Best budget CPUs for gaming 2023: Budget Intel & AMD options

Written by

Tarran Stockton

Posted

30th Aug 2023 12:07

Contents

Our coverage of the best budget CPUs for gaming in 2023 is vital for those who are looking to get the most efficient budget Intel and AMD options on the market when building their new PC.

Building a PC can be a hard task before you even get to putting your components together, as you will first need to pick out the parts you want. The CPU is one of the most important aspects of your build, so it's important to get the right one for you and your needs.

Luckily, there are plenty of good options out there, with Intel and AMD leading the charge with their powerful gaming hardware.

So, check out our list of the best budget CPUs for gaming in 2023, and find something that works for you.

We chose the best budget CPU for gaming by taking into consideration a few factors, but we prioritised the speed and performance, along with the price so that it fits into the 'budget' category. Other important aspects include how hot the CPU runs, how much power it uses, how it efficient it is, and how it works for tasks outside of gaming.

Frankly, there are many things to consider when it comes to CPUs, but we've focused on how well they perform when gaming to ensure you get the best speeds for the price you're paying.

Key features:

Our first pick for the best budget Intel CPU for gaming is the Intel Core i5-10600K, a fantastic pick that's also currently 35% off on Amazon, making it a perfect CPU to get a little more out of your budget.

The six-core, 12-thread Comet Lake processor this thing runs on clocks at a standard 4.1 GHz, allowing for a boost up to 4.8 GHz. The price for performance here is excellent, and enough for anyone looking to run the most modern games.

It cools well, so you don't need the most expensive cooling solution here, but with no bundled cooler you will still need to shed out a little more for a heatsink or water cooler.

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A step up from the previous CPU but still cheap enough to be considered budget, we have the Intel Core i7-12700K.

With 12 cores and 20 threads, it has top-tier multi-threaded and single-core performance, and will feed your other components data at a blazing speed, ensuring optimum performance across the board when paired with similar quality components. It can even be boosted up to 5 GHz if you want to do some overclocking and get the most bang for your buck.

If you want to opt out of a pricey GPU, the improved integrated graphics on this are still enough for a lot of the most-played PC games and less taxing games from this generation. Overall, this CPU has a lot going for it, and is future proofed enough to last you well for a few years.

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The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G isn't a typical budget CPU, but it's currently 51% off on Amazon, and is the perfect choice for gamers who want to use integrated graphics on a powerhouse of a CPU.

This CPU is like a jack of all trades when it comes to its performance, boasting an eight-core, 16 thread chip with a base clock of 3.8 GHz, maxing out at 4.6 GHz. It has some of the best cooling performance and power consumption of the CPUs on this list, but it's best paired with good memory, or some of its efficiency can be become redundant.

Finally, this should be the go-to CPU for players who aren't looking to purchase a dedicated GPU, as it still can handle some of the newer titles out there at 1080p with lower graphic settings.

Key features:

Our other pick is a true budget CPU, but once again, it's on sale on Amazon for under $100, allowing you to pick up one of the best budget CPUs on the market for even cheaper. If you're cash-strapped but looking for a CPU or a new build overall, you can't go wrong starting with this.

As the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 runs on the AM4 platform, you can get a much cheaper motherboard to pair with it, meaning this piece of hardware really facilitates a budget build from top to bottom.

With a clock speed of 4.2 GHz you can expect moderate performance on even the newer games from this generation, and the low power usage makes it extremely efficient for leaving more power to your other parts.

Key features:

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is the best budget CPU for gaming in 2023, and a cheaper alternate to the Ryzen 7 5700G that still boasts top-tier performance.

It's also 51% off on Amazon currently, allowing you to grab a beast of a CPU for under $150 that will last you for years in a mid-range build. Much like its bigger brother, it offers fantastic integrated graphics, but these work as well for newer games, making this better when paired with a similar quality GPU.

A big advantage of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is that it features a stock cooler in the box, which should help save a little more money. It already features good thermal performance, but the Wraith Stealth cooler will cool it even further, so you never need to worry about overheating.

That's all for our coverage of the best CPUs for gaming in 2023, and now you know the best budget choices for both Intel and AMD.

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