Is Intel Core i3-10100F good for gaming?

Is the i3-10100F powerful enough for gaming?

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The Intel Core i3-10100F launched in mid-2020 and quickly established its place in the market as a capable budget processor. And now, almost three years later, it’s still a popular entry-level processor. Today, we’re here to explore its performance in gaming. Is intel Core i3-10100F good for gaming? Let’s find out.

Intel Core i3-10100F specifications

Intel Core i3-10100F

Brand

Intel

CPU Model

Core i3

Cores (Threads)

4 (8)

CPU Speed

3.6 GHz

CPU Socket

LGA 1200

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Here are the processor’s official specifications:

• Cores: 4 (Hyperthreading enabled)
• Threads: 8
• Base clock: 3.6 GHz
• Boost clock: 4.3 GHz
• Cache: 6MB Intel Smart Cache
• Base TDP: 65 W
• Socket: FCLGA1200

Is the Intel Core i3-10100F good for gaming?

The Intel i3-10100F is a solid gaming processor that can let you game at 60FPS in most titles today (when paired up with an appropriately powerful GPU such as an RX 6600 or RTX 3050).

However, in some cases, you may struggle to maintain consistent framerates or run into stutters. It’s hard to deny that the processor has rather mediocre specs.

With 4 cores and 8 threads, the 10100F can take on single-threaded workloads like gaming but will struggle to carry out multithreaded workloads efficiently, so it doesn’t offer you the most versatility.

The 4.3GHz boost clock is decent, especially for a 2020 processor, but the 6MB L3 cache is nothing special, so the overall single-thread performance ends up being rather mediocre as well.

The 10100F is passable for a gaming processor. As long as you have the right expectations, you won’t be disappointed. Most games will run comfortably at 60FPS, but some more smoothly than others.

Skytech Chronos Gaming PC (10100F)

CPU

Intel I3 10100F

GPU

GTX 1650

RAM

8GB

Storage

500GB SSD

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Intel Core i3-10100F pros

If you’re looking for entry-level gaming processors, there are several reasons the i3-10100F is worth considering.

Intel’s Hyperthreading technology

Intel introduced hyperthreading to Core i3 processors with the i3-10100F. Its predecessors, the i3-911 and i3-8100 were standard quad-cores with no hyperthreading.

While they offered similar single-core performance to the 10100F, they bottlenecked pretty hard in more demanding games.

With 8 threads, the 10100F has just the right amount of processing capacity to game at playable framerates without bottleneck.

Decent clock speed

The i3-10100F has a decent 4.3GHz max clock speed. For reference, the Ryzen 5 3600, one of AMD’s most popular Ryzen processors to date, has a maximum clock speed of 4.2GHz.

With a 4.3GHz clock speed, the i3-10100F is able to perform well in CPU-bound games. It delivers more frames than older i5, i7, and i9 processors while costing a whole lot less.

Good power efficiency and thermal performance

With a modest 65-watt TDP, the i3-10100F runs cool and consumes very little power. The included stock cooler will provide this processor with plenty of cooling, so you won’t need an aftermarket cooler. The low power consumption also lessens the burden on your power supply.

Great value for money

But ultimately, what stands out most about the i3-10100F is its cheap price. Even though the performance it delivers is modest, it does so at an amazingly low price point, so you get great value for the money you spend.

The i3-10100F launched at an MSRP of $107 and can be found today for closer to $75, making it one of the cheapest gaming processors available.