5 best CPUs for budget gaming under $100 in 2023

The best CPUs have become so incredibly cheap that you can get excellent value for less than $100. On the other hand, after the global pandemic, we recently experienced a significant cryptocurrency bubble that strained the supply chain and drove up the price of GPUs. Many gamers are now desperate for PC upgrades but cannot afford one of the most essential components of the system because of this.

Here are the 5 best CPUs you can purchase in 2023 for $100 or less.

AMD Ryzen 5 5500, Intel Core i3-12100F, and other best CPUs on the market

1) Intel Celeron G-5920 ($59.99)

Model	Intel Celeron G-5920
Core	2
Thread	2
Base Clock Frequency	3.5 GHz
Socket type	Intel LGA 1200

The Intel Celeron G-5920 has two CPU cores clocked at 3.5 GHz. It's one of the best CPUs if you're trying to build an Intel gaming PC on a limited budget, as it can also support DDR4 RAM clocked at up to 2666 MHz and contains 2 MB of L3 cache.

Pros

A significant upgrade from the Celeron predecessor.
Budget-friendly.

Cons

No hyper-threading.
No turbo boost.

2) Intel Core i3-10100F ($73)

Model	Intel Core i3-10100F
Core	4
Thread	8
Base Clock Frequency	3.6 GHz
Socket type	LGA 1200

The Intel Core i3-10100F is one of the best CPUs with a 4-core, 8-thread configuration for playing passable AAA games. Although this CPU lacks integrated graphics, it performs much better if you want to build a home office computer or play games frequently.

Despite not being overclockable, it adjusts the clock frequency based on its required usage.

Pros

Reasonable price.
Suitable for intermediate gaming.
At 65W, extremely energy-efficient.
Includes a CPU cooler without charging extra.

Cons

Average multi-tasking performance.
Multiplier locked.

3) AMD Ryzen 5 5500 ($96.99)

Model	AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Core	6
Thread	12
Base Clock Frequency	4.2 GHz
Socket type	Socket AM4

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is one of the best CPUs available, capable of delivering fast 100+ FPS performance in the most famous gaming titles. It lacks an integrated GPU but has six cores, twelve processing threads, and the AMD Wraith Stealth Cooler.

If you are a regular gamer looking for a production setup, the Ryzen 5 5500 is one of the best CPUs in this price range.

Pros

Decent FPS in popular gaming titles.
Zen 3.
TDP of 65W.
Reasonable efficiency in CPU-intensive tasks.
Budget-friendly.

Cons

Only 16 MB of cache.
No I/O Die like other Zen 3 CPUs.
No support for PCIe Zen 4.

4) AMD Athlon 200GE ($98.99)

Model	AMD Athlon 200GE
Core	2
Thread	4
Base Clock Frequency	3.2 GHz
Socket type	Socket AM4

The AMD Athlon 200GE is one of the best CPUs with built-in Vega graphics. it could be the stepping stone you need if you don't have enough money for a monster gaming PC build.

For $99, you get two cores and four threads clocked at 3.2 GHz, a TDP of only 35 watts, and built-in Vega 3 graphics with three compute units. Unfortunately, there are no overclocking options for 200GE, and you can't get your DDR4 memory to run faster than 2666 MHz.

The Vega 3 graphics provide true power in terms of performance. While you might not get the best FPS out of the newest AAA games in 4K, you can certainly get playable FPS in popular esports titles. Importantly, if your display is compatible with AMD FreeSync, the performance will elevate to the next level.

Pros

Decent integrated graphics at this price.
Low power consumption.
Includes a CPU cooler without any additional cost.
AM4 socket with high flexibility.

Cons

Underwhelming multi-tasking performance.
Small stock cooler.

5) Intel Core i3-12100F ($99.99)

Model	Intel Core i3-12100F
Core	4
Thread	8
Base Clock Frequency	4.3 GHz
Socket type	LGA 1700

The Intel Core i3-12100F is one of the best CPUs currently on the market. It has four cores and eight threads, which produce a satisfying gaming experience while enabling the system to run multiple applications simultaneously without any lag.

Its base frequency is 3.30 GHz, and thanks to Turbo Boost 2.0 technology, the highest turbo frequency can be as high as 4.30 GHz. The Core i3-12100F is one of the best CPUs for content creators and gamers who want an amazing in-game experience.

Pros