CPU Buyer's Guide: A Comprehensive Review of Budget Options

When it comes to building a budget-friendly computer, choosing the right CPU can be a daunting task. With so many options available in the market, it's essential to make an informed decision that meets your specific needs and budget. In this article, we'll take a closer look at some of the top budget CPUs currently available, including their features, performance, and pricing.

The Ryzen 3000 Series: A Solid Mid-Range Option

One of the most popular CPU options in the budget segment is the Ryzen 3000 series. Specifically, the Ryzen 3600 and Ryzen 3600X are excellent choices for those looking for a balance of CPU power and integrated graphics. The Ryzen 3600, which costs around $200, features six cores and 12 threads, making it an excellent option for content creators and gamers alike. Additionally, this CPU supports the latest PCI Express Gen 4 standard, providing faster storage speeds.

On the other hand, the Ryzen 3600X is a more recent launch that boasts two additional cores and a higher clock speed, resulting in better gaming performance. This CPU is also compatible with PCIe Gen 4, but its price tag comes out to around $250. While this may seem steep for some budgets, it's worth considering the improved performance and future-proofing capabilities.

The Ryzen 5000 Series: A New Generation of Performance

In recent times, AMD has introduced a new generation of CPUs called the Ryzen 5000 series, which boasts significant improvements in terms of performance, power efficiency, and manufacturing process. The Ryzen 5 5600X is one such example that offers seven nanometers architecture, two cores, and an impressive clock speed. Although this CPU comes at a higher price point ($300), it provides better gaming performance than its predecessors and supports the latest PCIe Gen 4 standard.

The AMD A Series: Integrated Graphics for Gaming

AMD has also introduced a range of APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) in the budget segment, which offer integrated graphics and improved CPU performance. The Ryzen 3400G is one such example that features four cores, eight threads, and integrated Vega graphics. While it's currently sold out due to high demand, this APU offers excellent value for those who want a balance of CPU and GPU performance without breaking the bank.

The Ryzen 3300X: An Upcoming Launch with Promise

Finally, we have the upcoming launch of the Ryzen 3300X, which promises to deliver four cores, eight threads, and a seven-nanometer chiplet. Although it's not yet available in the market, AMD has confirmed that this CPU will offer better single-core performance for gaming, making it an attractive option for those looking for a budget-friendly solution.

Choosing the Right CPU: What to Consider

When selecting a CPU, there are several factors to consider, including your budget, intended use case, and future-proofing needs. For budget-conscious buyers, the Ryzen 3000 series and AMD A Series offer excellent value for money. However, if you're looking for more advanced features like PCIe Gen 4 support or improved gaming performance, the Ryzen 5000 series may be worth considering.

In conclusion, choosing the right CPU can seem overwhelming, but by understanding the different options available in the budget segment, you'll be better equipped to make an informed decision that meets your needs and budget. Whether you're looking for a balance of CPU power and integrated graphics or more advanced features like PCIe Gen 4 support, there's a wide range of affordable options to choose from.

Links to Build Guides, Parts List Recommendations, and Other Helpful Videos

Once you've selected the perfect CPU for your build, be sure to check out our comprehensive build guides, which provide step-by-step instructions on how to assemble your system. We also offer parts list recommendations and other helpful videos that will help you make the most of your budget.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys and welcome to my budget cpu buyer's guide it is spring 2020 and I don't think there's ever been a time when you could get this much power in a budget system I'm focusing on the CPUs today but fulle builds based on these parts can be assembled for around 350 to $600 the CPUs I'm talking about today are 50 to 150 dollars I'm gonna start by going over the most important specs to look at and what they mean and I have build guides linked in the video description down below to help you assemble your PC once you choose a CPU so let's get started the dart core RGB Pro is a premium wireless gaming mouse from Corsair with a long list of features like an 18,000 dpi low-power picsArt optical sensor for maximum precision with minimal power usage attractive nine zone dynamic RGB backlighting and a comfortable contoured shape with two interchangeable side grips included connect wirelessly via Corsairs sub 1 millisecond slipstream technology via bluetooth for convenience on the go or wired via USB see durable armor on switches up to 50 hours of battery life eight fully programmable buttons and more so click the sponsor link in the description for details so you might notice I only have AMD processors right here so the question might come to mind why am I only showing AMD processors right now why not Intel there's a lot to be said about why but I think the short answer boils down to three facts price performance and upgrade path I think AMD CPUs are more competitively priced than Intel's right now and you typically get more cores and threads for your money because of those extra cores and threads performance is usually better with AMD CPUs at the same price point gaming performance is the area where Intel still held the lead up until the launch of third gen Rison processors last year when AMD closed the gap with their 7 nanometre CPUs to be fair Intel has an upcoming launch of LGA 1200 motherboards and CPUs that are known as comet Lake s they're based on 40 nanometer manufacturing process but they should be launching within a month or two so that might slightly change the scenario depending on how those perform the third reason though is that AMD has been launching processors for the am4 socket that's a feature of the motherboards since 2017 and they've done an admirable job of maintaining forward and backward compatibility and they still have more as n3 cpus set to launch for the amp or socket later this year or so they tell us has led to some confusion however since there are so many CPUs that will slot into the same aim for motherboards and hence this guide let's refresh some of the basics though for anyone who has no idea what I mean when I'm talking about cores threads seven nanometer and a few of the other common PC terminologies CPUs perform calculations and to help them do more of them at a time they have multiple cores think of each core as its own little processor with a queue of calculations to perform that it does in order CPUs with more than one core were first introduced in the mid-2000s Intel also introduced something called simultaneous multi-threading they branded it hyper threading on Intel CPUs and that basically means that each core can have two queues of calculations lined up instead of one so if you took a single core processor with hyper threading and installed it and loaded Windows Windows would see some cores not just one even though physically they're still just one core AMD now has its own version of hyper threading or simultaneous multi-threading in their chips - so if a chip has simultaneous multi-threading SMT you'll see a core count and a thread count and the thread count will be double the core count remember though that SMT is not always an included feature they remove it for some of the lower end CPUs depends on the CPU so sometimes you'll see a four core CPU with eight threads meaning SMT is enabled sometimes you'll see a four core CPU with four threads meaning no SMT it's also worth pointing out that while multi-threading allows a single CPU core to behave as if it's two CPU cores it's not going to perform identically to a CPU with two physical cores there is a little bit of drop off in SMT performance but it is typically still much better than not having SMT but it's not really just about how many cores and threads you have there's also per core performance often referred to as IPC or instructions per clock how much work can a single core do in one clock cycle of the entire system this is affected by many things like the CPU frequency and the architecture it's based on but the upshot here is that better single core performance typically provides better gaming performance which is often important to lots of people while having more cores and threads is better for CPU heavy lifting tasks like video rendering and transcoding other than the CPU the other important thing to consider in your overall system build is graphics even if you're not building a gaming PC you need a video out option to send a signal over an HDMI or DisplayPort cable to your monitor so you can see what's on screen AMD calls some of their CPUs ap use which is a turn that they made up but it just means that the processor has integrated graphics that means that there's a motherboard that has video outs on Io panel on the back you can run the system with no graphics card Ami's integrated graphics are actually pretty decent can handle gaming at 720 or 1080 resolution usually low to medium graphics settings for a decent frame rates I consider them to be a good entry-level option for a gaming system or just a video out solution for anyone who isn't really planning to game and doesn't want to buy a separate graphics card but it's very important to remember that processors that do not have integrated graphics which is most of the AMD rise and line up pretty much all the CPUs that don't have AG on the end of the product name will need a discrete separate graphics card in order for the system to function for my money I stick with ap use for the graphics up until the price point where you'd be spending about 125 dollars or more on a graphics card and at that threshold you should go with a regular CPU with no integrated graphics and a separate discrete GPU one more thing to cover before going over my list of CPUs is deciphering the terminology surrounding them let's start with that manufacturing process term this is usually referred to with a measurement right now most CPUs are manufactured with 14 nanometer 12 nanometer or 7 nanometer process technology simply put the measurement refers to the physical size of the elements the CPU is built from smaller is better here shrinking the manufacturing process technology typically results in more efficient processors there is a lot more to this but the important point is that AMD's first gen rise in CPUs the 1000 series that launched back in 2017 like the 1600 1700 and 1800 X were based on 14 nanometer they called the architecture for first gen the design of the CPU cores themselves Zen and they used that Zen architecture across a lot of products CPUs on the mainstream platform as well as AMD's epic server processors but I digress in 2018 they launched second gen Rison the 2000 series like the 2600 X and the 2700 x these were built using a twelve nanometer process that they called Zen plus and then last year in 2019 they launched third generation which is based on seven nanometer technology which they called Zen - that should hopefully seem pretty straightforward but one confusing twist to the naming scheme is with the AAP use that AMD has come out with the 2000 series aps were not 12 nanometers and plus products the CPU cores in them were still 40 nanometers Zen cores and again with the 3000 series ap use like this 3400 G they used 12 nanometers n+ cores in them rather than the seven nanometers and 2 cores that the rest of the 3000 series CPUs have I wish they hadn't done that but marketing departments like to take nice straightforward naming schemes and mix them up because I guess they think people are easily confused and that they won't watch a video like this that explains the difference between them and I think that covers everything although I did not go over motherboards but that is probably a completely separate video just know that's a m4 is the socket you're going for be 450 is the chipset you should go for if you're on a budget and if you want support for PCI Express Gen 4 go for X 570 there is going to be a B 550 but that won't be out until June okay just one more thing though two of the CPUs on this list the horizon 30 130 300 X and these totally aren't that I'm just using these as examples are not actually available yet they launched on May 21st and while I typically don't recommend unreleased products these use existing platforms and the performance is pretty easy to suss out based on the existing performance of other 3000 series processors so I'm comfortable pointing you in their direction and now let's go over the CPUs starting with these super budget and entry-level options these are in the 50 to $60 range if you're on a super serious budget then every dollar counts and that's why a 55 dollar CPU might appeal to you these will let you get your system up and running and again since all these ram.4 you can buy the CPU now and then you could upgrade it down the line you could do that with pretty much any of these CPUs I consider these entry-level ap use to be holdovers for anyone who wants to get a system built with the intent to upgrade to a higher-end CPU down the road or for anyone building a simple web browsing and super light gaming rig you really don't need anything more than what these CPUs so first on my list is a processor called the Rison 3 1200 AF and it's actually just come out so it's not available everywhere which is why we're looking at a polish website right now but this CPU should be available for about 55 to 60 US dollars now the original Rison 1200 launched back in 2017 and it was a 14 nanometers end chip but much more recently AMD relaunched it but now it's built on 12 nanometers n plus so even though it's a 1000 series CPU it really is a 2000 series under the hood this is a 4 core 4 thread CPU and it doesn't have integrated graphics so you will need to purchase a discrete GPU to go along with it and that will add to the overall cost of your system but it's also selling for about 55 to 60 dollars which is super super cheap this is a great deal for entry level gaming but you might need to hunt down an AF version of this CPU as they're not available everywhere case in point I couldn't find it in stock anyway here in the US but pay close attention to the model name right here it is this series of letters and numbers the newer version is a F box and that's why it's being known as the 1200 a F whereas the older version is a e box next on the list is the Athlon 3000 G and this is a dual-core CPU that does have SMT or simultaneous multi-threading enabled so it has 4 threads 2 cores for threats it's $55 if you can find it in stock and it does appear to be in stock in Newegg right now I do not recommend paying more than that for this CPU or for the 1200 AF for that matter because there are better CPUs for a few more bucks that I'm about to talk about when I move onto the next section the real nice thing about this one though is it does have integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics that makes this the go-to for a super budget builds and while you can game on these integrated graphics don't expect amazing performance you're probably going to need to play at lower resolutions with medium to low settings but this is after all just a $50 CPU with a GPU included so the bang for the buck is definitely their great starter processor but if you do plan to upgrade in the future you'll probably want to swap it out for at least the quad core let's move on to the mid-range of the budget CPUs so we're looking at 85 to $100 price range and you can get some serious power for your dollar in this praised whether you want more cores and threads or any of the other things I'm about to mention more cars and threads though go for the CPU right here the Andy risin 5 1600 again this is an AF skew and look you can tell I actually bought this and I did a build with it check it out it's available on my youtube channel $85 in this case gets you a 6 core 12 thread CPU that's right 6 cores and 12 threads for 85 bucks like the 1200 AF this is another CPU that was originally a 14 nanometer CPU based on the first Zen architecture but AMD has released it using 12 nanometers n plus this is probably the best bang for the buck option right now especially if you need the extra cores and threads for video processing or perhaps gaming and live streaming at the same time on the same system but again though you will need to buy a discrete GPU to pair with this and again double check that part number to make sure it is the AF model and not the AE this is my original horizon 5 1600 and it is the AE and of course once again check out my build guide for a walkthrough on how to build a system using the CPU for about five hundred and fifty dollars next on the list we have the $95 although on Amazon it's $92 right now Rison 330 200g this is also an APU hence the G in the name so it's a quad core without SMT so 4 cores and 4 threads it does have better integrated graphics than the 3000 G and it has 4 actual course which will outperform the 3000 G's 2 core for thread setup this is a 12 nanometers n plus chip just to be clear but since you don't need a GPU you can build a system with this chip for less than the 1600 AF the gaming performance won't match what a dedicated graphics card can do though so maybe consider something in between like the new Rison 3100 available on May 21st the Rison 3100 is a 4 core 8 thread CPU which will sell for $100 and yes it is a true 3rd gen Rison 3000 series CPU with Zen 2 architecture 7 animator based their gen Rison 3000 CPUs are really nice but the cheapest one for some time has been the 6 core 12 thread Rison 3600 like I have right here which is about $200 with the new 30 130 300 X you get the newest seven nanometers and two cores inside which are faster on a per core level than 40 nanometers n or 12 nanometers n plus this means better gaming performance these CPUs also support the latest PCI Express Gen 4 standard as long as you use a 500 series and for motherboard along with them which is nice if you're in the high-speed storage but not a necessity for a budget build right now so for this mid-range segment of the budget segment of CPUs you have the option of more CPU cores and threads with the 1600 AF a nice balance of CPU power and integrated graphics and the 3200 G or the best single core performance for gaming and a bit of next-gen compatibility with PCIe gen 4 in the Rison 3 3100 again coming soon let's finish off my list with the high end of the budget CPUs which is the 120 250 dollar price range and there's a last-minute change here that I'll get to in just a second if you're gonna spend more than 100 bucks on a rise in CPU right now you really should look at and consider the six core 12 thread rise in 3600 or 3600 X 3600 X is available for 200 bucks right now in the 3600 is down to 175 but there are a couple options in between if you can't quite claw your way up to those SKUs first the rise in 3400 G I have the box work right here and this is currently AMD's best APU it's got a 4 core 8 thread CPU inside along with integrated Vega graphics again a big step up from the 3200 G in both CPU and GPU performance is $150 which seems very close to the 3600 but bear in mind you'll need a discrete GPU with the 3600 so that adds to the cost personally I prefer a discrete GPU for more gaming performance so I'd rather get the 3200 G for a hundred bucks over the 3400 G for 150 with a plan to upgrade down the line but for some the 3400 G provides an ideal level of CPU performance with some gaming chops to boot that said I think AMD decided to make it end-of-life right as I was making this video so that's kind of unfortunate mainly because it's not available in a lot of places seems to be sold out in places where it's sold out like new egg that have market places they will be available on the market place for overpriced dollar amounts and you should definitely not buy that it is available at Best Buy no it's the right price at Best Buy but it is current sold out like I said though just off to the 3200 G if you really need the integrated graphics to get you up and running and then down the line upgrade to the 3600 with the discrete graphics card is what I would point you to there if you can't find the 3400 G my final budget CPU recommendation is the rise in 3300 X the other 3000 series CPU launching on May 21st and it only costs 120 dollars for four cores at 8 threads was then - 7 nanometer chip 'lets inside this is of course just an example not the actual CPU it will run at a higher frequency out of the box than the 3100 and it should provide just a bit more single core performance for gaming again since these CPUs haven't launched yet I do recommend checking out some independent reviews once they're available but if you're shopping now you should definitely be taking these into consideration maybe hold off until they launch to make the final call on what you should actually buy that way you can check out reviews as well it is great to have Zen 2 based options though at this price one hundred and one hundred and twenty dollars but that is my CPU buyer's guide as it stands here in the second quarter of 2020 I hope this has helped you make your choice of CPU and if you're ready to move to the next steps I will put links in this video's description to my build guides my parts list recommendations and other helpful videos like system setup once you've actually put everything together also down there you will find a link to my store at Paul's Harbor net where you can help support me and my video making efforts by getting yourself some sweet high quality merchandise like this zero insertion force shirt thank you for watching this video though you guys like and subscribe and all that good stuff if you enjoyed it and we'll see you in the next onewhat's up guys and welcome to my budget cpu buyer's guide it is spring 2020 and I don't think there's ever been a time when you could get this much power in a budget system I'm focusing on the CPUs today but fulle builds based on these parts can be assembled for around 350 to $600 the CPUs I'm talking about today are 50 to 150 dollars I'm gonna start by going over the most important specs to look at and what they mean and I have build guides linked in the video description down below to help you assemble your PC once you choose a CPU so let's get started the dart core RGB Pro is a premium wireless gaming mouse from Corsair with a long list of features like an 18,000 dpi low-power picsArt optical sensor for maximum precision with minimal power usage attractive nine zone dynamic RGB backlighting and a comfortable contoured shape with two interchangeable side grips included connect wirelessly via Corsairs sub 1 millisecond slipstream technology via bluetooth for convenience on the go or wired via USB see durable armor on switches up to 50 hours of battery life eight fully programmable buttons and more so click the sponsor link in the description for details so you might notice I only have AMD processors right here so the question might come to mind why am I only showing AMD processors right now why not Intel there's a lot to be said about why but I think the short answer boils down to three facts price performance and upgrade path I think AMD CPUs are more competitively priced than Intel's right now and you typically get more cores and threads for your money because of those extra cores and threads performance is usually better with AMD CPUs at the same price point gaming performance is the area where Intel still held the lead up until the launch of third gen Rison processors last year when AMD closed the gap with their 7 nanometre CPUs to be fair Intel has an upcoming launch of LGA 1200 motherboards and CPUs that are known as comet Lake s they're based on 40 nanometer manufacturing process but they should be launching within a month or two so that might slightly change the scenario depending on how those perform the third reason though is that AMD has been launching processors for the am4 socket that's a feature of the motherboards since 2017 and they've done an admirable job of maintaining forward and backward compatibility and they still have more as n3 cpus set to launch for the amp or socket later this year or so they tell us has led to some confusion however since there are so many CPUs that will slot into the same aim for motherboards and hence this guide let's refresh some of the basics though for anyone who has no idea what I mean when I'm talking about cores threads seven nanometer and a few of the other common PC terminologies CPUs perform calculations and to help them do more of them at a time they have multiple cores think of each core as its own little processor with a queue of calculations to perform that it does in order CPUs with more than one core were first introduced in the mid-2000s Intel also introduced something called simultaneous multi-threading they branded it hyper threading on Intel CPUs and that basically means that each core can have two queues of calculations lined up instead of one so if you took a single core processor with hyper threading and installed it and loaded Windows Windows would see some cores not just one even though physically they're still just one core AMD now has its own version of hyper threading or simultaneous multi-threading in their chips - so if a chip has simultaneous multi-threading SMT you'll see a core count and a thread count and the thread count will be double the core count remember though that SMT is not always an included feature they remove it for some of the lower end CPUs depends on the CPU so sometimes you'll see a four core CPU with eight threads meaning SMT is enabled sometimes you'll see a four core CPU with four threads meaning no SMT it's also worth pointing out that while multi-threading allows a single CPU core to behave as if it's two CPU cores it's not going to perform identically to a CPU with two physical cores there is a little bit of drop off in SMT performance but it is typically still much better than not having SMT but it's not really just about how many cores and threads you have there's also per core performance often referred to as IPC or instructions per clock how much work can a single core do in one clock cycle of the entire system this is affected by many things like the CPU frequency and the architecture it's based on but the upshot here is that better single core performance typically provides better gaming performance which is often important to lots of people while having more cores and threads is better for CPU heavy lifting tasks like video rendering and transcoding other than the CPU the other important thing to consider in your overall system build is graphics even if you're not building a gaming PC you need a video out option to send a signal over an HDMI or DisplayPort cable to your monitor so you can see what's on screen AMD calls some of their CPUs ap use which is a turn that they made up but it just means that the processor has integrated graphics that means that there's a motherboard that has video outs on Io panel on the back you can run the system with no graphics card Ami's integrated graphics are actually pretty decent can handle gaming at 720 or 1080 resolution usually low to medium graphics settings for a decent frame rates I consider them to be a good entry-level option for a gaming system or just a video out solution for anyone who isn't really planning to game and doesn't want to buy a separate graphics card but it's very important to remember that processors that do not have integrated graphics which is most of the AMD rise and line up pretty much all the CPUs that don't have AG on the end of the product name will need a discrete separate graphics card in order for the system to function for my money I stick with ap use for the graphics up until the price point where you'd be spending about 125 dollars or more on a graphics card and at that threshold you should go with a regular CPU with no integrated graphics and a separate discrete GPU one more thing to cover before going over my list of CPUs is deciphering the terminology surrounding them let's start with that manufacturing process term this is usually referred to with a measurement right now most CPUs are manufactured with 14 nanometer 12 nanometer or 7 nanometer process technology simply put the measurement refers to the physical size of the elements the CPU is built from smaller is better here shrinking the manufacturing process technology typically results in more efficient processors there is a lot more to this but the important point is that AMD's first gen rise in CPUs the 1000 series that launched back in 2017 like the 1600 1700 and 1800 X were based on 14 nanometer they called the architecture for first gen the design of the CPU cores themselves Zen and they used that Zen architecture across a lot of products CPUs on the mainstream platform as well as AMD's epic server processors but I digress in 2018 they launched second gen Rison the 2000 series like the 2600 X and the 2700 x these were built using a twelve nanometer process that they called Zen plus and then last year in 2019 they launched third generation which is based on seven nanometer technology which they called Zen - that should hopefully seem pretty straightforward but one confusing twist to the naming scheme is with the AAP use that AMD has come out with the 2000 series aps were not 12 nanometers and plus products the CPU cores in them were still 40 nanometers Zen cores and again with the 3000 series ap use like this 3400 G they used 12 nanometers n+ cores in them rather than the seven nanometers and 2 cores that the rest of the 3000 series CPUs have I wish they hadn't done that but marketing departments like to take nice straightforward naming schemes and mix them up because I guess they think people are easily confused and that they won't watch a video like this that explains the difference between them and I think that covers everything although I did not go over motherboards but that is probably a completely separate video just know that's a m4 is the socket you're going for be 450 is the chipset you should go for if you're on a budget and if you want support for PCI Express Gen 4 go for X 570 there is going to be a B 550 but that won't be out until June okay just one more thing though two of the CPUs on this list the horizon 30 130 300 X and these totally aren't that I'm just using these as examples are not actually available yet they launched on May 21st and while I typically don't recommend unreleased products these use existing platforms and the performance is pretty easy to suss out based on the existing performance of other 3000 series processors so I'm comfortable pointing you in their direction and now let's go over the CPUs starting with these super budget and entry-level options these are in the 50 to $60 range if you're on a super serious budget then every dollar counts and that's why a 55 dollar CPU might appeal to you these will let you get your system up and running and again since all these ram.4 you can buy the CPU now and then you could upgrade it down the line you could do that with pretty much any of these CPUs I consider these entry-level ap use to be holdovers for anyone who wants to get a system built with the intent to upgrade to a higher-end CPU down the road or for anyone building a simple web browsing and super light gaming rig you really don't need anything more than what these CPUs so first on my list is a processor called the Rison 3 1200 AF and it's actually just come out so it's not available everywhere which is why we're looking at a polish website right now but this CPU should be available for about 55 to 60 US dollars now the original Rison 1200 launched back in 2017 and it was a 14 nanometers end chip but much more recently AMD relaunched it but now it's built on 12 nanometers n plus so even though it's a 1000 series CPU it really is a 2000 series under the hood this is a 4 core 4 thread CPU and it doesn't have integrated graphics so you will need to purchase a discrete GPU to go along with it and that will add to the overall cost of your system but it's also selling for about 55 to 60 dollars which is super super cheap this is a great deal for entry level gaming but you might need to hunt down an AF version of this CPU as they're not available everywhere case in point I couldn't find it in stock anyway here in the US but pay close attention to the model name right here it is this series of letters and numbers the newer version is a F box and that's why it's being known as the 1200 a F whereas the older version is a e box next on the list is the Athlon 3000 G and this is a dual-core CPU that does have SMT or simultaneous multi-threading enabled so it has 4 threads 2 cores for threats it's $55 if you can find it in stock and it does appear to be in stock in Newegg right now I do not recommend paying more than that for this CPU or for the 1200 AF for that matter because there are better CPUs for a few more bucks that I'm about to talk about when I move onto the next section the real nice thing about this one though is it does have integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics that makes this the go-to for a super budget builds and while you can game on these integrated graphics don't expect amazing performance you're probably going to need to play at lower resolutions with medium to low settings but this is after all just a $50 CPU with a GPU included so the bang for the buck is definitely their great starter processor but if you do plan to upgrade in the future you'll probably want to swap it out for at least the quad core let's move on to the mid-range of the budget CPUs so we're looking at 85 to $100 price range and you can get some serious power for your dollar in this praised whether you want more cores and threads or any of the other things I'm about to mention more cars and threads though go for the CPU right here the Andy risin 5 1600 again this is an AF skew and look you can tell I actually bought this and I did a build with it check it out it's available on my youtube channel $85 in this case gets you a 6 core 12 thread CPU that's right 6 cores and 12 threads for 85 bucks like the 1200 AF this is another CPU that was originally a 14 nanometer CPU based on the first Zen architecture but AMD has released it using 12 nanometers n plus this is probably the best bang for the buck option right now especially if you need the extra cores and threads for video processing or perhaps gaming and live streaming at the same time on the same system but again though you will need to buy a discrete GPU to pair with this and again double check that part number to make sure it is the AF model and not the AE this is my original horizon 5 1600 and it is the AE and of course once again check out my build guide for a walkthrough on how to build a system using the CPU for about five hundred and fifty dollars next on the list we have the $95 although on Amazon it's $92 right now Rison 330 200g this is also an APU hence the G in the name so it's a quad core without SMT so 4 cores and 4 threads it does have better integrated graphics than the 3000 G and it has 4 actual course which will outperform the 3000 G's 2 core for thread setup this is a 12 nanometers n plus chip just to be clear but since you don't need a GPU you can build a system with this chip for less than the 1600 AF the gaming performance won't match what a dedicated graphics card can do though so maybe consider something in between like the new Rison 3100 available on May 21st the Rison 3100 is a 4 core 8 thread CPU which will sell for $100 and yes it is a true 3rd gen Rison 3000 series CPU with Zen 2 architecture 7 animator based their gen Rison 3000 CPUs are really nice but the cheapest one for some time has been the 6 core 12 thread Rison 3600 like I have right here which is about $200 with the new 30 130 300 X you get the newest seven nanometers and two cores inside which are faster on a per core level than 40 nanometers n or 12 nanometers n plus this means better gaming performance these CPUs also support the latest PCI Express Gen 4 standard as long as you use a 500 series and for motherboard along with them which is nice if you're in the high-speed storage but not a necessity for a budget build right now so for this mid-range segment of the budget segment of CPUs you have the option of more CPU cores and threads with the 1600 AF a nice balance of CPU power and integrated graphics and the 3200 G or the best single core performance for gaming and a bit of next-gen compatibility with PCIe gen 4 in the Rison 3 3100 again coming soon let's finish off my list with the high end of the budget CPUs which is the 120 250 dollar price range and there's a last-minute change here that I'll get to in just a second if you're gonna spend more than 100 bucks on a rise in CPU right now you really should look at and consider the six core 12 thread rise in 3600 or 3600 X 3600 X is available for 200 bucks right now in the 3600 is down to 175 but there are a couple options in between if you can't quite claw your way up to those SKUs first the rise in 3400 G I have the box work right here and this is currently AMD's best APU it's got a 4 core 8 thread CPU inside along with integrated Vega graphics again a big step up from the 3200 G in both CPU and GPU performance is $150 which seems very close to the 3600 but bear in mind you'll need a discrete GPU with the 3600 so that adds to the cost personally I prefer a discrete GPU for more gaming performance so I'd rather get the 3200 G for a hundred bucks over the 3400 G for 150 with a plan to upgrade down the line but for some the 3400 G provides an ideal level of CPU performance with some gaming chops to boot that said I think AMD decided to make it end-of-life right as I was making this video so that's kind of unfortunate mainly because it's not available in a lot of places seems to be sold out in places where it's sold out like new egg that have market places they will be available on the market place for overpriced dollar amounts and you should definitely not buy that it is available at Best Buy no it's the right price at Best Buy but it is current sold out like I said though just off to the 3200 G if you really need the integrated graphics to get you up and running and then down the line upgrade to the 3600 with the discrete graphics card is what I would point you to there if you can't find the 3400 G my final budget CPU recommendation is the rise in 3300 X the other 3000 series CPU launching on May 21st and it only costs 120 dollars for four cores at 8 threads was then - 7 nanometer chip 'lets inside this is of course just an example not the actual CPU it will run at a higher frequency out of the box than the 3100 and it should provide just a bit more single core performance for gaming again since these CPUs haven't launched yet I do recommend checking out some independent reviews once they're available but if you're shopping now you should definitely be taking these into consideration maybe hold off until they launch to make the final call on what you should actually buy that way you can check out reviews as well it is great to have Zen 2 based options though at this price one hundred and one hundred and twenty dollars but that is my CPU buyer's guide as it stands here in the second quarter of 2020 I hope this has helped you make your choice of CPU and if you're ready to move to the next steps I will put links in this video's description to my build guides my parts list recommendations and other helpful videos like system setup once you've actually put everything together also down there you will find a link to my store at Paul's Harbor net where you can help support me and my video making efforts by getting yourself some sweet high quality merchandise like this zero insertion force shirt thank you for watching this video though you guys like and subscribe and all that good stuff if you enjoyed it and we'll see you in the next one\n"