Intel has now listed the Core i3-10100F, a processor that wasn't part of the chipmaker's initial 10th Generation Comet Lake-S launch, on its ARK website. The chip still isn't on the company's master price list, but it's perfectly positioned to compete against AMD's Ryzen 3 3300X that has largely been absent from retail channels since its launch five months ago.
The Core i3-10100F is poised to be the new budget gaming champion. The 14nm Comet Lake chip arrives with four cores and eight threads clocked at 3.6 GHz and a boost clock speed of 4.3 GHz. With a 65W TDP (thermal power design), the quad-core part has relatively low cooling requirements, which is good news for budget builders.
As the "F" suffix in the model name indicates, the Core i3-10100F lacks integrated graphics. The processor won't miss it anyway since it's aimed at the gaming crowd that'll likely pair the chip with a discrete gaming graphics card. According to Intel, the Core i3-10100F will retail for between $79 and $97; however, the chipmaker doesn't state when the quad-core processor will hit the retail channels.
| Processors | Cores / Threads | Base / Boost Clocks (GHz) | L3 Cache (MB) | TDP (W) | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i3-10100F | 4 / 8 | 3.6 / 4.3 | 6 | 65 | $79 - $97 |
| Ryzen 3 3300X | 4 / 8 | 3.8 / 4.3 | 16 | 65 | $120 |
It's crystal clear that Intel's Core i3-10100F is gunning for the elusive Ryzen 3 3300X. AMD's chip, which is based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture and 7nm node, also has a four-core, eight-thread configuration. Compared to the Core i3-10100F, the Ryzen 3 3300X has a 200 MHz higher base clock and 10MB more L3 cache.
Like the Core i3-10100F, the Ryzen 3 3300X doesn't have integrated graphics. The Zen 2 processor also competes in the 65W category, so it's the perfect opponent for the Core i3-10100F. AMD includes the Wraith Stealth CPU cooler with the Ryzen 3 3300X, while Intel probably delivers the Core i3-10100F with the same nameless stock heatsink the chipmaker has been using all these years.
While the Ryzen 3 3300X was available for a short period after launch, it has been out of stock pretty much everywhere for roughly five months. It remains to be seen whether the Core i3-10100F can match the Ryzen 3 3300X in gaming performance. If it does, Intel has a sure winner on its hands if the chipmaker can provide sufficient supply.
