Intel core i3 8100 vs i3 8350k vs amd ryzen 3 1200 vs amd ryzen 1300x (comparative)

When the AMD Ryzen 3 processors arrived, low-end users were rubbing their hands at the possibility of obtaining a physical quad-core processor for a price that barely exceeds 100 euros. In this situation, Intel has no choice but to leave the two cores aside and launch its new Core i3 from the Coffee Lake family with four physical cores, which is why these new chips are basically like the Core i5 of the previous generation. This opens the doors to get an excellent processor for a price that until now was unimaginable. AMD Ryzen 3 vs Intel Core i3.

Index of contents

Intel Core i3 8100 vs i3 8350K vs AMD Ryzen 3 1200 vs AMD Ryzen 1300X

	Ryzen 3 1200	Ryzen 3 1300X	Core i3 8100	Core i3 8350K
Architecture	Zen	Zen	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm	14 nm	14 nm
Socket	AM4	AM4	LGA 1151	LGA 1151
TDP	65W	65W	65W	91W
Cores / threads	4/4	4/4	4/4	4/4
Frequency	3.1 / 3.4 GHz	3.5 / 3.7 GHz	3.6 GHz	4 GHz
L3 cache	8 MB	8 MB	6 MB	8 MB
BMI	DDR4-2400 (4000 MHz OC)	DDR4-2400 (4000 MHz OC)	DDR4-2400 (4000 MHz OC)	DDR4-2400 (4000 MHz OC)

As we can see in the table above, all Ryzen 3 and Core i3 processors have the same number of cores, exactly four physical cores and four processing threads since neither of them has SMT or HyperThreading. This will make the chip with the best architecture and / or the highest clock speed take the jack to the water.

As for operating frequencies, Intel has an important advantage, especially with the Core i3 8350K that comes at 4 GHz from the factory, it is also the base speed so all the cores operate at a very high frequency, since the Core i3 do not have turbo so that its frequency is fixed. The Core i3 8100 remains in a creditable 3.6 GHz that seems little but we are talking about an architecture with a great power per MHz. In addition to this, the Core i3 8350K has the multiplier unlocked for overclocking, so with a little skill It shouldn't be difficult to get close to or even reach 5 GHz.

On the other hand we have the Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 3 1300X, both with a lower base clock speed than the new Core i3 although the 1300X model reaches 3.7 GHz of turbo speed, slightly higher than the frequency of the Core i3 8100 So we can say that Ryzen 3 is at a disadvantage compared to Intel in terms of clock speed, something that will be decisive since all processors have the same number of cores and threads.

One big difference is that all Ryzen 3s come with the multiplier unlocked for overclocking while only the Core i3 8350K allows overclocking. Anyway we know that the ceiling of the Ryzen processors is in the 4-4.1 GHz so the Core i3 8350K will be clearly superior in case everyone plays with the extra overclocking

Performance in benchmarks and games

To analyze the performance of all the processors in AMD Ryzen 5 Vs Intel Core i5 we have collected the data obtained by Techspot in its tests, it is one of the most reputable media so there is no doubt about its good work.

PERFORMANCE AT BENCHMARKS
	Ryzen 3 1200	Ryzen 3 1300X	Core i3 8100	Core i3 8350K
Cinebench R15	485	515	566	669
Aida64 bandwidth	34.5	34.7	35.7	36.8
PCMark 10	4841	5152	5576	5938
Excel 2016 Monte Carlo	8.27	7.37	6.23	5.31
VeraCrypt 1.2.1 50MB AES	3.5	3.8	3.7	4.1
7-Zip Decompression	12959	14909	15297	17968

The tests of video games AMD Ryzen 3 vs Intel Core i3 have been done with an AMD Radeon RX vega 64 Liquid Edition graphics card, the most powerful solution from the Sunnyvale company and based on the Vega 10 architecture. Only tests have been performed at 1080p resolution since at 2K and 4K the performance limitation of the processor is much less.

GAME PERFORMANCE 1080P (VEGA 64 LC)
	Ryzen 3 1200	Ryzen 3 1300X	Core i3 8100	Core i3 8350K
Battlefield 1	106	115	137	147
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation	63	67	88	97
Civilization VI DX12	62	67	65	71
F1 2017 DX11	125	134	166	175

Analysis of results and conclusion about AMD Ryzen 3 vs Intel Core i3

The low-end has benefited most from the arrival of AMD's Ryzen and Coffee Lake processors from Intel, as for many years budget users have been limited to the dual-core configurations of the Core i3 and quad-core of AMD FX that were clearly inferior to Intel processors despite the difference in the number of execution units. With the arrival of Ryzen we finally have competent quad-core processors from AMD and the first quad-core Core i3s from Coffee Lake.

This means that the performance of this new low-end range takes an important leap forward until it reaches a level equivalent to that of the Core i5 of previous generations, all with four cores, remember that the Core i5 Coffee Lake have made the leap to six cores. The AMD Ryzen 3 were inferior to the Core i5 of the previous generation Kaby Lake and therefore it is to be hoped that this will also be the case with respect to the new Core i3 Coffee Lake, the Techspot tests leave no doubt and confirm them.

Best processors on the market (2017)

The difference AMD Ryzen 3 vs Intel Core i3 is especially significant in video games, something that was already to be expected since Ryzen has never managed to match Intel in this field. The Core i3 8100 achieves superior performance than AMD processors and becomes the best option for gamers on a very tight budget since its price is approximately 130 euros. Above all, there is a Core i3 8350K that has a price of 190 euros, a figure that leaves it meaningless since for 10 euros more we can find the Core i5 8400 with six cores.

With this, the Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 3 1300X remain in a very compromised position since they are lower than the Core i3 8100 and the prices are very similar with 104 euros and 135 euros respectively. This makes the Ryzen 3 1300X meaningless since it is more expensive than the Core i3 8100 and its performance is inferior, it is true that the two AMD processors are compatible with overclocking while the Core i3 8100 is not, but for This is already worth the Ryzen 3 1200 which is significantly cheaper.

For this reason we believe that the winner of the comparative AMD Ryzen 3 vs Intel Core i3 is the Core i3 8100 and in second position is the Ryzen 3 1200 that can battle the Intel processor but for this it needs an overclock and a user who points to the low-end shouldn't be an expert at it. The Core i3 8350K and Ryzen 3 1300X do not make much sense for what was said before.

Techspot font