High-end CPUs always take the limelight for being the "best gaming CPUs", but it's generally the budget/entry-level CPUs which generally sell the most. The majority of the gaming community does not go for flagship chips like Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Intel Core i9 14900K, but they tend to settle for a CPU for just under $200. If you look closely at the best-selling CPUs in retail stores like Amazon, the top 10 CPUs consist mostly of budget processors for the same reason.
This is not just because of budget constraints, but also because the price-to-performance ratio doesn't improve drastically when opting for premium chips. CPUs have improved drastically in bringing top-notch specifications, featuring a high core/thread count, higher clock speeds, and superior architecture in recent years without costing an arm and a leg.
One of the best improvements seen in budget CPUs is their capability to handle higher-end GPUs without introducing any bottlenecks. This is the exact reason why choosing an expensive processor isn't necessary for maximizing your PC's potential in modern titles. If you are in search of such a processor, here are our top picks, carefully chosen from the currently best-performing chips from the latest AMD and Intel lineups.
Latest Update: 23rd October, 2025:- Replaced several entries with newer and faster processors that are available on the market.
Top Picks for the Best Budget Gaming CPUs in 2025
Best Overall: AMD Ryzen 5 7500F
| Architecture | Socket | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Base/Boost | iGPU | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen 4 | AM5 | 6/12 | 32 MB | 3.7/5.0 GHz | N/A | 65W |
| PROS | CONS |
| + Impressive gaming performance | - No integrated graphics |
| + Excellent value | - Not ideal to pair with high-end GPUs |
| + Overclockable | |
| + Stock cooler included |
There is no other CPU that matches the gaming performance of Ryzen 5 7500F for its price. While initially launched as an OEM-exclusive, it has already started selling on multiple retailers around the globe for a price tag of around $150. Ryzen 5 7500F is the smaller sibling of the Ryzen 5 7600X, but you may have guessed that it brings slightly lower clocks and also no iGPU, as evident from the "F" designation. Even though integrated graphics can be convenient for various reasons, we think that when you are already buying a discrete GPU for gaming, this should be no issue.
Ryzen 5 7500F keeps most of its specifications from the 7600X, but the clock range is wider. Ryzen 7600X can maintain higher clocks out of the box, but 7500F is more efficient and starts at 3.7 GHz. Still, it manages to give fierce competition to the 7600X even when paired with high-end GPUs. That said, if you are buying a $150 processor, we don't expect you to be pairing it with an RTX 5090. However, even if you are getting a mid-range GPU like RTX 5070 or RX 9070 XT, you should see almost as good performance with the 7500F as you will see on newer Ryzen processors.
Best Alternate: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
| Architecture | Socket | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Base/Boost | iGPU | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen 5 | AM5 | 6/12 | 32 MB | 3.9/5.4 GHz | RDNA 2, Two cores | 65W-105W |
| PROS | CONS |
| + Impressive gaming and non-gaming performance | - Poor generational uplifts in gaming |
| + Runs cooler than predecessor | - Not the most cost-effective solution |
| + Handles high-end GPUs easily | |
| + Power-efficient |
AMD's Zen 5 architecture brought some noticeable improvements through restructuring Zen 4, and the result is a 16% IPC uplift over the latter. Unfortunately, we do not see that in gaming since IPC doesn't really tell the whole story, but Ryzen 5 9600X does bring slightly higher gaming performance than 7600X. In our tests, we found Ryzen 5 9600X delivering 2-5% better performance in modern titles, which may not look impressive on paper, but it does that by consuming less power.
Originally, the Ryzen 5 9600X was rated at 65W, which is a 40W reduction in TDP compared to 7600X, but with extended TDP to 105W, which AMD allowed via a BIOS update in the second half of 2024, the 9600X started to show its true colors. The 9600X not only brings superior architecture, but it is also able to sustain higher clocks. In gaming, it's noticeably faster than the 7500F as well, but only when you are comparing both by using an enthusiast-grade GPU like RTX 4090 or 5090.
For a $200 gaming processor, a $500-$600 GPU works incredibly well, and you will have possibly the best possible gaming performance with this configuration at 1440p. And of course, as the 9600X is faster than the 7500F in productivity, you have more advantages. Moreover, an integrated GPU is available that can come in handy when you need to troubleshoot.
Best for Productivity/Gaming: Intel Core i5 14600K
| Family | Socket | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Base/Boost | iGPU | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raptor Lake Refresh | LGA 1700 | 14 (6+8)/20 | 24 MB | 3.5/5.3 GHz (P-Core), 2.6/4.0 GHz (E-Core) | Intel UHD 770 | 125W |
| PROS | CONS |
| + Unbeatable productivity | - Power hungry |
| + Trades blows with Ryzen 9600X | - Needs good cooling solution |
| + Excellent overclockability | - Needs a good cooling solution |
| + Terrific price-to-performance ratio |
Intel Core i5 14600K is literally the best possible chip at the current price tag of just over $200. The processor did see sub-$200 prices recently, but due to high demand, it's difficult to find it at that price. Even at $200, it's still a steal, considering you are getting a significant number of cores vs AMD counterparts. Even if you don't need extra cores, the 14600K goes head-to-head with 9600X in gaming benchmarks, and we have seen it delivering frame rates as high as the i7 14700K.
Core i5 14600K has superb advantages at this price tag, especially in the productivity field, where it has no competition in content creation or any other CPU-intensive professional work. It is even compatible with several generations of motherboards as well as both DDR4 and DDR5 memories, giving you ample choices to go with for building the most value-packed gaming machine. 14600K uses a hybrid architecture and can sustain higher clocks for a long time, but that does result in higher power consumption and more heat generation.
Assuming you are ready with a good AIO or dual-tower air CPU cooler, it shouldn't be a big deal, but the 14600K may not be the best when it comes to frames per watt comparison. There are more reasons why a lot of gamers still choose to go with the 9600X despite the i5 14600K having more cores.
Best APU: AMD Ryzen 5 8600G
| Architecture | Socket | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Base/Boost | iGPU | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen 4 | AM5 | 6/12 | 16 MB | 4.3/5.0 GHz | Radeon 760M | 65W |
| PROS | CONS |
| + The fastest APU under $200 | - Just 16MB of L3 cache |
| + Satisfactory 1080p performance | - Gaming on ultra still not possible(especially in modern titles) |
| + Overclockable | - Lackluster performance with discrete GPUs |
| + AMD FreeSync support |
AMD's continuous efforts improved its Zen architecture to the point where it became possible to game without a discrete GPU. Gaming on ultra settings might not be achievable at the moment, but you can certainly tweak a few graphical presets to get consistent 40-60 fps at 1080p. One of the best APUs to get is AMD Ryzen 5 8600G, which brings a fair balance of price and performance, unlike its bigger sibling, the 8700G, which is priced ridiculously high for a small performance increase.
Ryzen 8600G is based on the same Zen 4 architecture as the Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs but the major difference is its iGPU, which is based on RDNA 3 architecture instead of RDNA 2 on the 7000 series SKUs. The iGPU, Radeon 760M, is the sole reason why, despite the inferior CPU specifications of the 8600G, it makes it a solid choice for budget PC builders who want to skip on the discrete GPU. Of course, it's possible to add a dGPU later on, but the Radeon 760M isn't just another integrated graphics that can only power your monitor.
With 8 GPU cores clocked at a good 2.8GHz, not only does the Radeon 760M support up to 8K resolution at 60Hz, but it also supports up to 4 monitors at the same time. In gaming tests, expect it to deliver 40-60 fps in most titles on medium settings. With Hyper-RX enabled, the result can change drastically, enhancing the performance by up to 20%. This results in almost twice the performance numbers as you would get with the fastest Ryzen APU in the previous generation, i.e., the Ryzen 5700G.
Best Dirt-Cheap: Intel Core i3 14100F
| Family | Socket | Cores/Threads | L3 Cache | Base/Boost | iGPU | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raptor Lake Refresh | LGA 1700 | 4/8 | 12 MB | 3.5/4.7 GHz | N/A | 58W |
| PROS | CONS |
| + Handles powerful GPUs without struggling much | - Quad-core configuration |
| + Easier to cool (stock heatsink is enough) | - No iGPU |
| + Possibly the best cheapest gaming CPU | |
| + Possibly the best, cheapest gaming CPU |
We have another Raptor Lake Refresh CPU on the list, but choosing the best "dirt-cheap" processor wasn't easy. On one hand, we have the Intel Core i3-14100F, a quad-core processor that people often tend to overlook due to its fewer cores, and on the other hand, we have the Zen 3-based Ryzen 5 5500, which surprisingly is among the top five best-selling CPUs on retailers like Amazon. We don't blame Ryzen 5 5500 users; they chose it over the i3 14100F since they considered multiple factors, and the lower core count on the i3 is definitely off-putting.
However, in real-world gaming tests, the Core i3 14100F is almost as good as the Ryzen 5 5600/5600X. With some overclocking, the gap remains hardly 2-3%, and that's why the i3 14100F makes a much smarter choice if you are only looking at purely "gaming" workloads. Ryzen 5 5500 is a big downgrade over Ryzen 5600 or 5600X, as apart from nerfing the clocks, the CPU also has half the L3 cache, and this affects its gaming prowess to the point that the difference between Ryzen 5500 and Ryzen 5600 is nearly 15%.
The performance gap shrinks with budget GPUs, but even if you were to pair the Core i3 14100F with something like RTX 5070 or 5070 Ti, you will see it competing with more expensive six-core processors. At the end of the day, the Core i3 14100F not only comes out to be the fastest sub-$100 gaming CPU, but it also helps in squeezing the budget as it doesn't require an aftermarket cooling solution, and you can just pair it with any entry-level motherboard to save a good amount of money on your PC build.
Tips for Choosing the Best Budget Gaming CPU
Core/Thread Count: First and foremost, always look at the core and thread count of CPUs, and never settle for anything less than a 4-core/8-thread CPU. Even a 4-core/4-thread CPU will throttle your gaming performance as games are now able to leverage more cores than ever. Fewer cores increases the chances of bottlenecking, introducing significant GPU throttling and stuttering in games. 6 cores is the ideal core count you should settle for if you are on a budget, but as I said, 4 cores won't hurt if the processor has hyperthreading enabled. Cores more than 6 may or may not affect gaming performance, but have a productivity advantage.
Generation: As much as the specifications matter, the generational differences cannot be ignored. One of the best examples of a generational difference is going from Zen 3 to Zen 4. Even though we don't have the same generational uplifts going from Zen 4 to Zen 5, it's obvious from the benchmarks that Zen 5 is still faster due to architectural differences. Of course, price will always remain the key factor to decide the winner, and that's one of the reasons why Ryzen 5 7500F is at the top of our list.
Clock Speed & Cache: Simply put, clock speed tells you how many cycles a CPU can execute in a second and is measured in MHz or GHz. Higher clock speeds tend to favor video games, assuming you are comparing two different chips in the same generation. Sustained higher clocks are better for performance stability, but a good cooling solution is also necessary to ensure the same. On the other hand, L3 cache is often overlooked, but benchmarks have shown how higher L3 cache takes a processor at the top while processors like Ryzen 5 5500 remain unimpressive despite being one of the cheapest 6-core CPUs.
Overclocking Support: Some processors allow increasing the core clocks higher than the stock frequencies to enhance performance. These processors generally carry a particular naming scheme to indicate if they are overclockable or not. This is true for Intel CPUs, but AMD's Ryzen chips are all overclockable in general. Keep in mind that you also need a motherboard with a chipset that supports overclocking.
Power-Consumption: A budget processor that consumes 200W or higher is going to be a bad choice since the latest SKUs can do the same task for 100W or less. Higher power efficiency not only leads to lower electricity bills but also lower heat generation, which ultimately reduces the need for using a premium aftermarket cooling solution. While not the most important factor when choosing a budget CPU, it's recommended to look at how much performance/FPS per watt you can achieve with different processors.
FAQ
Do I need a discrete GPU with a budget gaming CPU?
In most cases, Yes. Budget CPUs cannot handle complex 3D rendering in games. Surely, some budget APUs can do this job better than regular CPUs, but they still come with various compromises.
Should I buy an aftermarket CPU cooler for a budget CPU?
Installing an aftermarket CPU cooler may be optional in some cases, recommended in others, and necessary in the rest. If your CPU is a locked SKU, meaning you can't overclock it, most likely it comes with a stock cooler, which will be sufficient for cooling. For CPUs that can overclock, it's recommended to get an aftermarket CPU cooler, and compulsory to buy one if it doesn't come with a stock cooler.
Can a budget gaming CPU handle the latest games?
Most modern budget CPUs can easily run the latest games since they offer enough cores/threads along with satisfactory specifications. Games are more GPU-oriented and therefore, the GPU choice will affect the gaming performance most, assuming you already have a decent budget CPU like the ones we have listed above.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
