Budget CPUs
At the `4000 mark, your choices are few. The Intel Pentium G620 (at around `3500) offers great dual core performance, and if you’re gaming with a discrete GPU, this is the way to go. Even if gaming isn’t your cup of tea, and word processing and web surfing is more like you, then this processor is perfect.
If you want good integrated graphics and a dual core solution from AMD at a similar price point, the
A4-3400 at `4000 is a good choice. However, it’s still not as fast as the Pentium when it comes to raw processing power.
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Power to You!
At `11,000 the Intel Core
i5-2400 takes the value crown. The gaming potential of the i5-2400 matches that of the 2500K, and indeed of the costlier i7 processors as well. With hardware accelerated encryption, Turbo Boost (that boosts the clock speed when needed) and 4 cores running at 3.1 GHz, this processor is a true winner. Great for productivity and multitasking, this processor has it all.
But, for those looking to overclock their processor, or for those running highly threaded applications, the 2400won’t do. To them, I present the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (Black Edition), selling for about `9000. This six-core CPU can be overclocked to your heart’s content. Keep in mind that if you plan to spend a lot of time gaming, the i5 would be a far better choice.
The Ultimate Value for Money
The Core i5-2500K is a powerful quad-core processor which can be overclocked to over 4 GHz on air from its stock speed of 3.3 GHz. It has the same features as the rest of the i5 line, except the unlocked multiplier for overclocking as indicated by the -K suffix. Most people won’t feel the need to go for the pricier i7 models when they can get comparable performance for `13,000 with this chip.
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Mid Range Might
At `7000, there’s more choice, but I’ll make these selections:
You have the Core i3-2100 from Intel sitting at roughly `6700. This 3.1 GHz dual core, hyper threaded processor will offer best-in-class performance for more users. It’s great for gaming (with a separate GPU, of course) and fantastic for everything else. If you plan on using multiple GPUs or do a lot of productivity-oriented activities or heavy multitasking, thou shall desire a true quad core processor.
At `7200, AMD’s A8-3850 is great processor for gamers on a budget, as you’ll be able to play without the need of a separate GPU with acceptable frame rates at screen resolutions of 1366x768 and below. Being a true quad core, it’s better than the i3 for multitasking and productivity applications, and arguably a more balanced choice than the Intel CPU.