PC builders love installing the latest and shiniest CPUs in their systems. This is generally a good thing, as current-generation chips typically deliver excellent performance at a reasonable cost. And they won’t bottleneck your graphics card in games—unlike some older chips that have aged like fine milk.
However, if your budget is tight, older hardware can still make a lot of sense. Paired with the right graphics card, you can build a capable system without breaking the bank and enjoy slightly older AAA games with no compromises. Here are some older CPUs that are still worth buying in 2025.
Some processors mentioned here can only be found on the used market, so it’s important to shop carefully. Prices can vary wildly depending on the seller, condition, and timing, so always compare listings before committing. These suggestions assume you’re comfortable buying second-hand hardware and understand the usual risks that come with pre-owned components.
Intel Core i3-10100F
Intel’s 10th-generation Comet Lake came out in an era when AMD’s Ryzen had already started to dominate the market. It wasn’t a great generation in many ways—after all, it was still based on that ancient 14nm Skylake node.
However, the 10th generation was still notable for one particular reason—it marked the first time Intel added hyper-threading across the entire lineup (except Celeron) instead of just reserving it for the high-end i7 and i9 chips. This meant even i3 CPUs finally got hyper-threading, on top of the doubled cores that the i3 line first received with the 8th-gen Coffee Lake series.
Thanks to its 4 cores and 8 threads, the i3-10100F earns a spot on this list. It’s among the weakest Comet Lake chips, and the “F” indicates no integrated graphics—but that allowed Intel to offer a competitive price at the time. Now that this generation is five years old, you can pick them up for dirt cheap on the second-hand market. In fact, it’s also one of the cheapest new CPUs still available today.
At $60, however, I can’t recommend buying it new—you could spend just $10 more and get the significantly newer and significantly more powerful i3-12100F (or get something even better with AMD).
Instead, hunt for a bargain used 10100F—you should be able to find one for the price of a single takeout meal these days, or as part of a budget system.
Ryzen 5000 series
Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek
Technically speaking, we can’t call the Ryzen 5000 series “last-gen” because it’s based on the Zen 3 architecture, whereas the current-gen chips are Zen 5. However, the socket is last-gen and, more importantly, the performance across this lineup still holds up, despite the first wave of Zen 3 CPUs launching in 2020 (with a few models released in 2024 and 2025).
To keep things authentic and on-topic, let’s focus on the initial 2020 lineup—the Ryzen 5 5600X, Ryzen 7 5800X, and Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X. No matter which of these you pick, you won’t be disappointed with the performance of these aging chips.
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More than half a decade of competitive CPU performance? Not a problem, if you choose wisely.
I used the Ryzen 5 5600X as the foundation for my brother’s build last year, paired with an RX 6800, and the system can run any modern game you throw at it. Plus, they’re still modern enough that they support all the latest features, like Anti-Lag 2, ReBAR, and so on.
Even the ultra-cheap Ryzen 5 5500 is perfectly capable of handling modern games for well under $100, though it’s technically only three years old.
Intel Core i5-9600K
The Intel Core i5-9600K launched in October 2018, so I think it’s fair to say it qualifies as an old CPU by modern standards. Despite lacking hyper-threading, its 6 cores and relatively strong single-core performance make it a decent option for budget builds—especially if you play a lot of esports titles, where more cores don’t always translate to better FPS.
The 9600K is far from the most powerful chip in its lineup, but it’s still an unlocked “K” processor with respectable performance, and it’s significantly cheaper than higher-end 9th-gen Intel CPUs that simply aren’t worth buying over a newer Ryzen alternative.
It’s also yet another older chip that you can still find new in stores. However, given the inflated prices of sealed units, I strongly recommend against buying it new—paying that much for such an old processor just doesn’t make sense.
If you shop used (and maybe look at those bargain pre-owned chips on AliExpress), you should be able to score a pretty good deal.
Ryzen 3000 series (except Ryzen 3)
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The Ryzen 3000 series launched in 2019 and marked a major turning point for AMD. The Ryzen 5 3600 in particular became one of the best-selling CPUs of its era, and it has aged far better than the i5-9600K—thanks in no small part to having hyper-threading.
The entire Ryzen 3000 lineup still holds up well in 2025 and is worth considering if you’re building an ultra-budget gaming PC with the option to upgrade to a stronger AM4 chip later on.
Realistically, the only Ryzen 3000 CPUs that aren’t worth considering are the Ryzen 3 3300 and 3300X. While their performance is comparable to an i3-10100F, the AM4 platform simply offers so many better options at similar prices that they don’t make much sense. Well, unless you happen to find one for around $20.
Intel Core i7-6700K
The Intel Core i5-6600K made my list of CPUs that are officially too old for gaming, but surprisingly, its higher-tier counterpart, the i7-6700K, can still hold its ground in many modern games—despite being a whopping 10 years old!
That’s thanks in no small part to the i7-6700K’s 8 threads compared to the 6600K’s 4, along with its noticeably higher boost and turbo clock speeds.
Now, I wouldn’t rush out to buy an Intel Core i7-6700K for a new build—you should reserve that privilege for the Ryzen 5000 series. But if you’ve got an old LGA1151 motherboard still alive and kicking, and you can find a good deal on a used i7-6700K, it’s really not a bad CPU despite its age.
Sometimes, all a computer really needs to do is run the games and applications you care about. And while modern CPUs have come down in price, there’s a case to be made for these old CPUs, especially if you can find a good deal on one of them.
