When building your own computer, you generally start by choosing a CPU platform to base it on. CPUs today cost anywhere from $80 up to $1000, and there’s so many models to choose from, it’s tough to know which is the best at the price you can afford. Even if you’re buying a pre-built computer, it can still be useful to know how powerful its CPU is in relation to the overall cost of the system.

Understanding Model Numbers

CPUs often have a model name, followed by a model number, such as the Athlon II X3 450. Its model name is Athlon II X3, and its model number is 450, a reference to its processing power relative to other Athlon II X3’s. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to compare processors that don’t share a model name. For example, the Intel Core i5-2500k is actually faster than the Core i7-930, despite the Core i7 being the superior chip series overall. Below is a useful chart for comparing all of the modern processors on the market today, both Intel and AMD. These models rankings also carry over well to their laptop counterparts.

Best CPU for about $80: AMD Athlon II X3 450

The X3 450 is a very affordable triple-core CPU, and while it’s not the fastest of AMD’s tri-core offerings, it is capable of essentially all general computing needs and is even suitable for some semi-high end gaming. It will, however, be much slower with CPU intensive tasks such as video transcoding or advanced photo editing.

Best CPU for $100: AMD Athlon II X4 635

The X4 635 is very similar to the X3 450 except that it has 4 cores instead of 3. This allows for better multitasking in your everyday computing environment as well as improved gaming performance. It too is not best suited for more advanced computing tasks, though.

Best CPU for $120: Intel Core i3-2100

While it’s actually only a dual-core processor, the Core i3-2100 does have Hyperthreading, which allows it to act as though it has 4 cores. This, along with Intel’s advanced architecture makes it a bit faster than AMD’s similarly priced quad-core offerings. Still, the i3 series is best suited for general computing and moderate gaming.

Best CPU for $190: Intel Core i5-2400

There are a lot of great CPUs available between $120 and $190, like AMD’s Phenom II X4 955, most do not offer enough of a performance increase over the Core i3-2100 to be considered a good buy. Closer to the $200 price range is the Core i5-2400, a full-fledged quad-core processor great for almost all computing tasks from general productivity to high-end gaming.

Best CPU for $220: Intel Core i5-2500k

For about $30 more, you can get a slightly more future proof version of the i5-2400. The Core i5-2500k isn’t even 10% faster than the 2400, but in the hands of a proper computer nerd, it can be configured to run significantly faster. For most though, the cheaper 2400 will be plenty.

Best CPU for $330: Intel Core i7-2600k

Even though more expensive CPUs exist, the Core i7-2600k is among the most powerful. As a quad-core processor with Hyper-threading, it can act as an 8-core beast, great for intensive gaming and heavy processing, such as for 3D rendering and video transcoding.