12 Best Budget CPU to Buy in 2024
May. 24, 2023Things to Remember Before Buying CPU
Ensure that you confirm compatibility with your motherboard by checking which CPU socket you have. You need to do this before you decide which CPUs to consider. Do note that for many CPUs, you might need toupdate the BIOSas well. We have mentioned the motherboard socket for each CPU below.
1. AMD Ryzen 5 7600 & 7600X – Best Budget AMD CPUs for AM5
The Ryzen 5 7600 and 7600X are two of the cheapest AM5 CPUs in the market. I’m quite eager to have AMD release many more affordable CPUs for the AM5 socket. The Ryzen 5 7600 and 7600X both are excellent budget CPUs, and I consider them the best budget AMD CPUs to buy right now. You get 6 cores and 12 threads, and it’s fast for any task you throw at it, whether it be for content creation or gaming.
The performance is as per modern standards. The multi-core performance is on par or sometimes stronger than older Ryzen 7 chips (due to each core being stronger), sodon’t take the Ryzen 5 branding lightly. It is also available for under $200 at times. AMD has also added an integrated GPU on the newRyzen 7000 CPUs, which is a welcome addition.
If you are looking for a budget processor that features both a capable CPU & GPU, look towards the Ryzen 8000G APU, which we will talk about later. If you have a CPU cooler already, pick the Ryzen 5 7600X. But if you are looking for a CPU with a stock cooler, the Ryzen 5 7600 includes one.ProsConsPromised upgrade path to Ryzen 8000Only compatible with DDR5 Motherboards (AM5 Socket)Most affordable AM5 CPUFast multi-core & single-core performance
Buy from Amazon:Ryzen 7 7600X ($220.44)Buy from BestBuy: Ryzen 7 7600 ($229.00)
The 14th Gen Core i5-14500 is an excellent choice for those who want a budget-centric Intel CPU. Due to Intel’s limited upgradability potential onLGA 1700, this CPU sits a notch below its Ryzen competitor. But performance-wise, this is the overall best-performing CPU on this list and should receive heavy consideration from you under the $250 price range.
The Core i5-14500 comes withRaptor Lake featureslikeIntel Thread Director and the hybrid P-Core and E-Core design. There are 14 cores and 20 threads and its performance is quite comparable to the Core i7-12700!
This 14th Gen Intel CPU is on par with the Ryzen 5 7600 overall, however, it is much better than the Ryzen 5 7600 in terms of multi-core performance. The CPU delivers impressive gaming and content creation performance. Moreover, being a new-gen processor with overall faster cores, it’s better than some older i7s (counting from 11th Gen).ProsConsFast multi-core & single-core performanceUpgrade path limitedOffers highest multi-core CPU performance in this price rangeCompatible with both DDR4 & DDR5 RAM motherboards (LGA 1700 Socket)
Buy from Amazon: Intel Core i5-14500 ($239.99)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D came out recently as the latest addition to the Ryzen 5000 series. This is a more affordable CPU compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and is available for under $250, making it the best budget gaming CPU! The onboard3D V-Cache accelerates performancein games and benchmarks suggest it iseven fasterthan the Intel Core i5-13600K!
Note that you should buy this processor only if you are looking for a CPU that gives you maximized gaming performance. Those who seek better CPU computing performance in general (single-core/ multi-core) look towards non-3D V-Cache processors.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads with aboost clock of 4.10GHz. By the way, since this processor doesn’t come with a stock cooler, so check out thebest CPU coolersto buy here!
Buy from Amazon:AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D ($244.00)Buy from BestBuy: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D ($249.00)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X offers you the most amount of cores in the budget price segment. To put it simply, you get 8 cores and 16 threads, and it offers a ton of performance at an attractive price. Compared to the launch price of $299, people can now buy the CPU at nearly a 30% discount.
The Ryzen 5 5700X is the best CPU under $200 with its high core count. This is one of the budget CPU options if your preference is a processor that would benefit workloads like content creation since the higher multi-core performance will come under use. Gaming is also great on these CPUs.
Also, since this CPU is supported on the AM4 socket, if you have an older AMD motherboard such as B450 or B350 you can easily upgrade to this CPU as long as theVRMs on your motherboardare sufficient for it.ProsConsDecent multi-core & single-core performance with high core countUpgrade path is limitedCompatible with a wide range of AM4 motherboards
Buy from Amazon: Ryzen 7 5700X ($168.49)Buy from BestBuy: Ryzen 7 5700X ($209.00)
One disadvantage of this CPU is thatit doesn’t have integrated graphics. If you are looking for a cheap AM4 AMD CPU, this might not be the cheapest option, but it’s worth paying the premium to get the Zen 3 cores. These CPUs offer enough performance for a variety of tasks, be it for creative or gaming use cases.
The Ryzen 5 5600 & 5600X CPUs also perform better than the newly launched Ryzen 5 5700 (non-X), which is a little weird, but you canread about ithere. These Ryzen 5 processors are pretty much the best affordable CPU for gaming!ProsConsStrong single-core performance, decent at multi-coreUpgrade path is limitedCompatible with a wide range of AM4 motherboards
Buy from Amazon: Ryzen 5 5600X ($154.08)Buy from Amazon: Ryzen 5 5600 ($134.99)
If you prefer Team Blue, this is the value budget CPU you can get from Intel. You can easily consider this CPU for your mid-range PC and get decent performance in the Adobe Creative Suite or gaming.
Buy from Amazon: Core i5-12400 ($159.49)Buy from Amazon: Core i5-12400F ($148.99)
The Core i3-14100 and 14100F are the cheapest Intel CPUs you can buy that are part of the new 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh lineup. Now that we are in the i3 territory, multi-core performance is not that substantial, but you could still get away with using it for some light content creation workloads. The gaming performance potential with these CPUs is stillquite satisfactory and will serve you well with a budget or even a mid-range graphics card.
So, for many people, the performance won’t be too far behind when compared to a Core i5. You get4 cores and 8 threads, and in the past, i3 variants did not feature these many cores. It’s great to see you can get a quad-core CPU that is hyper-threaded as well in the form of an Intel Core i3. I very well remember that my first desktop CPU was an i3-6100, and it only had 2 cores and 4 threads.
Buy from Amazon: Core i3-14100 ($139.99)Buy from Amazon: Core i3-14100F ($119.99)
The Ryzen 5 8500G is an APU – a specialized processor that also focuses on offering you a decent bit of graphical horsepower in addition to the CPU power. You can read all aboutCPU vs APU here. The onboard Radeon graphics are quite decent on the new AMD Ryzen 8000G processors, being capable of entry-level gaming without a dedicated GPU.
Overall, the processor provides capable performers for mid-range PCs. Buy this CPU for its special use-case: you won’t need dedicated graphics as it has in-built Radeon graphics which perform better than most other iGPUs of other best budget CPU options.
You can upgrade your PC build with a GPU while still utilizing the Ryzen 5 8500G, but note that its performance is worse than CPUs costing similar but without a capable iGPU like the Radeon 740M that this Ryzen APU from AMD features.ProsConsDecent multi-core & single-core performance for the priceLower overall performance compared to non-APU optionsintegrated Radeon GPU is better than most iGPUs, capable of entry-level gaming
Buy from Amazon: Ryzen 5 8500G ($179.00)Buy from BestBuy: Ryzen 5 8500G($179.00)
AMD’s Ryzen 5 4600G is an excellent processor to buy for around $100. While the Ryzen 3 3200G costs less, this is a more worthy budget CPU with stronger performance. This particular processor is also an APU, so it doesn’t just give you a good-budget CPU. There is a relativelydecentintegrated Radeon GPUin this APU. If you need an integrated GPU to be included with your processor, then this should receive more consideration than the Ryzen 5 5500 listed below.
It features6 cores with 12 threads, and a boost clock going up to 4.20 GHz. Paired with faster memory (the sweet spot for DDR4 is 3200/3600MHz), the APU will perform better. The included Radeon graphics also offers some entry-level gaming potential.
You can also consider upgrading from this model to something in the Ryzen 5000 series, including the options listed above.ProsConsCompatible with a wide range of AM4 motherboardsUpgrade path is limitedDecent multi-core & single-core performance for the priceLower overall performance compared to non-APUsintegrated Radeon GPU is better than most iGPUs
Buy from Amazon: Ryzen 5 4600G ($114.99)
Being Core i3s, they don’t offer a lot of multi-core performance but are quite decent for the price you pay. You get 4 cores and 8 threads, and this was not common in Intel Core i3 CPUs at some point in the past. But presently, Intel has been offering 4-cores in their i3 models for multiple generations.ProsConsStrong single-core performanceUpgrade path limited till Intel 14th Gen (LGA 1700)Compatible with DDR4 & DDR5 RAM motherboards
Buy from Amazon: Core i3-12100 ($116.49)Buy from Amazon: Core i3-12100F ($96.99)
AMD Ryzen 5500 is in an awkward position because while it’s part of the 5000-series lineup theperformance is more in line with the 3000-series(like Ryzen 5 3600). It’s also marginally slower than the Intel Core i3 option listed above. It’s still a decent processor to buy for the price, powered by 6 cores and 12 threads.
Ryzen 5500 will perform decently with games or content creation workloads but expect nothing too special. Moreover, being an AM4 CPU, you can update the BIOS of an older generation motherboard such as B350/B450 and use this processor on it.
The only drawback is that integrated graphics (iGPU) is not included in this CPU. So if you are looking for a budget CPU that will also save you the cost of adding a GPU, consider other options such as the #9 option. Still, as I said it’s a decent CPU to buy for the price and one of the best budget CPUs under $100. There’s also the Ryzen 5 4600G available for under $100, but it’s better to spend the extra few bucks and buy the 5600G we have suggested in the list above.
Buy from Amazon($99.00)
Frequently Asked Questions
An Intel Core i3 or Ryzen APU (such as the 5600G) are the best everyday-use CPUs. On a budget, the Intel Celeron can work decently too. The overall performance and features support on new processors are much better, so it’s not very advisable to go for older i7 or i5 CPUs.
AMD Ryzen 5 & Intel Core i5 are on par with each other, and both offer similar performance levels. To judge which processor is better, the user must look at the multi-core & single-core benchmarks of the CPUs.
The Intel Celeron & AMD Athlon CPUs are the slowest, and Intel’s Core i9 & AMD Ryzen 9 are the fastest CPUs.
Intel’s Core i5 and AMD’s Ryzen 5 CPUs are the best budget gaming CPUs available – try to get the latest models, and you won’t have any bottleneck issues with GPUs up to the RTX 4070 Ti.
The best CPU available at a low price for mixed usage (gaming, everyday tasks) would be the Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 models. But if you want the cheapest CPU, look for the Intel Celeron & Pentium processors.
The Ryzen 5 4500 and 5500 CPUs are currently one of the cheapest processors with 6 cores, but the cores themselves are not very strong. A highly recommended modern CPU called the Ryzen 5 7600 is based on the latest architecture and costs around $250.
Highly passionate about technology. Major expertise in PC hardware, the VR industry, esports-centric gear, and other gadgets. In my spare time, I’m usually researching exciting hardware breakthroughs or playing competitive games.
