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What CPU for my new build for gaming ?

On a budget I'd point you towards either:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail - £104.99

or for a £15 less...

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail - £89.99

Fantastic prices for performance.
 
There's essentially 3 sensible price points right now:

1) Athlon II X4 640 (~£70)
2) Phenom II X4 955BE or Core i3-2320 (~£100)
3) Core i5-2500K (~£170)
 
If I was buying today I'd get a 2500K, although it is somewhat disappointing to see that the price hasn't fallen since launch.

If budget is a big issue then you'll be better off saving on the cpu rather than the gpu. e.g. a £170 graphics card paired with a £100 cpu will be a lot better than a £100 graphics card paired with a £170 cpu.
 
On a budget I'd point you towards either:

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail - £104.99

or for a £15 less...

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail - £89.99

Fantastic prices for performance.

why?
 
Don't let the AMD 955 or 965 be suppressed by the Intel fanatics!...

The AMD cpus mentioned before runs everything on highest.

If the i5 matched or came very close to matching I'd definitely say go for it... otherwise get the AMD cpu with an AM3+ ready motherboard and prepare for bulldozer!
 
Don't let the AMD 955 or 965 be suppressed by the Intel fanatics!...

The AMD cpus mentioned before runs everything on highest.

If the i5 matched or came very close to matching I'd definitely say go for it... otherwise get the AMD cpu with an AM3+ ready motherboard and prepare for bulldozer!

But doesn't the i3 2100 beat both those Phenoms in gaming benchmarks?

Source
 
But doesn't the i3 2100 beat both those Phenoms in gaming benchmarks?

Source

955BE can be overclocked and I believe at ~3.8GHz it matches or just beats the i3-2100. Assuming you get an AM3+ compatible motherboard, you'll be able to upgrade to a better CPU in the future either way so it's kind of a toss-up.
 
Show me...

dont be obtuse - he means a 2500K based system, not the whole rig!

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £167.99

MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £89.98

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3P1333LV4GK) £29.99

Total : £299.35
 
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