is based on some of the best US prices from
online retailers. In other countries or at retail stores, your mileage
will most certainly vary. Of course, these are retail CPU prices. We do
not list used or OEM CPUs available at retail.
HP Envy x2, $850
The size of the Haswell processors - seen here before being divided from a silicon wafer - is smaller than a nail
Intel unveiled details of the chips at its developers conference in San Francisco
Devices such as Dell's upcoming Windows 8 hybrids show manufacturers experimenting with designs
ARM-based chips are the dominant processor technology for smartphones, tablets and TVs
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