Best budget CPU in the UK (under £150)
On 2026-10-16, the cheapest CPU under £150 at the UK shops we track was AMD Ryzen 5 4500 CPU Six Core 3.6GHz Processor Socket AM4 - Retail at £64.99 from AWD-IT (£10.83 per core). 16 listings matched; the 16 best are below, one row per CPU model, ranked by price per core. Prices are listed new prices on the shops' category pages, checked hourly; stock isn't verified.
| # | Processor | Specs | Price | £/core | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryzen 5 4500 · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £64.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £10.83 | AWD-IT 2026-10-16 21:57 | |
| 2 | Ryzen 3 4100 · 4 cores · 8 threads · AM4 | £51.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £13.00 | AWD-IT 2026-10-16 21:57 | |
| 3 | Ryzen 5 5500 · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £79.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £13.33 | Scan 2026-10-16 21:55 | |
| 4 |  | Core Ultra 5 225F · 10 cores · 10 threads · LGA1851 | £143.14 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £14.31 | Box 2026-10-16 21:56 |
| 5 | Ryzen 3 3200G · 4 cores · 4 threads · AM4 | £59.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £15.00 | Scan 2026-10-16 21:55 | |
| 6 | Ryzen 5 5500F · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £89.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £15.00 | Scan 2026-10-16 21:55 | |
| 7 |  | Ryzen 5 8400F · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM5 | £117.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £19.66 | Box 2026-10-16 21:56 |
| 8 |  | Core i3-12100F · 4 cores · 8 threads · LGA1700 | £79.97 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £19.99 | Laptops Direct 2026-10-16 21:57 |
| 9 | Ryzen 5 7400 · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM5 | £119.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £20.00 | Scan 2026-10-16 21:55 | |
| 10 | Ryzen 5 5600 · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £124.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £20.83 | AWD-IT 2026-10-16 21:57 | |
| 11 | Ryzen 5 8500G · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM5 | £129.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £21.67 | AWD-IT 2026-10-16 21:57 | |
| 12 |  | Core i5-12400F · 6 cores · 12 threads · LGA1700 | £130.97 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £21.83 | Laptops Direct 2026-10-16 21:57 |
| 13 | Core i3-14100F · 4 cores · 8 threads · LGA1700 | £88.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £22.25 | Novatech 2026-10-16 21:56 | |
| 14 | Ryzen 5 5600XT · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £134.49 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £22.42 | Box 2026-10-16 21:56 | |
| 15 | Ryzen 5 5600X · 6 cores · 12 threads · AM4 | £137.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £23.00 | Box 2026-10-16 21:56 | |
| 16 | Core i3-14100 · 4 cores · 8 threads · LGA1700 | £124.99 Tracking since 16 Oct 2026 | £31.25 | Scan 2026-10-16 21:55 |
FAQ
What is the cheapest CPU under £150 in the UK?
On 2026-10-16: AMD Ryzen 5 4500 CPU Six Core 3.6GHz Processor Socket AM4 - Retail at £64.99 from AWD-IT, then AMD Ryzen 3 4100 CPU Quad Core 3.8GHz Processor Socket AM4 - Retail at £51.99.
What makes a good budget CPU?
Six or more cores on a platform with a cheap motherboard. Under £150 that usually means AMD Ryzen 5 on AM4/AM5 or Intel Core i3/i5 on LGA1700.
Does £ per core matter?
It's a quick value check for multi-threaded work; for gaming, cache and clock speed matter more (e.g. X3D chips).
Data: live listings from UK: AWD-IT, Box, Laptops Direct, Novatech, Scan; EU: Alternate, Caseking, Coolblue, LDLC (checked 2026-10-16, hourly price history), NVIDIA/TechPowerUp specs, Hugging Face GGUF sizes. Model fit is an estimate. All GPU deals · All laptops · RAM · SSDs · CPUs · All models