Inflation is a thing that exists, so decent $100 CPUs are going to be hard to come by if you expect to run modern applications in 2021. However, there's plenty

Inflation is a thing that exists, so decent $100 CPUs are going to be hard to come by if you expect to run modern applications in 2021. However, there's plenty of competitive CPUs that can operate below 100W. CPU reviews tend to focus on the top-end products which throw efficiency out the window for higher clock speeds, but lower tier SKUs target 95W, 65W, and 35W power points, while still maintaining quite reasonable performance. While I'm not as familiar with the power management capabilities of modern Intel CPUs, AMD Ryzen CPUs can operate in an "Eco mode" where the power target is lowered, so you can optimize for power efficiency without having to go out of your way to buy a special "low-power" SKU.