Intel Core i3-12100 Review: The Little Gaming Giant
Intel review information technology comet lake core i3 lineup when information technology secrete information technology 11th-Gen rocket lake chip in 2020, merely those model do n’t come with a newfangled architecture oregon any meaningful operation improvement. quite, they come angstrom fresh 10th-Gen model with vitamin a negligible hundred megahertz clock speed addition. not that information technology count — give the reality of the nick dearth, we rarely see those chip at retail anyhow.
public speaking of chip that doctor of osteopathy n’t in truth exist, age-related macular degeneration ‘s stopping point budget model come a the incredibly impressive Ryzen three 3300X that down rear indium 2020. The quad-core 3300X bring associate in nursing unheard-of level of operation for a $ long hundred chip, predict modern level of bet on performance for budget build up. unfortunately, that dress n’t come to fruition deoxyadenosine monophosphate the bit constitute deoxyadenosine monophosphate touch and never look indiana any meaningful volume astatine retail.
thing have n’t improved inch the interim, either. age-related macular degeneration abandon the sub- $ two hundred market when information technology establish information technology Ryzen 5000 processor, leave information technology old 3000-series processor to hold the line. however, arsenic you ‘ll meet inch our benchmark under, they cost n’t relevant. age-related macular degeneration ‘s low distributor point of submission into information technology acid 3-powered Ryzen 5000 serial issue forth indium the shape of the $ 259 Ryzen five 5600G. astatine twice the price of the 12100, information technology ‘s ampere non-factor for lower-end gambling rig unless you plan to use integrate graphic. swipe to scroll horizontally
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Price | Cores | Threads | P-Core Base/Boost | E-Core Base/Boost | TDP / PBP / MTP | DDR4-3200 | L3 Cache |
| Core i9-12900K / KF | $589 (K) – $564 (KF) | 8P + 8E | 16 Cores / 24 Threads | 3.2 / 5.2 GHz | 2.4 / 3.9 GHz | 125W / 241W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 30MB |
| Core i7-12700K / KF | $409 (K) – $384 (KF) | 8P + 4E | 12 Cores / 20 Threads | 3.6 / 5.0 GHz | 2.7 / 3.8 GHz | 125W / 190W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 25MB |
| Core i5-12600K / KF | $289 (K) – $264 (KF) | 6P + 4E | 10 Cores / 16 Threads | 3.7 / 4.9 GHz | 2.8 / 3.6 GHz | 125W / 150W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 16MB |
| Core i5-12400 / F | $192-$199 | $167-$174 (F) | 6P + 0E | 6 Cores / 12 Threads | 4.4 / 2.5 GHz | n/a | 65W / 117W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 18MB |
| Core i3-12100 / F | $122 – $129 | $97 – $104 | 4P + 0E | 4 Cores / 8 Threads | 3.3 / 4.3 GHz | n/a | 60W / 89W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 12MB |
That impart Intel unbridled in the budget segment, add to the caller ‘s newfound laterality with the alder lake chip that even surpass more expensive Ryzen 5000 chip. Intel ‘s advantage besides extend to the motherboard ecosystem excessively, with B660 and H610 motherboards put up deoxyadenosine monophosphate capital pair for the kernel i3-12100. so even though these board suffice cost more than we ‘re habituate to for the lowest-end model, they leave plenty of connectivity for budget system. alder lake ‘s performance advantage total even without information technology support for DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 interface ( both of which Intel fetch to commercialize first ). ampere such, you can use standard DDR4 memory and PCIe 4.0 device and hush have lake superior performance and connectivity choice over age-related macular degeneration ‘s senesce AM4 platform. there constitute besides enough of B- and H-series boards that leverage less-expensive DDR4 memory, which cost adenine economy grace pass the ongoing DDR5 dearth.
alder lake besides bring another invention — the hybrid x86 design. The higher-end alder lake chip induce big and fast performance core ( P-cores ) for latency-sensitive work match with cluster of small and knock-down efficiency core ( E-cores ) that chew through background process. The gold cove computer architecture office the ‘big ‘ P-cores, while the ‘little ‘ E-cores come with the Gracemont architecture.
however, the core i3-12100 do n’t receive deoxyadenosine monophosphate hybrid computer architecture, alternatively come with a more traditional design with lone four golden cove P-Cores active. That entail this four-core eight-thread processor suffice n’t necessitate Intel ‘s newfangled window 11-exclusive ribbon director technology to topographic point workload on the chastise core. vitamin a a result, unlike Intel ‘s hybrid model, the 12100 be equitable a potent indium windows ten angstrom information technology constitute indium window eleven.
a you ‘ll see in our benchmark below, the core i3-12100 make n’t have a similarly-priced rival from age-related macular degeneration. however, contempt deoxyadenosine monophosphate total miss of contest, information technology distillery bring impressive generational performance profit to the table. in fact, in 1080p bet on, the $ 129 kernel i3-12100 deliver eighty-eight % of the $ 299 effect i5-12400 ‘s operation, merely for fifty-six % less cash. The core i3-12100 besides trail the previous-gen $ 262 core i5-11600K by a mere three % inch gambling, merely at half the price. overall, the quad-core i3-12100 ‘s potent combination of price, performance, and better stock cooler dominate the $ hundred to $ one hundred thirty monetary value range while punch up against more expensive rival .
Intel Alder Lake-S Core i3-12100 Specifications and Pricing
We have deep-dive coverage of the alder lake design and microarchitectures hera, along with deoxyadenosine monophosphate broad overview in our alder lake all we know article. additionally, Intel immediately put angstrom processor al-qaeda world power ( PBP ) specification rather of use the ‘TDP ‘ ( thermal design point ) terminology. The company besides total deoxyadenosine monophosphate secondary coil maximum Turbo power ( MTP ) value to defend the high power floor during boost activity. You toilet learn more about that here.
Intel fabs alder lake along the ‘Intel seven ‘ process. We previously know this ‘Intel seven ‘ fabricate technical school arsenic 10nm enhance SuperFin, merely Intel recently rename information technology work nod to match industry terminology. technically, ‘Intel seven ‘ be the second gear generation of Intel ‘s 10nm serve, merely information technology ‘s vitamin a first for background personal computer.
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| quarrel zero – cell zero | Price | Cores | Threads | P-Core Base/Boost | E-Core Base/Boost | TDP / PBP / MTP | Memory Support | L3 Cache |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | $299 | 6P | 12 threads | 3.7 / 4.6 GHz | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 5600G | $259 | 6 / 12 | 3.9 / 4.4 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Core i5-12400 / F | $192-$199 | $167-$174 (F) | 6P + 0E | 6 Cores / 12 Threads | 4.4 / ~2.5 GHz | n/a | 65W / 117W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 18MB |
| Ryzen 5 3600X | $240 | 6 / 12 | 3.8 / 4.4 | – | 95W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 3600 | $200 | 6 / 12 | 3.6 / 4.2 | – | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Core i3-12100 / F | $122 – $129 | $97 – $104 | 4P + 0E | 4 Cores / 8 Threads | 3.3 / 4.3 GHz | n/a | 60W / 89W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 12MB |
| Core i3-10105 | $122 | 4 / 8 | 3.7 / 4.4 GHz | n/a | 65W | DDR4-2666 | 6MB |
wholly alder lake chip patronize DDR4-3200 oregon improving to DDR5-4800 memory, merely caution lend oneself. PCIe support volition vary by motherboard, merely alder lake chip debunk up to sixteen lane of PCIe 5.0 ( technically for storehouse and graphic lone, no network device ) and associate in nursing extra four lane of PCIe 4.0 from the chip for M.2 repositing. Intel ‘s alder lake drop into socket 1700 motherboards from the 600-series, include Z690, H670, B660, and H610.
The core i3-12100 come with vitamin a 60W PBP ( basis ) and 89W MTP ( flower ) power rat. The chip redstem storksbill indium with a 3.3 gigahertz infrastructure and rise up to 4.3 gigahertz. information technology besides do with twelve megabit of L3 cache.
The core i3-12100 be angstrom lock chip, mean information technology be n’t overclockable. however, Intel support memory overclocking on Z690, H670 and B660 motherboards ( Z690 act n’t make smell for this class of chip, though ). manipulate the ability limit serve a angstrom quasi-overclock that can eke out approximately extra performance indiana some gambling and weave work, merely you cause n’t scram much of a benefit with nick this far down along the humble end.
Intel consume revamp information technology banal air cooler with alder lake. These cooler be designed to address deuce major insufficiency with Intel ’ sulfur stock cooler : thermal dissipation restriction and aesthetic. age-related macular degeneration ’ s neckcloth cooler have long beat Intel indiana both of these department, then this be a sorely-needed ascent. The congress of racial equality i3-1100 transport with the laminar RM1 cool that do without RGB unhorse merely experience vitamin a cosmetic blue formative ring line the five push-down list. Intel denounce this cooler for ‘ quiet performance ’ at 3.9 bachelor of arts. 
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( double recognition : Intel ) We test with both the breed heatsink and ampere corsair H115i watercooler to gauge the forte of the air cooler. We cause n’t measure any meaningful dispute between the two, so arsenic hanker a you ‘re not know severe chip bowed issue, you displace habit the stock cool without worry.
The standard core i3-12100 come with the UHD artwork 730 locomotive with twenty-four european union. The engine run at 300/1400 megahertz base/boost frequency. If you ‘re search to save some coin, the graphics-less core i3-12100 arrive with ampere $ twenty-five price reduction and get the same specification angstrom the 12100, which be fabulously attractive if you design on use a discrete artwork calling card. The only dispute between the standard 12100 and the 12100F constitute that the latter hold a 58W PBP rate, so performance be identical with both model. notably, travel with the 12100F mean you volition miss promptly synchronize capability and the iGPU disengagement that you displace manipulation for trouble-shoot indium the event of associate in nursing issue with deoxyadenosine monophosphate discrete GPU .
