Gaming CPUs Under $100: Top Picks for 2022
In the world of contemporary gaming, a powerful Central Processing Unit (CPU) is crucial to enhance game performance, response times, and overall gaming experience. However, high-end CPUs can be costly. But fear not, gaming enthusiasts! This article focuses on the best gaming CPUs available under $100, catering to both budget-conscious gamers and those looking to upgrade their current setup affordably.
1. AMD Ryzen 3 3100
Kicking off our list is AMD’s Ryzen 3 3100. This budget-friendly offering from AMD boasts four cores and eight threads, providing ample power for running modern games. Its base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and turbo clock speed of up to 4.3 GHz allow for smooth multi-threading, resulting in improved gaming performance. Outfitted with 6MB of L3 cache, the Ryzen 3 3100 ensures an efficient and fast data retrieval, making it suitable for a diverse range of games.
2. AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
Next, we have the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, a highly versatile budget CPU that successfully combines processing power and graphic capabilities. This APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) features Zen+ architecture, integrated Vega 11 graphics, four cores, and eight threads—making it a great option for those looking to save on a dedicated graphics card. The 3400G offers impressive gaming performance for its price point, but it shines especially well while handling less demanding titles.
3. Intel Core i3-10100
Transitioning to the Intel side of gaming CPUs, the Intel Core i3-10100 is a solid pick for budget-conscious gamers. This entry-level processor boasts four cores and eight threads, allowing it to manage modern games quite well. The i3-10100 has a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz, which can boost up to 4.3 GHz under heavy load, making it an ideal choice for gamers seeking a responsive and smooth gaming experience.
4. AMD Athlon 3000G
Lastly, we will discuss the AMD Athlon 3000G, an affordable yet powerful budget gaming CPU. Despite its budget-friendly price, it still boasts Zen architecture, two cores, and four threads, making it competitive with Intel’s offerings in performance and multi-tasking capabilities. With a modest base and turbo clock speed of 3.5 GHz and 3.8 GHz, respectively, the Athlon 3000G is a surprisingly capable budget gaming CPU that can handle current games, especially less recently-released titles.
In conclusion, while high-end CPUs may seem appealing, these budget-friendly options provide viable alternatives for modern gaming. Each of these CPUs brings its unique strengths and cater to specific preferences, ensuring that every gamer can find the right fit under $100. It’s important to remember to consider other components — such as RAM and dedicated GPUs — when building or upgrading a gaming setup to secure optimal overall performance.
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The 12100 is an absolute monster. I flip computers so when I test in games, it regularly beats the i9-9900 (Non K-Variant).
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I will say the ryzen 5 5500 is a good cpu and i got it paired with a xfx rx6600 and its a really good pair
So would you rather you 12100f or 5500 for rtx 4060?
Would you choose 6core 12 threads without pcie gen4 or 4core 8 threads with pcie gen4?
I bought a 10100f and regret it really hard. That I have the same fps in performance mode fn and high setting with a 1070 speaks for itself
You can run gen4 cards on gen3 pcie with minimal performance if not nothing
Ryzen 5 5500 paired with a 6600xt on 1080p has 0% bottleneck and is an amazing pair.
this gotta be some of the worst advice ive ever heard
CPU's reads as "Cpu is" stop using incorrect apostrophes.
I'm here to tell you that these lower-end processors work awesomely well for Linux gaming! They have great support under Linux, and with the smaller system footprint that many distributions have, you're going to have a lot more resources to throw at your games. The compatibility layers that Linux uses for Windows-based software have gotten so good at this point that you're going to get as good or better performance (in some cases). I've been going between Windows and Linux for a few years now, and honestly, I'm not missing Windows all that much with respect to gaming (or anything else I do with computers)!!
Hey Toasty Bros. Heart and pin pls. I used your optiplex builds. and somehome worked around the propeitary** things. i slapped in an asus dual 1060 and i got a gaming pc flip in a beautiful case. this isnt my main but it was a great gift for my friend. May do it again. Or buy one of your pre builts 😉
Pcie 4 vs pcie 3 does not make a noticable difference in gaming. Look up several videos. Pcie 3 vs pcie 4 vs pcie 5. 5 to 3 is sometimes 5%+ frames but 3 to 4 is not detectable without msi afterburner or some frame counter.
Pretty sure LGA 1700 cpu supports PCIe 5.0
Yes the i3-12100f is the best for budget and works best with multitasking while gaming
Yo ,what is my i9 10900k compared to in terms of performance
imagine gaming on a celeron
Prices are crazy everywhere but I do agree with the line up
But what graphics cards for the last 2 😢😢 I got a i3 10100 with a gtx 1650 super .. it's that Bueno oh no Bueno 🤦♂️
thoughts on ryzen 5 3600 ?
Wanna know smth? The i3 14100f is only $110 on Amazon. 👍👍👍
I have a 5500 and a 3070 with a bottle neck but it's still pretty good you can pair the 5500 with a 3060
Hey toasty bros can a 3050rtx work with a 550w. Power supply
Im trying to rebuild a Alienware Aurora R10 ryzen edition PC my friend gave me for free and its missing the cpu and gpu.
I can't test if it works because I don't have a ryzen cpu or a another gpu.
It came with a 1000 watt psu that works at least 👍
R5 5500 with an RX 500 series?? You can easily go up to an RX6600XT with the R5 5500 with little to no issues in terms of a bottleneck and if you go used that's an easy £400-£550 build. The only little issue I could see is if you are trying to do a CPU intensive task, but even then the 5500 is capable, and it shouldn't hold back a 6600XT beyond just a handful of marginal frames during anything graphically intensive, and if it stutters a bit (like a lot of games do with an uncapped frame rate and a slight CPU bottleneck) just cap the FPS at your lowest value for a good time.
It’s not worth spending $100 on a cpu. Save your money.
Me using rx 7600 and ryzen 5 5500 😅
(I swear it works fine and from what I have tested there is little to no bottleneck) the gen 4 support I did not know about till after I got it.
Hey, what is the best gpu for the r5 5500? I currently have rx580, b450, 650w psu
Bro forgot about the i5 12400f. It's a little over 100 bucks, but I will suggest you to push your budget a little bit and get this one.
You can pair rtx 30 series with r5 5500 no problem
Dude, I have i911900k and RTX 4070 and EVERYTHING runs without ANY bottlenecking or issues! And i911900k is not even a 4th gen…
Don't use bottleneck calculators for the love of god, lmao
The 12100f is a 4 core cpu….
Just the extra money a ryzen 5 5600 or get used ryzen 5 3600 for cheaper both have gen 4 support. Just please stop recommending the 5500 there’s better options if you want AM4 on a budget and still get pcie 4.0
Where ryzen 3😢😢😢
I would go used in this case bcs at least in our country for 100 bucks u can have something like Ryzen 5 5600 which Is way better than any of these cpus
Can u give me a free pc
I got an i3 6th gen that’s it no letters just the gen
You forgot i5 10400f 99$ on Amazon prime shipping
5600x tray is currently available in German for 99.95€