Good gaming cpu cheap: Best Budget CPUs of 2023, Tested and Ranked — Tom’s Hardware

Geared towards budget-conscious builders, the Ryzen 5 5600G is an affordable option that delivers comparable gaming performance to its predecessor, the 3400G. What sets it apart is the inclusion of more cores, threads, and a more efficient design.

Specifically, the Ryzen 5 5600G boasts 6 cores and 12 threads, clocked at 3.9GHz base and 4.4GHz boost, with 16MB of L3 cache and 3MB of L2 cache. Its 65W TDP is equipped with AMD’s VEGA 7 iGPU, featuring 448 stream processors and clocked at 1.9GHz.

While some may view Vega 7 as a downgrade, its increased efficiency compensates for the reduction in cores, resulting in uncompromised graphical performance.

The Ryzen 5 5600G is one of the best values out there, for an APU. You can pick up a brand-new 5600G for around $120 as of the time of writing this, and picking one up can save you the hassle of having to buy a GPU.

When paired with a GPU, the 5600G will act like a slightly underpowered 5600X, with the same number of cores and threads, just with a little less speed. the 5600X is still an incredible processor, so having a CPU that performs just shy of one can still make for a great CPU.

Final word

Any one of these CPUs is great for budget-oriented builders, they can all be great when confined to an incredibly tight budget. As always, CPU performance relies on other components of the computer, such as RAM and motherboard.

In conclusion, after evaluating various options, we have identified the best CPU under $100 that offers exceptional value and performance for budget-conscious consumers. Whether you’re a casual user or a gamer, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G stands out as the top pick with its reliable processing power, integrated Vega 7 graphics, and a price tag that won’t break the bank. It’s a solid choice for those who want to build a capable PC without spending a fortune.

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Best gaming CPU 2023: top AMD and Intel processors for your next build

Choosing the best gaming CPU for your build is a defining part of the PC building experience, and alongside the graphics card is one of the most critical components that determines its ultimate performance. With that said, the CPU market is in a confusing state for casual buyers, with multiple generations in play and great-sounding options available from both AMD and Intel.

With this in mind, we’ve formulated this guide to the best gaming CPUs money can buy today, based on our own testing, current prices and critical reviews from other publications. Whether you’re a fan of Team Red or Team Blue, we’ve got you covered with recommendations from the budget and value-oriented categories right up to each company’s high-end and flagship options.

Click the links below to jump right into the category you’re most interested in, or scroll on for our recommendations in full. We’ve chosen an AMD and Intel option for each price bracket, with a focus on gaming performance and full system build costs plus other considerations.

Best gaming CPU 2023

• Best budget AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• Best budget Intel processor: Intel Core i3-12100F
• Best value AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
• Best value Intel processor: Intel Core i5-13400F
• Best high-end AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Best high-end Intel processor: Intel Core i7 13700KF
• Best AMD processor for content creation: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
• Best Intel processor for content creation: Intel Core i9-13900KF

Watch the latest DF Weekly, where Digital Foundry staff discuss the hottest gaming technology news.

Best budget AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600

Image credit: AMD/Digital Foundry

The £126/$145 Ryzen 5 5600 is the cheapest Ryzen 5000 processor, and therefore is the most affordable way to get the excellent single-core performance that defined this series of CPUs. It’s noticeably faster in many games than earlier Ryzen designs, so it makes a great upgrade for folks still using popular older processors like the Ryzen 7 1700X, Ryzen 5 2600 or Ryzen 7 3700X.

Compared to the more expensive Ryzen 5 5600X, the 5600 has a 200MHz deficit in terms of its rated core clocks — a tiny margin that is more or less erased due to how Ryzen processors boost until they hit thermal or power limits. This means that the two CPUs offer basically identical performance, within two or three percentage points, so just take whichever is cheaper.

Elsewhere, the six-core and 12-thread design allows you to do things like recording video or running background applications while gaming. Higher core counts are helpful for more strenuous content creation tasks, like video transcoding or 3D rendering, but for most people this design is more than sufficient.

In terms of upgrade options, you could later replace the 5600 with the 5800X3D for significantly better gaming performance, or something like the 5900X or 5950X if content creation becomes more of a focus.

To get an idea of the 5600’s performance, check out our Ryzen 5 5600X review.

Best budget Intel processor: Intel Core i3-12100F

Image credit: Intel/Digital Foundry

The £87/$85 Core i3 12100F is a surprisingly fast entry-level processor, which gives full access to modern components like PCIe 5.0 SSDs and DDR5 RAM whilst also costing less than any other option on this list. Its quad-core design even manages to outperform the previous-generation mid-range value heroes in gaming, like the Core i5 11600K and the Ryzen 5 3600.

This power can be attributed to the big boost to single-core performance that Intel achieved with their 12th-gen designs, plus a straightforward four-core eight-thread design that eschews the P-core and E-core architecture of the higher-tier Intel processors of this generation. That ensures a consistent level of performance across a range of games and operating systems.

Going with the 12100F gives you a solid base level of performance for gaming right away, while giving you plenty of room for a meaningful upgrade later — as both cheap DDR4 motherboards or more future-looking DDR5 boards accept up to a 13900K for a massive upgrade to CPU power. Note that with the 13100F not being meaningfully faster than the 12100F, we’ve opted for the cheaper option in this category.

Best value AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Image credit: AMD/Digital Foundry

The £282/$332 Ryzen 7 5800X3D is an easy pick for best value AMD processor for gaming. Its larger 96MB L3 cache plus a sensible eight-core, 16-thread design allows it to hit incredible frame-rates compared to anything else in its generation, even facing off favourably against AMD’s flagship Ryzen 9 5950X or Intel’s Core i9 12900K.

For example, in Flight Simulator 2020, it’s more than 33 percent faster than the 5800X, which is the difference between a meagre 44fps average and a solid 60fps. However, that cache isn’t a magic bullet in absolutely every game, with esports fare like League of Legends and CS:GO running about the same on the 5800X and 5800X3D. Still, the extra cache is often transformative in CPU-limited scenarios, making the 5800X3D the ultimate gaming upgrade for the huge number of older Ryzen systems out there.

Even if you’re building a new system, the 5800X3D earns its best value title through compatible DDR4 RAM and AM4 motherboards being extremely affordable these days. In fact, you can pay less for the 5800X3D, a decent motherboard and RAM combined (~£360) than you would for a high-end CPU like the 13700K (~£375) or 7800X3D (~£400) alone. When you factor the more modern motherboards and RAM required by those newer CPUs into the equation, you’ll be hundreds of pounds ahead by going with the 5800X3D, allowing you to pick up a higher-tier graphics card — which provides a much bigger impact to gaming performance at 1440p and 4K.

For more detail, you can check out our Ryzen 7 5800X3D review.

Best value Intel processor: Intel Core i5-13400F

Image credit: Intel/Digital Foundry

For Intel, the value sweet spot is occupied by the £197/$203 Core i5 13400F. While the 5800X3D represents the ultimate upgrade for AM4 systems, the 13400F is a more future-looking choice that allows for great performance in the short term and plenty of upgrade potential later on — plus compatibility with modern PCIe 5.0 SSDs.

With 10 cores, including six performance cores and four efficiency cores, the 13400F is a better choice than the 5800X3D for content creation and performs admirably in gaming scenarios too. Frame-rates in CPU-limited games at 1080p are in line with the 12600K or 11700K, while at 1440p or 4K you’d expect the GPU to be the bottle-neck in most titles.

As with other 12th and 13th-gen Intel parts, you have the choice between a DDR4 and DDR5 motherboard, with DDR4 RAM offering lower prices and DDR5 boasting a small speed boost and a more future-proof design. With DDR5 RAM kits dropping in price, I’d be tempted to go with the latter, but both are viable options — and it’s nice to have the choice, compared with AMD where Ryzen 5000 is DDR4 only and Ryzen 7000 is DDR5 only.

Best high end AMD processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Image credit: AMD/Digital Foundry

While it may seem a little odd to not recommend the flagship Ryzen 9 7950X3D in this category, the £411/$441 Ryzen 7 7800X3D actually delivered a higher average frame-rate in our testing while costing significantly less. In fact, the 7800X3D is the fastest CPU for gaming we’ve ever tested, knocking the Core i9 13900K into a cocked hat.

The reason that the 7800X3D outdoes the 7950X3D is that, while the more expensive CPU is marginally faster in most titles, some games don’t play well with the 7950XD’s asymmetric design, which turn into huge performance wins for the simpler single-chiplet 7800X3D. Against the 13900K, the 7800X3D is unabashedly faster in the vast majority of games. However, the 13900K achieves far better content creation performance in tasks like video transcoding and 3D rendering, thanks to its larger complement of cores (24 vs eight) and threads (32 vs 16).

The 7800X3D, like other Ryzen 7000 processors, requires DDR5 RAM and a 600-series motherboard, which are more expensive than their previous-gen counterparts — but do come with some nice performance advantages and feature additions.

We have a full performance break-down in our Ryzen 7 7800X3D review.

Best high end Intel processor: Intel Core i7-13700KF

Image credit: Intel/Digital Foundry

The £370/$390 Core i7 13700KF is our high-end pick for Intel, delivering around 95 percent of the 13900K’s gaming performance at 70 percent of the price. That’s a winning formula that makes it hard to choose the 13900K for a gaming-focused build.

The 13700KF comes with 16 cores, split down the middle between eight performance cores and eight efficiency cores, making up 24 threads, and a boost clock of up to 5. 4GHz, making it a powerful choice within its price range.

It’s also the first overclockable Intel chip we’ve recommended in this list, which allows you to tweak out a bit of extra performance. The chip runs slightly cooler than the 13900K, but still requires a robust cooling solution — ideally a tower air cooler or 240mm+ AiO.

As with other 12th/13th-gen Intel options, both DDR4 and DDR5 motherboards are supported, but as you’re opting for a high-end option then DDR5 is the obvious choice given its measurable edge in our testing for 1080p gaming.

Best AMD processor for content creation: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Image credit: AMD/Digital Foundry

The £529/$549 Ryzen 9 7950X is a content creation powerhouse, giving a Threadripper-adjacent 16 cores and 32 threads for some outstanding performance in any task that can be run in parallel — from compiling code to rendering 3D scenes or transcoding video files.

The 7950X is also extremely efficient compared to Intel’s 13900K, delivering around 10 percent better performance in a Handbrake H. 265 transcode test than the 13900K while drawing 100W less from the wall. What’s more, compared to AMD’s last-gen 5950X flagship processsor, the newer 7950X is 46 percent faster, — an impressive generation-on-generation upgrade.

Being the top of the line chip in AMD’s range, it also makes sense to find out that it’s also one of the most potent chips for gaming, too. It served up some solid results in the likes of Flight Sim 2020, with a posted result of 62fps at 1080p, although pairing it with AMD’s recommended 6000MT/s RAM helped to increase this to 73fps, proving the benefits that quicker RAM can provide in some titles.

Our Ryzen 9 7950X review delivers the full details on gaming and content creation performance.

Best Intel processor for content creation: Intel Core i9-13900K

Image credit: Intel/Digital Foundry

The £548/$545 Intel Core i9-13900K is the obvious pick for our final Team Blue category, with its eight extra efficiency cores compared to the 13700K making it a far better option for content creation tasks — and the integrated GPU unlocking access to Intel’s excellent Quick Sync media encoder.

To recap then, the 13900K has a total of 24 cores (split between eight performance and 16 efficiency cores) for 32 threads in total and a boost clock of 5.8GHz. This gives it a blend of single and multi-core performance that’s unmatched in Intel’s arsenal. In fact, the 13900K offered the highest results we’ve seen in a Cinebench R20 3D render and in a Handbrake H.264 video encoding test.

It may not be as impressive for gaming as AMD’s more specialised lineup of X3D processors, but the 13900K is still a powerful performer that offers a small boost over the likes of the 12700K, 12900K and 13700K. However, you’ll need a powerful cooler too, with a 240mm+ AiO recommended to tame its powerful thermal load.

You can refer to our 13900K review for more performance data.

With that, our recommendations come to an end. I hope there’s enough there to give you some food for thought for which CPU is going to be the best for you to choose for your next build, or to an upgrade an existing one.

Of course, we’re always on the lookout for some of the best deals we can find on all manner of tech, including CPUs, and to keep informed with those, you’ll want to follow @dealsfoundry on Twitter and check out the deals sections at both Eurogamer and our sister site Rock Paper Shotgun for PC tech deals as we find them.

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TOP of the best budget processors for games: gaming CPUs

Among the high-end CPUs now, in the spring of 2021, it is difficult to find budget and at the same time high-performance processors that can handle most modern games and that everyone can buy. The misconception that the higher the frequency and the more cores the processor has, the faster the computer runs, is very common. It has been proven that this opinion is largely false, since the responsiveness of the system (for example, when opening a browser or text editor) depends on the type of hard drive — a fast SSD or a much slower HDD. Therefore, in order to build a budget and high-speed PC, you do not have to buy the best and newest processor for it. We at Artline noticed that, according to the feedback of our customers, the frankly cheap bunch of “budget dual-core processor + SSD drive” still arouses admiration, because everything just flies on such a PC.

What are the best budget processors for Spring 2021? This issue has been discussed for a long time. Many people want to build a good and powerful gaming PC without having a big budget. Often people invest in a processor and platform with the expectation of a future graphics card upgrade, although for today’s gaming requirements, this is pointless. That is why today we will look at the TOP of the best budget processors for games in the spring of 2021.

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Contents:

1. Intel Pentium Gold G6400
2. Intel Core i3 9100F
3. Intel Xeon E5 2678v3
4. AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and 2600
5. Intel Core i3 10100F
6. AMD Ryzen 5 3500
7. Where to buy the best budget processor?

Intel Pentium Gold G6400

I eat and a thermal package of 58 watts. It was made using the 14nm process technology. In Rust, at maximum settings, the Gold G6400 will average 60 fps.

If you have a powerful graphics card, you can play Fortnite even at epic graphics settings. After a few matches, friezes slip through, but on average the fps will be about 100. But if you turn everything all the way to the maximum, and DLSS is in the “balanced” mode, the average speed will stay around 60 frames per second and everything is fine on monitoring. True, then the video sequence is not smooth enough and “twitching” appears in the control, which interferes with aimed fire. On this processor, it is recommended to lower the quality bar.

In Apex Legends on the Intel Pentium Gold G6400, literally in the first 10-15 seconds of the match, friezes slip through. The processor is constantly loaded to the maximum, although the control remains pleasant.

This processor is not enough for The Witcher 3. At the output, of course, the average fps is about 70, but at the beginning the game lags, after a while it is no longer the case, and friezes happen only when loading locations.

A few years ago, the Intel Pentium Gold G6400 was a great option for building a budget gaming system. Then 2 cores and 4 threads were enough to run games, but, nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that it is not enough for very demanding games. It copes well with undemanding games like Tanks, CS, Dota 2. Different platformers, casual games, turn-based strategies and hits of the past years now, even at the time of spring 2021, will go with a bang!

Intel Core i3 9100F

It has 4 full cores, 4 threads, a frequency of 3.6-4.2 GHz, 6 MB L3 cache and a thermal package of 65W. Against the backdrop of rival Ryzen and the new i3, it looks rustic, but even its 4 cores can show normal performance in games.

Assassin’s Creed at maximum settings reaches 50+ fps without any problems.

In GTA 5, at maximum settings, we get 55-60 fps in the city center. The emphasis in this game, of course, is on the video card, but the CPU is also fully loaded, so if you want higher fps, you will have to slightly lower the settings.

In The Witcher 3, the settings can also be set to the maximum and it goes from 60 to 80 fps without friezes and drawdowns.

Intel Xeon E5 2678 v3

Here you can already «roam» to the fullest, because this budget handsome has one great feature: some processors on this socket have both DDR3 and DDR4 memory controller .

Xeon E5 2678 v3 has 12 cores, 24 threads, frequency 2.5-3.3 GHz, L3 cache 30 MB and TDP 120W.

In GTA 5, at the highest settings in Full HD resolution, the CPU load is weak, only 30%, the frame graph is perfectly even. You will get a minimum of 70 and an average of 88 frames, while fps is stable.

Xeon E5 2678 v3 loads at 40% in Watch Dogs 2 at ultra settings and at Full HD resolution. The minimum fps is 49, and the average will be 60 frames per second. This is not high, but playable fps, so it pulls this game.

At medium settings and Full HD resolution, Battlefield V will hit a minimum of 118 fps, and an average of 157 fps. This game does not load all 24 threads of this processor, but the processor in it will be loaded by 50%. At the same time, the gameplay is quite smooth.

But Tomb Raider loads all the threads of this CPU. With medium settings and Full HD resolution, we get stable around 90 fps. In general, this game with this processor runs without any problems.

Metro Exodus does not load this processor much, but works with all its threads. With the Intel Xeon E5 2678 v3 we get at least 51 fps and 67 fps on average. The gameplay will be smooth and enjoyable, also without any problems.

Assassin’s Creed at high settings will get a minimum of 53 fps, an average of 62 fps and a maximum of 98 fps. This game does not load all of its streams. The processor is only 23% loaded. In principle, you can safely play Assassin’s Creed on this CPU.

In general, this is a very good performance budget processor. Its main advantage is that it supports 2 types of memory. With the purchase, you get a powerful CPU for multi-threaded tasks, and at the same time save on RAM by buying DDR3.

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 & 2600

Timeless classic! Zen + is a transitional architecture that was not supposed to bring something new to the world of computer hardware. However, thanks to the availability of these processors for several years now, people have been building PCs on Ryzen 5 1600 or 2600, and everyone understands that these are far from new items. But why are we talking about them together and not separately? This is because the Ryzen 5 1600 is produced on the same chip as the more recent 2600. The difference lies only in the frequencies, which are leveled by simple overclocking. The processors have 6 cores, 12 threads, L3 cache 16 MB. In the case of the first, the frequencies are 3.2-3.6 GHz, and the second has increased to 3.4-3.9GHz. Both are manufactured on a 12nm process and have a TDP of 65W. The upside of the updated Ryzen 5 1600 is the improved Zen+ RAM controller. Of course, you will not get records for overclocking RAM, but the situation will be much more positive than with first-generation processors.

GTA 5 is not completely, but quite processor-dependent game, and if you turn all the settings to the maximum, these processors will show on average approximately the same amount (50-55 frames per second). Short-term drawdowns of fps up to 30 frames per second are possible, this is possible when loading small details such as grass. However, there are no microfreezes or jamming in GTA 5 on one and the other processor. The picture is smooth, and in general, the Ryzen 5 1600 and 2600 do a good job.

Things are different for these processors in Need for Speed ​​Heat. The difference is immediately visible to the naked eye. The Ryzen 5 1600 averages around 90 fps, while the Ryzen 5 2600 averages around 110 fps. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the 1600 averages 51 fps, while the 2600 averages 60 fps.

It’s worth mentioning that streaming on these processors will also work, and although they are not new, the CPUs perform well, especially since we are talking about budget performance. So the «oldies» Ryzen 5 2600 and Ryzen 5 1600 in 2021 are still doing great in a budget build PC for games.

Intel Core i3 10100F

Many people think that a budget PC should be based on AMD processors, but now, at the time of spring 2021, Intel also offers good options. The end result is important for the average user, and the Core i3 10100F demonstrates good performance in games. It is a 4-core, 8-thread processor clocked at 3.6-4.3GHz, has a 6MB L3 cache, is built on a 14nm architecture and has a TDP of 65W.

No matter how much they joke about 14nm Intel, processors from this company can show good performance. In single-threaded applications, the frequency can be increased up to 4.3 GHz. With a load on all cores, the maximum boost is 4.1 GHz.

The i3 10100F is powerful enough for all games at 1080p. This greatly reduces the cost of the system. Recall that the strength of this CPU is its high clock speed. As we said above, it is able to boost up to 4. 3 GHz, which makes it an excellent choice for budget builds.

Fortnite can be played and streamed on epic settings on this processor.

In The Witcher 3 at the highest settings, in a forest where a lot of grass and complex small objects are drawn, our budget i3 10100F produces an average of 85-90 fps, and during the battle, the number of frames also remains unchanged. Excellent score!

Very good i3 10100F performance in GTA 5! At high settings, 90-100 frames are stable without jerks and reloads. In Rust, with settings that are comfortable for gaming, we get 100 fps consistently, even near buildings. For such a game, a great result!

In any case, the i3 10100F is one of the best budget processors for gaming that can be compared to the flagship of the past — the i7 7700, which also had a 4-core/8-thread configuration.

It would seem that some time ago, 8 threads for the top processor in the line was the norm, but time goes by, and now 8 threads are the configuration of a budget stone.

AMD Ryzen 5 3500

The model has 6 cores and 6 threads, frequency 3.6-4.1 GHz, L3 cache 16 MB and TDP 65 W. In Fortnite, the AMD Ryzen 5 3500 pulls out an average of 161 fps at maximum settings, and 315 fps at minimum settings.

In Need for Speed: Heat, all the cores of this processor are loaded by more than half, and a couple are even at 100%. On the maximum settings you can count on 101 fps, and the minimum settings will give you only 117 fps, there is a minimum increase. Here the CPU does not pull out, but it is worth remembering that this is a budget processor, and besides, with any settings, the control is smooth and very pleasant.

Even 6 cores is too much for PUBG. At the highest settings, you can expect 124 frames per second quietly, and at the minimum fps it rises to a maximum of 135 frames per second. So PUBG Ryzen 5 3500 handles without any problems. For Rust 6 cores AMD Ryzen 5 3500 is more than enough. The main load falls on 3-5 of them. By setting the ultra settings we get a stable 78 frames per second.

For more information about budget processors, you can watch the video below.

Where to buy the best budget processor Our professionals will find the processor at the best price for you. The support service will answer any questions for each client. You will be satisfied with the purchase of any processor in the Artline store.

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The best gaming computer for Full HD resolution — Boiling Machine

Hello friends! In this article, we will tell you how to correctly assemble a computer that will run all games at maximum speed at a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and not overpay.

1920×1080 or Full HD is still the most popular resolution. According to monthly reports from the most popular gaming service Steam, more than 67% of players use monitors with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This is easily explained — the choice of FullHD monitors today is greater than ever. You can buy both an inexpensive display with an IPS matrix and a professional gaming monitor with a screen refresh rate of up to 300 Hz. Those. You can easily choose a product for every taste and budget. For example, the 4K monitor store has a large section with Full HD gaming monitors.

Go to

And one more important factor. FullHD resolution does not require a high-end computer to play at maximum. Actually, let’s talk about this.

Which processor to choose

For modern games, especially recent releases like Cyberpunk 2077, it is optimal to take 8-core processors, since many games are optimized for consoles that have 8-core CPUs. In the case of assembling a computer for Full HD resolution, the eight-core can be neglected and save a little, since with a decrease in resolution, the requirements for hardware are sharply reduced

The best option among Intel processors will be the Core i5-11600K. Its clock speed is 3.9/ 4.9 GHz, and the cache size reaches 12 MB. If you wish, you can use overclocking and get the coveted 5 GHz on each core or achieve higher frequencies. Despite the fact that this is a 6-core processor with multi-threading support, its performance is enough for Full HD to the head.

If you need to save a little more, then you can also consider buying an Intel Core i5-11400. This is a «popular» 6-core, also with multithreading support and a 12-megabyte cache. But, unlike the i5-11600K, this processor does not support overclocking and its frequencies are much lower: 2.6 / 4.4 GHz. However, it is worth noting that the i5-11400 supports the PCIe 4.0 bus and will cope with the overclocking of RAM. Otherwise, when you want to get maximum performance, you can consider the Intel Core i7-11700 and i7-11700K processors. These are two powerful eight-core processors, and the i7-11700K can also be overclocked. More productive processors for FullHD make little sense to consider.

You can also consider buying 10th generation Intel Core processors. In this case, it is worth considering models not lower than the Intel Core i5-10600K. This is a good 6-core processor with high clock speeds (4.1 / 4.8 GHz) and overclocking capability. For convenience, we will summarize all the recommended Intel processors in a separate table.

90 204

Model	Cores/Threads	Clocks	L3 Cache	Overclocking	TDP
Intel Core i5-10600K	6 / 12	4.1 / 4.8 GHz	12 MB	Yes	125 W
Intel Core i5-10400 9 0206	6 / 12	2.6 / 4.4 GHz	12MB	No	65W
Intel Core i5-11600K	6 / 12	3.9 / 4.9 GHz	12 MB	Yes	125 W
Intel Core i7-11700	6 / 12	2.5 / 4.9 GHz	12 MB	No	65 W
Intel Core i7-11700K	6 / 12	3. 6 / 5.0 GHz 9 0206	12 MB	Yes	125 W

If you prefer the products of the «Reds», then the problem of choice narrows down to almost one model. At the time of this writing, there is only one 6-core processor in the Zen 3 family, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. The letter X indicates increased performance and high frequencies. More specifically, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is clocked at 3.7/4.6GHz. With support for six cores (12 threads), a huge 32 MB cache, and optimized Zen 3 architecture for gaming, the Ryzen 5 5600X is the best choice among AMD processors. If you want to get more performance, then you can consider buying an 8-core Ryzen 7 5800 or Ryzen 7 5800X. AMD’s older processors for Full HD will be redundant, as is the case with Intel.

902 04

Model	Cores/Threads	Clocks	L3 Cache	Overclocking	TDP
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X	6 / 12	3. 7 / 4.6 GHz	32 MB	Yes	65W
AMD Ryzen 7 5800	8/16	3.4/4.6GHz	32M byte	Yes	65W
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X	8 / 16	3.8 / 4.7 GHz	32 MB	Yes	105 W

In this section we have listed suitable processors options that are suitable for assembly of the game system with the resolution of Full HD. You can choose any Intel or AMD processor from the table above and you will not lose 100%. In fact, the choice of CPU from the above list depends on your financial capabilities.

We have touched on the topic several times above, so let’s clarify this issue a little so that you do not make a mistake when choosing a processor model. If AMD has manual overclocking support for all Ryzen processors, then Intel can only overclock processors with unlocked multipliers. At the end of the name of such models, there are letters «K» (with active integrated graphics) or «KF» (with disabled integrated graphics). All other Intel processors cannot be overclocked. We will talk more about motherboards that support overclocking in the next section.

Which motherboard should I choose?

More than just CPU overclocking depends on the motherboard. The motherboard determines how many and which connectors will be on the I / O panel and will be soldered in the form of pads. It also depends on the number of PCIe, M.2 slots and, in some cases, the number of slots for RAM. Before choosing a board, you should think about how many devices you need to connect to your computer. If you plan to build with one video card and no additional expansion cards, then almost any motherboard (with the right chipset and processor socket) will suit you. The number of USB peripherals should also be taken into account, but as a rule, modern boards have a sufficient number of universal connectors. Connecting a keyboard, mouse, printer, webcam and multiple flash drives at the same time will not be a problem. Now let’s move on to choosing the right chipset.

If you decide to take an Intel Core processor with overclocking support to build a new computer, then you need to consider buying motherboards with Intel Z590 or Z490 chipsets. It is worth noting here that the Z590 chipset will better unlock the potential of 11th generation Intel Core processors. For example, such motherboards will have support for the PCIe 4.0 bus and a separate M.2 slot that connects to processor lines. Boards with the Intel Z490 are compatible with 11th Gen Intel Core processors, but PCIe 4.0 support varies by board manufacturer. Also, such boards most likely will not have a separate M.2 slot connected directly to the processor. All this no-no, yes reduces the overall performance of the system. If you are considering a computer for several years, you should buy a motherboard based on a more modern Intel Z59 chipset0. Manufacturers also endow boards with Z590 and Z490 chipsets with an automatic CPU overclocking system so that the user does not select frequencies and voltages manually. In our experience, the automatic overclocking system works very accurately and stably, so you can safely use it.

If an Intel processor without overclocking capability is selected, then you can opt for boards with Intel H570 and h570 chipsets. They are a step down, but are also compatible with 10th and 11th generation Intel Core processors without limitation. Separately, it is worth noting that the Intel H570 will allow you to overclock the RAM, which will also increase system performance. But the h570 chipset no longer supports overclocking RAM.

If your choice is AMD processors, you can choose between two chipsets. Flagship AMD X570 or B550, whose capabilities are comparable to the X570. Both chipsets are compatible with Ryzen 5000 series processors, support overclocking and PCIe Gen 4.

When choosing any motherboard, you should pay attention to the power subsystem. All new processors are demanding on it. It is advisable that the manufacturer set a minimum of 8 power phases. The power elements of the power subsystem must be cooled by complete radiators, and the larger their size, the more efficient the cooling system will be.

Three leaders stand out among all motherboard manufacturers: ASUS, MSI and GIGABYTE. And from the boards, we recommend paying attention to the following models:

• ASUS PRIME Z490-A
• ASUS TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI
• ASUS TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI
• MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
• MSI Z490-A PRO
• GIGABYTE Z490M GAMING X

Which graphics card should I choose?

Full HD resolution does not require NVIDIA GeForce RTX 309 top graphics card0. The performance of the RTX 3080 and RTX 3080 Ti will also be overkill for this resolution. The best choice in this case would be the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, and if you want to «play for all the money», then you can consider buying an RTX 3070 or 3070 Ti. The RTX 3060 video card, at the time of this writing, can be equated to the entry level. It can also be taken for Full HD, but it is likely that some graphics settings will have to be dropped from maximum to high or medium.

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	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
GPU	GA106	GA104	GA104	GA104
Crystal size	300 mm 2	392.5 mm 2	392.5 mm 2	392.5 mm 2
Number of transistors	13.25 billion	17.4 billion	17.4 billion	17.4 billion
CUDA cores	3584 902 06	4864	5888	6144
TMU )	112	152	184	192
ROP blocks	48	96	96
Tensor cores	112	152	184	192
Ray Tracing Cores	28	38	46	48 9 0206
Video memory type	GDDR6	GDDR6	GDDR6	GDDR6X
Video memory size 9 0206	12 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Video memory frequency	15000 MHz	14000 MHz	14000 MHz	19000 MHz
Video memory bus	192 bits	256 bits	256 bits	256 bits 902 06
Interface	PCI3 4. 0 X16	PCI3 4.0 X16	PCI3 4.0 X16	PCI3 4.0 X16

The RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070 and RTX 3070 Ti use the same NVIDIA GA104 GPU. They differ from each other only in the number of active streaming multiprocessors and the type of memory. So, the RTX 3060 Ti has 4864 CUDA cores, while the RTX 3070 has 21% more of them — 5888 pieces. We can say that the RTX 3070 Ti has almost 100% implementation of the NVIDIA GA104 video core, it has 4.3% more CUDA cores than the original RTX 3070. Apparently, the chip manufacturer for NVIDIA was able to achieve a high yield rate . The RTX 3070 Ti also differs from the original RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 (Ti) in GDDR6X video memory and its speed. A new type of memory (GDDR6X) was developed jointly by NVIDIA and Micron, it is used only in the company’s most powerful video cards.

The youngest RTX 3060 is built on the NVIDIA GA106 video core. This graphics card is quite far behind even the nearest RTX 3060 Ti in terms of performance. The younger RTX 3060 carries much fewer cores, only 3584 pcs. The memory bus has also been cut from 256 to 192 bits. All this, as you understand, does not add to productivity, and definitely takes it away. A large amount of memory of 12 GB is great, but for Full HD resolution it is redundant. It is overkill even for 2560 x 1440, and is unlikely to be used in 4K. Therefore, this video card can be recommended only from the point of view of economy, but not comfort during the game.

However, the analysis of technical characteristics can be carried out endlessly. Let’s take a look at how video cards perform in tests.

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TX 3060 Ti is the sweet spot for 19 resolution20 x 1080. Its performance covers all modern games. But the younger RTX 3060 in some projects is not enough even today, to say nothing of some kind of performance margin. But overpaying for the RTX 3070 may not be very justified, since the performance gain is not too great, and in principle does not change anything.

Before we go any further, let’s not get past the NVIDIA technologies that have had a significant impact on the gaming industry. Any gamer always wants to increase the FPS value of their system, no matter how productive it is. NVIDIA DLSS and Resizable Bar will help you with this. The first technology is smart anti-aliasing, in which the image is rendered at a resolution lower than that of the monitor and is completed using artificial intelligence algorithms. The second technology, Resizable Bar, will give the processor access to the entire video memory of the graphics adapter, which will also increase FPS. It is only worth noting that DLSS, like Resizable Bar, must be supported by the game, otherwise there will be no performance increase and the options simply will not be activated.

How much RAM should I choose?

The minimum amount of DDR4 memory we recommend for a gaming PC is 32 GB, but 16 GB can be enough if we plan to use a resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you now think that 32 GB is a lot, then look at the value of the used memory after a complete installation of the system and all applications, half of which will be registered in autorun and will eat up system resources. If we add to this a running browser with a dozen tabs, then the amount of memory consumed can reach 16 GB. At the same time, the game itself will take another 6-10 gigabytes of RAM. As a result, it turns out that for comfort and the ability to quickly switch between games and applications, it is better to have 32 GB of memory. But if you are ready to close all browser tabs and work programs, such as Adobe Premiere or Photoshop, before playing, then 16 GB can be enough.

So, we have decided on the working volume, now let’s talk about clock frequencies, because the amount of memory does not determine its performance in terms of speed. Its frequencies and timings are already responsible for this. We recommend considering RAM kits with a frequency of 3500 MHz. Such memory shows high performance and does not cost too much. Of course, you can take memory with a frequency of 4,000 MHz and higher, but in the case of assembling a computer for Full HD, you should not overpay. The RAM clock speed of about 3500 MHz is the golden mean between reasonable money savings and performance.

Timings are also worth paying attention to. Timings indicate the reaction time of the memory to different events and are usually indicated as a series of numbers, for example 16-18-18-32. Although sometimes manufacturers do not indicate the last number. The first number means the waiting time of the chip while it is busy processing the task, the second number is the time from the issuance of the “Active” command and the execution of the command that comes after it. The third digit describes the transition time between memory lines. The last digit is the time during which the memory line will be active. We recommend considering memory with the first three timings at 16-18-18. As in the case of 3500 MHz, this can be called the golden mean. But you should not select memory with the lowest timings. Firstly, it can be very expensive, and secondly, in the case of Full HD, the performance gain may not justify the high cost of the modules.

Cooling system

Full HD gaming computer is the place to buy an air cooling system. It is best to take one of the large tower coolers, designed for power from 150 watts. Although we recommend processors with a TDP of up to 125 W in this article, it is worth taking a cooler with a margin for two reasons. Firstly, on the websites of processor manufacturers, the base heat pack is indicated, and in reality it will be higher. Secondly, over time, dust will accumulate on the radiator, and if it is not cleaned in time, the efficiency of the cooler will certainly decrease. If you do not plan to actively care for the state of the computer, it is better to have some margin of safety.

The second version of the processor cooling system will be a dropsy, assembled and filled at the factory. In terms of cost, a two-section dropsy is equivalent to a high-quality tower cooler and will be able to remove more heat. Its only drawback is that there should be a special place in the case for attaching the CBO radiator.

Assembly of a custom dropsy for a gaming computer of this class is not required. However, this does not mean that you should not consider such a possibility. The custom cooling system is quiet and will do the best job of keeping the CPU cool. In addition, if desired, you can add a video card to the circuit. But for this you will have to change its cooling system and buy a separate water block. Yes, and such a system will be very expensive, so we recommend that you stop at a ready-made dropsy or high-performance air.

Which SSD to choose?

At the time of this writing, large capacity solid state drives are no longer exotic. In addition, modern motherboards allow you to install multiple M. 2 drives using the NVMe protocol and combine them into RAID-0. Such SSDs should be considered for building a new computer. If the system is based on a motherboard with PCIe 4.0 support for drives, then you can look for an M.2 SSD with PCIe 4.0 support for sale. Its data transfer speed can reach an incredible 7,000 MB/s, Windows and all programs will load in seconds.

Despite the popularity of SSDs, hard drive manufacturers do not think to give up, because they still have one trump card. This is a large volume and a better price per gigabyte than an SSD. But we do not recommend using the HDD for the main drive with the operating system. This is a good option for storing a lot of data, but it will take too long to boot from the HDD if we are talking about games and applications. Therefore, only as a second disk.

We recommend a 1TB or 2TB SSD for your system. Modern games, especially from the Call of Duty series, can take up hundreds of gigabytes. Yes, yes, this is not a joke. Modern Call of Duty weighs over 200 GB, and that’s just one game! It is better to take care of the free space in advance than to think about which game to delete first.

What kind of power supply do you need?

The size of the power supply is always selected based on the total power consumption of the system components. For the configurations described in this article, a PSU with a power of 650 — 750 watts is suitable. It is better to look closely at well-known manufacturers and look at the 80 PLUS certificate. The best option would be models with certificates 80 PLUS Silver and 80 PLUS Gold.

Recommended PSUs:

• Cooler Master V650 SFX GOLD
• Cooler Master V750 SFX GOLD
• Super Flower Leadex Silver 750W

Case selection

Choosing a system unit is the last thing to do. After all the components are selected and you have decided on the cooling system, you can start looking for a case that will fit the intended configuration. We recommend starting your search with Medium Tower cases. In such cases, there is enough space for an ATX motherboard, long video cards and additional turntables. We also recommend buying case fans (if they are not included) in order to properly direct the air flow of the nutricase. You should also pay attention to the presence of dust filters and additional connectors on the front side of the case. As an example of a case, we can cite the TUF Gaming GT301 model. It belongs to the Medium Tower format, a special niche is provided for the power supply and the “dropsy” installation is supported.

Results

In this article, we have collected all the information for you to select the components of a gaming system that can handle Full HD resolution. If you follow the advice that we have offered you, you will definitely not go wrong and make the right choice when buying.

But if you are not ready to spend time diving into the topic of components and their compatibility with each other, then you can choose one of our ready-made assemblies.