Budget Gaming CPUs: Intel Core i5-14600K, Core Ultra 5 245K, Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8600G
Four affordable processors for gaming PCs on a budget, which platform each puts you on, and how to keep the whole build balanced.
Four affordable processors for gaming PCs on a budget, which platform each puts you on, and how to keep the whole build balanced.
Photo by Ondřej Martin Mach / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
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On a budget, the CPU is where you can save money without losing much gaming performance, as long as you choose sensibly. These four sit on different platforms, which matters as much as the chip itself, because it decides your motherboard, memory and upgrade path.
Intel Core i5-14600K (LGA 1700)
The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core chip (6 performance and 8 efficient) on Intel’s LGA 1700 socket. It’s fast for gaming and works with both DDR4 and DDR5 boards, depending on the board you buy. LGA 1700 is a finished platform, though: there are no newer CPUs coming for it. Install the latest BIOS, as Intel released microcode updates for 13th and 14th generation stability.
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (LGA 1851)
The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is on Intel’s newer LGA 1851 platform with DDR5 only. It is efficient and strong in productivity work. Compare gaming benchmarks for your games against the 14600K and AMD options.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 (AM4)
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core AM4 chip that pairs with cheap AM4 boards and DDR4 memory. It is one of the lowest-cost ways to build a capable gaming PC, and it comes with a stock cooler. AM4 also has no new generations coming, but upgrades such as the Ryzen 7 5700X3D exist.
AMD Ryzen 5 8600G (AM5)
The AMD Ryzen 5 8600G puts you on AM5 and has capable integrated graphics, so you can play lighter games before you buy a graphics card. With a dedicated GPU, its gaming performance is lower than other AM5 chips, because it has less cache.
Keep the build balanced
The GPU matters most for gaming. On a tight budget, a cheaper CPU plus a better graphics card gives more frames than the other way around. Don’t forget the cost of the motherboard and RAM for each platform.
Bottom line
For the lowest cost, an AM4 Ryzen 5 5600 build is hard to beat. For an upgrade path, AM5 is the better long-term platform.
Our picks: Processors
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Illustrative photos: Photo by Myself User:ZyMOS / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0; Photo by Jacek Halicki / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0; Photo by Ondřej Martin Mach / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0