The Intel Core i3-13100F hits the market and should take a big step. Its predecessor, the Core i3-12100F, built a reputation as the best budget CPU for gaming. Intel is clearly trying to replicate that success, but perhaps the Core i3-13100F is following in the footsteps of the previous generation too far. The company has reused the previous generation’s design for the Core i3-13100, so it will feature the same four p-cores of his. Combined with a slightly improved 200 MHz higher 4.5 GHz boost clock.
Pricing is important as the 13100F caters to the sub-$150 budget segment. However, Intel launched the previous generation graphics-less Core i3-12100F for $104 and then quietly raised the price. Naturally, the new Core i3 models will also cost more. So Intel’s recommended price jumped to $144 for the full-fledged Core i3-13100 model and $119 for the graphics-less 13100F model. That’s a price increase of 12% and 15% for each generation respectively.
| row 0 – cell 0 | Manufacturer’s suggested retail price | Design – Arch. | Cores/Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base/Boost (GHz) | TDP/PBP/MTP | memory support | L3 cache |
| Core i3-13100/F | $144 – $119 (Women) | raptor lake | 4/8 (4+0) | 3.4/4.5 | 60W/89W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 12MB |
| Core i3-12100/F | Launch – $122 – $97 (F) | alder lake | 4/8 (4+0) | 3.3/4.3 | 60W/89W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 12MB |
AMD, on the other hand, may have moved to the new AM5 platform for its high-end Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 chips, but refreshed its Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 lineup to cater to the lower end of the market with AM4 motherboards. The new Zen 3 processors initially arrived with a slightly higher price tag than expected, but at current prices they are an exceptional value.
The $144 Core i3-13100 faces stiff competition from the $140 Ryzen 5 5600 while the $119 Core i3-13100F faces off against the $99 Ryzen 5 5500. Drop both AMD chips. Incorporating into the cheap and abundant AM4 chipset ecosystem has given builders plenty of affordable options for budget builds, and the competition is fierce for the list of best CPUs for gaming. increase. Let’s see how the Core i3-13100F holds up under pressure.
Intel Core i3-13100F Pricing and Specs
| row 0 – cell 0 | street price | Design – Arch. | Cores/Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base/Boost (GHz) | TDP/PBP/MTP | memory support | L3 cache |
| Risen 5 5600 | $140 | Zen 3 | 6/12 | 3.5/4.4 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 32MB |
| Ryzen 5 5600G (APU) | $135 | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 6/12 | 3.9/4.4 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Core i3-13100 (F) | $150 – $110 (F) | raptor lake | 4/8 (4+0) | 3.4/4.5 | 60W/89W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 12MB |
| Risen 5 5500 | $99 | Zen 3 – Cezanne | 6/12 | 3.6/4.2 | 65W | DDR4-3200 | 16MB |
| Core i3-12100/F | $130 – $100 (F) | alder lake | 4/8 (4+0) | 3.3/4.3 | 60W/89W | DDR4/5-3200/4800 | 12MB |
AMD and Intel chip retail prices are currently far from their recommended prices, so we’ve included the latest street prices here. Intel has historically used re-badged silicon for its lower-end chips and continues that practice with its new lineup. So while the new Core i3 models will be part of the 13th Gen Raptor Lake family, Intel will reuse the previous 12th Gen Alder Lake ‘Intel 7’ silicon and Golden Cove core architecture. Intel has also taken this approach with some Core i5 models such as the Core i5-13400.
So 13100 is the same as 12100 except for some microcode tuning. This is evident from the L2 cache capacity of 1.25 MB per 13100 cores. In contrast, the truly new Raptor Cove cores come with 2MB. per core.
Like its predecessor, the Core i3-13100/F comes with 4 performance cores and 8 threads, but no e-cores for background tasks. Intel added a 200 MHz boost frequency (+5%) to 4.5 GHz and a 100 MHz higher base clock (+3%) to 4.3 GHz. A clock speed tweak is all Intel needs to justify its step up to the 13th Gen brand and a much higher price tag.
As before, the 13100 features 60W / 89W processor base/max turbo power, 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes and 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes, supporting up to DDR4-3200 and DDR5-4800 MT/s (Note item applies to DDR5 support). Intel’s non-K models do not allow CPU core overclocking, but do support memory overclocking. Unfortunately, the company’s nonsensical decision to keep locking to a specific voltage limits DDR4’s overclocking headroom, so the gains are limited.
The stock Core i3-13100 comes with a UHD Graphics 730 engine and 24 EUs running at base/boost frequencies of 300/1500 MHz. You can save some cash by not using graphics on the F-series models, but that means you lose the Quick Sync feature and iGPU fallback that you can use for troubleshooting. provide the same performance.
The 13100 model is compatible with 600-series or 700-series motherboards and comes bundled with a Laminar RM1 cooler which is sufficient to keep the chip cool under normal conditions, but has a higher noise level than better coolers. .
The 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 5600 is the 7nm Vermeer model that debuted at $199, but its new $140 price tag makes more sense. Since this chip is the ‘non-X’ version of the Ryzen 5 5600X, the two chips are almost identical other than the reduction in the 3.5/4.4 GHz base/boost clocks of the 5600. Overall, the 5600 has the same feature set found in other chiplet-based Zen 3 chips.
AMD’s lowest-end Zen 3 chip, the Ryzen 5 5500, debuted at $150 and is currently selling for just $99. For this chip, AMD repurposed the monolithic (single-chip) Cezanne silicon they typically use for APUs, but disabled the chip’s integrated Radeon Vega graphics engine. This leaves us with a chip with 6 cores and 12 threads. Act Like a standard Vermeer processor.
The 5500 has the same design as the Ryzen 5 5600G and supports PCIe 3.0 instead of PCIe 4.0. As a result, the chip is perfect for pairing with older, lower-end he AM4 motherboards (you don’t want to pay for features you don’t need by pairing with a PCIe 4.0 capable motherboard). The 5500 uses a base/boost clock of 3.6/4.2 GHz.
In contrast to the locked Core i3 lineup, the Ryzen chips are fully unlocked for overclocking CPU cores, memory, and fabric, and like their more serious counterparts, both chips have comes with a bundled Wraith Stealth cooler which is sufficient for stock operation. It also supports up to DDR4-3200 memory. Neither chip has a functioning iGPU, so you’ll have to plan for a separate GPU.
