GPU prices are still not affordable for the average person, so if you’re looking to improve your performance, a CPU upgrade can be a practical choice.
However, CPUs are also quite expensive, so finding a reasonably priced model that still offers a substantial increase over what you currently have can be difficult.
To help you decide on the best upgrade path, here are the five best budget CPUs that will offer excellent performance for a reasonable price.
1. Intel Core i5-12600K
- Evetech: R5,699
- Wootware: R5,699
- Matrix Warehouse Computers: R5,999
- Rebeltech: R5,799
At its price point, the i5-12600K is one of the leading CPUs and offers substantially better performance than its AMD counterpart – the Ryzen 7 5800X – at a slightly lower price tag.
The 12600K comes with six threaded P-cores, four E-cores, and 16 threads, along with support for DDR4 or DDR5 RAM.
However, the primary drawback is that you’ll need a 600-series motherboard to support this CPU, which can add to the price if you’re upgrading.
Despite this, the i5-12600k is the best budget CPU currently on the market as it offers superb performance at a lower cost than its competitors.
2. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- Evetech: Unavailable
- Wootware: R5,999
- Matrix Warehouse Computers: R9,000
- Rebeltech: R6,769
Although beaten out by the i5-12600K for performance and price, the Ryzen 7 5800X is still an excellent option for a CPU if you’d prefer AMD rather than Intel.
The 5800X boasts eight cores and 18 threads and massive performance increases over the previous-gen CPUs.
Unlike the i5-12600K, however, you probably won’t need to buy a new motherboard – which makes buying the Ryzen 7 5800X the cheaper option for most buyers.
3. Intel Core i5-11600K
- Evetech: R4,869
- Wootware: R4,653
- Matrix Warehouse Computers: R5,999
- Rebeltech: R4,709
The i5-11600K is one of Intel’s best CPUs for gaming, and is an excellent option for a processor upgrade given its reasonable price point
The 11600K boasts six cores and 12 threads and offers solid clock speeds.
Given this is an older CPU than the 12600K, you’ll probably not have to worry about upgrading your motherboard.
4. Intel Core i5-10600K
The third i5 on this list, the i5-10600K, provides everything you could need for gaming.
It has six cores and 12 threads that provide impressive performance at a very reasonable price tag.
Unfortunately, the 10600k has high high power consumption, due in part to using older technology, so you’ll have to check your power supply is up to the job.
5. AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
- Evetech: R4,499
- Wootware: R4,449
- Matrix Warehouse Computers: R5,429
- Rebeltech: R4,469
The Ryzen 5 5600G is an excellent alternative to the i5-10600K if you prefer AMD over Intel.
Like the 10600K, the 5600G has six cores and 12 threads with a high average frame rate for games.
Notably, the 5600G also has excellent integrated graphics, so if you are running a very old GPU, this could improve both your CPU and GPU performance.
Read: PlayStation is acquiring Haven Studios – with a live service title in the works.
