You DON'T Need More Than an i3...Here's Why

Is having more than 4 cores overrated or do you truly need more for gaming? We compare the Intel i3 12100F to the Intel i5 12400F. 4 Cores and 8 Threads versus 6 Cores and 12 Threads on the same generation! The results WILL surprise you!

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[cybersamiches]

i3 12100 is equivelent in gaming performance compared to the i7 9700k! Impressive!

[falandobadheeu]

I have a i3 10105 coupled with a gtx 1650 GDDR6. It's perfect for 1080p high-max settings in eSports titles and 1080p medium-high settings in AAA titles. I am a budget gamer and i am happy with this setup.

[cerescop]

I just built my bother a puter in a older Smilodon box. I used a i3 10100f cpu and a H510 mobo. It works great. My Sister-in-law is a teacher and uses it for her job for things she can do at home and You Tube. The video card went out but I had a replacement from a recent upgrade so I fixed it. She is back online and very happy.

[kevincampbell]

The i3s are genuinely impressive capable gaming chips now. I remember when they first dropped and they were terrible but that isnt the case anymore. Serious value for money there.

[BeepOW]

I got a I5 instead of a I3 to future proof. I usually upgrade my CPU + Motherboard every 5 - 7 years. I doubt 4 cores and 8 threads will be ideal in 4 years for modern games.

[Blake_Stone]

I swear to God the verdict among PC gamers has been "sure there isn't much difference between the i5 and i3 yet, but there might be once games start using multi-threading more, so I should pay twice as much for the i5 for futureproofing" for about ten years now.

[uhhbakedpotato]

my i5 9400f struggles so hard in a lot of games. this has to be for a specific use case like older games certain esports titles or if you're only targeting 100fps, an i3 is rough for Apex at least with a 2060.

[plsdontbanmeagainyoulibtards]

The i3-13100 will have 4C 8T @ 3.4GHz! On top of intels new architecture it will be a killer CPU. With Intel pushing to be the budget choice and the new chipset even more of a nuclear power plant than they already were, I feel like the i3 series is going to see more and more love. If not the i5 and i7. I have a 10900k with a 360mm rad and pushing 51x all core settles close to 85c. I can't even imagine how people are going to cool the 13900k especially if they want even the smallest OC, so I can see the lower tiers seeing a resurgence with gamers.

[chickenonacookie]

11 thank you so much for this!! I really wanted to get stray on my computer but i only had and i3, and you guys convinced me to do it. and now im halfway through the game having the time of my life!!!

[marcustaylor]

The bigger shared L3 cache on the i5 probably makes more difference than the extra cores. That is what I will base my next CPU purchase on. You can overclock the locked i5's and i3's with the right motherboards. I'm considering the ROG strix B660.

[LUckybones]

I built a 12100/Rx 6600 gaming rig, and I’ve been super happy with it.

[JackStigma]

If you're on a budget, go for a latest get I3 rather than an older I5 or I7

[frankstared]

I suspect this little cpu and for its price will become a little legend. It is clear that Intel was directly competing with AMD here in providing up till then unheard of price to performance. Time will tell, but from what I am seeing I am impressed and see no need of an upgrade for average budget gamers/workstations the next few years from this. This chip can punch far beyond its weight in terms of not bottlenecking mid range gpus. Pairing it with discounted tinkering boards (which will happen as news gens are released) gives the ability to bring in some 6cores/12threads later (11600s). True, you will not have access to some features, but in the main this platform (while not as relevant OR PRICEY) as the 12/13th gens, still has some legs.

[shaunsodhi]

Recently built my pc 13-10100f
+2060, great pc for around $700

[karibmahtab]

I use i3 10100 and it's still a really good processor to me

[geodude]

It's crazy to think that in today's world, a $100 CPU can provide a "budget" 60-100fps experience in games. If all you really cared about was visual fidelity for the least amount of money, an i3 could even pair with the new RTX 4090 to run 4K RT DLSS games at 60-100fps.

[DominicAngelo-ttzv]

an i3 will get the job done if you have a RX 6600, but for literally anything other than 1080p gaming you're gonna need more cores and more threads. There is a reason they make the CPU's that have as high performance that they have. It's because technology is growing and we need better hardware to handle more data. If everyone had an i3 12100 most people would be more than fine, but mid-range GPUs and production workers will need many more cores and threads.

[vTextrum]

I picked up an optiplex 7020 mt for 150$ upgraded ram from 8 to 16 for 50$ then put a rx 580 in there for 200$ in total 400$ and pretty damn solid

Specs after upgrades :
i5-4590
16 gb ddr3 ram
Rx 580 4gb vram
Don't know what the power supply is but it's probably not incredible

[chiyolate]

i3 = for gamers only
i5 - i7 = for content creators

[secrethydromicrogrow]

I was on the fence about buying the i3 12100 because i own a i3 10100 and it sucks for gaming but i ended up buying the i3 12100 and man let me tell you that it is a powerhouse! I can run 2 games at the same time plus a movie or youtube and discord with absolutely no lag!