$100 CPU Shootout: Comparing the Ryzen 5 5500, Core i3-14100F, & Core i3-12100F

Tom's Hardware compared three budget CPUs around the $100 mark: AMD's Ryzen 5 5500 ($80), Intel's Core i3-12100F ($90), and Core i3-14100F ($100), evaluating their gaming and productivity performance, power efficiency, and overall value. The sub-$150 CPU segment remains popular among budget builders due to rising PC component costs, with all three chips supporting cheaper DDR4 memory compared to newer DDR5 platforms. The Ryzen 5 5500 offers six cores despite being the oldest architecture, while Intel's newer chips feature higher boost clocks with four cores, presenting different trade-offs for entry-level PC builders.