Best $160 CPU

[Bags]

This is for a friend. Now that Black Friday is over, and prices are going back to normal, I have no idea what to recommend at this price point. All he does is game at 1600 x 1050, and he hasn't picked out a mobo yet. He doesn't live near microcenter.

Thanks.

[Coreldan]

I could suggest an AMD Phenom II x6 1090T or 1100T. I believe price is same, but I suppose 1100T has something better about it

They have pretty good overclockability, even with the default fans. I have nothing to complain about my 1090T and it somewhat fits the price range.

[Bags]

That's what I was looking at for him, but I don't know much about aMD.

[Coreldan]

AMD (which now includes ATI too) is pretty good nowadays. Sure, not just as good as intel, but also a lot cheaper than intel. AMD/ATI was once known for it's bad driver support, but that isn't so much the case anymore.

I personally run an AMD/ATI build and I have nothing to complain about in terms of performance or compatibility.

Including games like BF3, Skyrim and SWTOR (beta), since these are the games that many people want to make sure the computer can handle

[Goku]

For $160 for a brand spanking new CPU I don't suggest going AMD at this point if you also have to purchase a mobo.

You should be looking at the Core i3 2100 if he wants to keep his budget low. That CPU will out do even the 1100T in most games and costs less/uses less power. If he wants a quad core and isn't interested in overclocking go for the Core i5 2400. If he wants to overclock tell him to save up for the 2500K, easily worth the extra $$$. If he does have to cheap out and get the 2100 he still has a lot better upgrade path with Ivy Bridge then what AMD will be offering.

Concerning mobo choice will depend on what CPU he wants to get.