Intel core i3

Among the few “interesting” news in the launch of Intel Kaby Lake, we find the Pentium G4560 (reviewed by us recently) and the new i3 with unlocked multiplier: Intel Core i3-7350K.

First of all, we thank Intel for the trust placed in giving us a sample of the i3-7350K for analysis.

Intel Core i3-7350K technical features

Unboxing and analysis

The box format is very similar to that seen in generations of processors with the multiplier locked. Classic design in blue and offers all the necessary information as soon as you see it. As it is a model with an unlocked multiplier for overclocking, the manufacturer has not included any heatsink since it is understood that the user will acquire a high-performance one.

Inside we do not find a plastic blister that protects the processor, the warranty leaflet and an adhesive sticker to stick it to our tower and that everyone knows the processor we use.

The i3-7350k belongs to the Intel Kaby Lake family, it is a processor manufactured with the process at 14 nm ++ Tri-Gate which has reached maximum maturity, something that allows Intel to offer a more powerful solution than the previous generation without increase consumption. This processor stands out for being the first in the i3 family to have the multiplier unlocked for overclocking. Something that will be especially useful for more extreme overclockers since its lesser number of cores and its lower consumption should allow it to go up more frequency than its older brothers. This processor works at a frequency of 4.2 GHz although as we have mentioned it is compatible with overclocking to improve its clock speed and the benefits offered.

The cache is the same as in previous generations with 4MB of L3 cache that is spread across all cores and is intelligently managed so that it can be fully utilized. The TDP goes up to 60W and its memory controller supports both DDR3L and DDR4 RAM up to 4000Mhz with overclocking.

Regarding the built-in instructions, it has: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, EM64T, NX, HT, VT-x, TSX, MPX and SGX. The integrated graphics card that it incorporates is the Intel HD Graphics 630 with a base frequency of 350 MHz, 1.35 GHz of dynamic frequency, compatible with resolutions 4096 x 2304 at 60Hz, support with DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.4. Intel has once again put a lot of effort into integrated graphics to improve its performance and offer a more than sufficient graphics solution for users who are not very demanding or are not going to play next generation titles.

Test bench and performance tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i3-7350k
Base plate:	Gigabyte Z270X Gaming 8
RAM:	Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR4
Heatsink	Corsair H115
HDD	Samsumg 850 EVO.
Graphic card	8GB GTX1080
Power supply	Corsair AX860i.

To check the stability of the i3-7350k processor in stock values ​​and with overclock. The motherboard we have stressed with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling. The graphics we have used is an Nvidia GTX 1080, without further delay, let's see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 x 1080 monitor.

Benchmarks (Synthetic tests)

• Cinebench R15 (CPU Score).Aida64.3dMARK Fire Strike.Intel XTU.

Game testing

Overclock i3-7350k

To the i3-7350k that we have had in the test bench we have easily reached 5000 MHz, but we have had to use a voltage of 1.34v to be able to cope with this speed. The results are quite good, since for example we have improved the 440 cb as standard to 520 cb in Cinebench R15. At game levels, we've noticed a slight improvement in games that are processor dependent, but on multi-threaded tasks it drowns out a bit.

We remind you that Intel Kaby Lake processors arrive with the multiplier unlocked (only 3 models) to facilitate overclocking and further increase their performance. Although at overclock levels it does not affect, if they have improved the IGP that increases the performance with HEVC, that means that it now decodes using H265 by hardware.

In our tests we have been able to verify that effectively at 5 GHz it stays close to the performance of an i5-7400 or i5-6400 but we do not see the need to acquire this processor for a normal street user. For 200 euros we can opt for an i5 with its 4 cores, which although we cannot overclock we can mount a B250 or H270 motherboard and have better performance in multi-thread tasks.

WE RECOMMEND AMD Ryzen 7 1800X VS i7 6900K: Performance in Sniper Elite 4

Consumption and temperature

Final words and conclusion about i3-7350k

The i3-7350k is the fastest and most powerful dual-core processor on the market today. Its great overclocking capacity (it reaches 5 GHz easily) and its excellent single-thread processing makes it a killer for lovers of overclocking.

And it is that this processor only has a place in the market for its great ability to break records in competitions such as hwbot. Those of us who have been competing in this field know that this processor is the ideal companion to spray results and earn extra points.

We recommend reading our guide to the best processors on the market.

But for a normal user and in the price range that this unlocked i3 is, the i5-7400 or i5-6400 are better options. Where do we have to look that its four cores are a future option and present against two very fast cores.

If Intel had released this processor at a price of approximately 120 to 145 euros, it would be a very interesting option for the normal user, but we are sure that we will see that it will not be very successful in Gaming configurations. Currently available in online stores for a price of 190 to 200 euros.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
- SPEED IN MONO CORE.	- HIGH PRICE.
- IDEAL FOR OVERCLOCKERS.
- EXCELLENT GAME PERFORMANCE, BUT LOW GAME PERFORMANCE THAT PULLS MULTI-THREAD.

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

i3 7350K

YIELD YIELD - 90%

MULTI-THREAD PERFORMANCE - 70%

OVERCLOCK - 100%

PRICE - 60%

80%