Best CPU for Terraria

Best CPU for Terraria? Let's find out

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The 2D action-adventure Terraria is a much-loved indie classic and a favorite in its genre. Today, we’ll be talking about the best CPU for Terraria. 

Now Read: Best CPU for gaming

The game has a beautiful and vibrant pixelated art style and tons of content for you to explore in its procedurally generated world. The survival is fun, the gameplay is super immersive, and the combat is engaging — no wonder Terraria is so popular. 

To enjoy the game at its fullest, you need a processor that can deliver at least 60 frames per second, and preferably even more. And as you’ll soon see, that’s not a tall order. 

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What are Terraria’s system requirements?

Re-Logic recommends the following system specs for Terraria:

• OS: Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10
• Processor: Dual Core 3.0 GHz
• Memory: 4GB
• Hard Disk Space: 200MB
• Video Card: 256MB Video Memory, capable of Shader Model 2.0+
• DirectX®: 9.0c or Greater

These are fairly low requirements, and they make sense when you consider Terraria’s pixel-based art style.

The developers haven’t named a particular CPU. However, the mentioned specs (A duo core processor with a 3.0GHz boost clock) closely resemble those of the earliest Core i3 processors. 

You would be hard-pressed to find a computer that can’t run the game today. With that in mind, let’s see what the best CPU for Terraria is. 

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Best CPU for Terraria – Intel Core i3-12100F

Our pick for the top Terraria CPU is the Intel Core i3-12100F. Unlike its predecessors, the 12th generation Core i3 processor features 4 cores with hyperthreading enabled. 

That means it has a total of 8 threads, which may seem low by today’s standards, but you’d be surprised at the gaming performance Intel’s latest 8-threaded Core i3 processors can deliver. A light title like Terraria, originally released in 2011, likely won’t be using up more than a few threads anyways. 

The 12100F has a maximum clock speed of 4.3GHz, which is okay-ish, but good enough for our purposes. The CPU is very power-efficient with a 65-watt base TDP and runs relatively cool, so you won’t need an aftermarket cooling solution. The stock cooler will provide sufficient cooling. 

As you can see, the i3-12100F has specs far above those listed in the official requirements, so you’ll be good to go. If you play games other than Terraria, the i3-12100 can offer you a 1080p, 60fps experience in those as well, as long as you pair it up with a solid GPU. 

It’s worth noting that we’ve chosen the “F” variant of the Core i3-12100. F variant processors don’t have integrated graphics, so you’ll need to pair them up with a dedicated GPU to create an operational system. F processors are slightly cheaper than their standard model and can offer you better value depending on your use case. 

We recommend going for the F variant in this case because the UHD 630 integrated graphics featured by the standard Core i3-12100 are not strong enough to run Terraria at 1080p, 60FPS. So, you wouldn’t really be using the iGPU anyway. 

The 12th generation i3 can be paired up with an entry-level to mid-range GPU, such as an RTX 3050 or an RX 6600, for a very minimal GPU bottleneck, and an excellent entry-level gaming rig, perfect for games like Terraria.