10 Best Processors for Gaming
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Wize gathers millions of user and expert reviews from websites like Amazon.com, Walmart, and CNET and rates the best products for how people want to use them.
What To Look For
- Performs Well
- Easy To Use
- Hefty Software Bundle
Why We Recommend These Products
Out of thousands of reviews for 200 products, over 900 people recommended Processors specifically for Gaming. These 10 are the most highly recommended products we found.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 BX80557E6750SLA9V
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$140 - $275
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114 People Recommend
"great price for great processor, this thing works like a dream with games like front like, ive got it clocked at 3.0 with stock fan.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "this processor is great for gamers on a budget that is not concern w/overcolocking , it may not be as good as some other chips but it works great on my abit ip35 pro board.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "great processor for the gamer who buys their rig; however, you if you build yours chances are you've thought about overclocking it and this is not the processor for that.…" - Tigerdirect.com User |
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180
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45 People Recommend
"it exceeded my expectations in multitasking and gaming.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "(maybe less than 1 degree) if you are not serious gamer, this cpu is more than enough for everyday use!…" - Mwave.com User "other thoughts: can run crysis on all high, unreal 3 all high, bf2142 all high, and any other game i threw at it so far (while still on 2.95ghz) this is paired with 2gb ddr2, p35 board and a 3870…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel Dual Core E2160 1.80GHz LGA775 FSB800 1Mb
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$74 - $123
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37 People Recommend
"with a abit ip35 motherboard, i am able to run it stably at 360mhz which translates to 3240mhz processor speed!…" - Mwave.com User "other thoughts: i'm using this as a temporary processor in my gaming rig until the new penryns come out, then it will go in my home server.…" - Newegg.com User "low temps or at least according to my bios idle is 27?c and have yet to crank this sucker because of no internet to download testers or no video card to see what it is when under heavy gaming.…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz
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$176 - $230
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34 People Recommend
"other thoughts: i got a good deal for an abit ip35 pro with this processor, almost 150 bucks off retail, and i feel that it was a good buy for someone who considers what they do casual work or gaming.…" - Newegg.com User "it is great for everything from gaming and multi tasking to everyday computing.…" - Newegg.com User "great gaming/multitasking processor.…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 BX80557E4500SLA95
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$93 - $131
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29 People Recommend
"it can handle a lot of new games out there.…" - Mwave.com User "for a normal pc this is a must have is lighting fast, runs cool and you have 2 cores for spare power, if you are looking for a gaming machine in a tight budget you can overclock it pretty easily…" - Amazon.com User "ive got it running in 630i chipset board and its great for programs like photoshop, converting videos and moderate gaming.…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel Celeron 420 1.60GHz 800MHz FSB 512KB L2 Socket 775 Plus $25 off
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$35
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5 People Recommend
"hit a wall at 360 fsb with my 667 ram(the cheap stuff).…" - Newegg.com User "other thoughts: if your building a gaming rig don't waste your time with the 420.spend the extra 50 bux and get something better.…" - Newegg.com User "i'm blown away by how this chip performs in games, office apps and internet browsing.…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800
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$998
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5 People Recommend
"but nevertheless speed is still very impressive coupled with the right ram and motherboard as well as a nice video card and you will have a great gaming system on your hands.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "able to run intense applications with no sweat, even running a simulation intensive game like supreme commander, it never reaches more then 60-80% cpu.…" - Newegg.com User "rarely does it go over 37% load while gaming (which is amazing).…" - Newegg.com User |
Intel CORE2DUO/T7700/2.40GHZ/4M/800 MHZ/FCPGA6
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$149 - $383
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4 People Recommend
"i have not yet experienced any troubles with any games, programs or applications i have thrown at it.…" - Newegg.com User "it has a multitude of features which help it save battery life while *not gaming.*…" - Phifer at Newegg.com "runs "real world" programs as fast as my badax2/e6600@3600.…" - Newegg.com User |
AMD K6-2
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$139
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3 People Recommend
"my friend has a 4200+, but it's a single core, and i out preform him in all games thanks to the dual core.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "do an internet search on this cpu and you'll find favourable reviews, especially for gamers on a very tight budget.…" - Compusa.com User "no games, no videos, no myspace.…" - A Customer from Provo, UT at Buy.com |
Intel Core2 Duo E4500 2.20GHz
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$119
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3 People Recommend
"in our shop we build custom gaming rigs and amd has been our niche on the market.…" - Tigerdirect.com User "all my games work well…" - Tigerdirect.com User "if you just looking for an all around snappy pc with some subharddcore gaming this is a great cpu.…" - Tigerdirect.com User |
| Compare Top Processors for Gaming | All Gaming Processor Products | |
Tip: for more recommendations, try best Processors for "Laptops".
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Processors for Gaming Buying Guide
The processor is the workhorse of a computer, and for serious computer gamers, a powerful processor is a necessity. The bit size of a processor is the amount of instruction that a computer can handle at one time, and 64-bit processors are excellent if you intend to use your computer for playing games because they can handle much more information in a single computation than smaller, slower models.
AMD and Intel are the primary processor manufacturers. They both have processors that are duo core and quad core. Duo core essentially means that there is twice the processing power and quad core means that there is four times the processing power of single-core computers. Duo and quad core processors are both great for gaming, quad core being the highest end of computer technology for rendering games, 3-D graphics and other computation-intensive applications.
Besides the bit size and core type, one other feature to look for in a high-quality gaming processor is the cache size. The cache allows the processor to keep frequently used information handy in a local memory store so that it doesn’t have to waste precious processing cycles retrieving the information from more distant memory. The bigger the cache, the faster the processor can keep information flowing back out to the monitor.
The
newest generation processors are dual and quad core, they run cool
and quiet, and have lots of extra features such as enhanced virus
protection, virtualization technology and built-in thermal monitors
to prevent your computer from overheating. Choose the highest-quality processor that your budget allows, and enjoy hours of fast-paced, state-of-the-art entertainment.
