Intel Quietly Launches Core i3-10100F to Battle the Non-Existent Ryzen 3 3300X

Intel 10th Generation Core i3 Processor

Intel 10th Generation Core i3 Processor (Image credit: Intel)

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.

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ProcessorsCores / ThreadsBase / Boost Clocks (GHz)L3 Cache (MB)TDP (W)MSRP
Core i3-10100F4 / 83.6 / 4.3665$79 - $97
Ryzen 3 3300X4 / 83.8 / 4.31665$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. 

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • JfromNucleon
    Hmmmmm, AMD still hasn't announced lower end zen 3 processors, so... This might actually play a bit to Intel's advantage especially for those just getting into building a pc on a budget
    Reply
  • TCA_ChinChin
    Interesting to see Intel have such a good offering on the low end. This is indeed a great opportunity for Intel to make more inroads to the under 100$ market. We'll have to wait and see what the low end of Zen 3 compares to this one.
    Reply
  • GregoryDude
    This may be intel's new niche for now; Today, Intel is the budget alternative to AMD. It is much cheaper for me today to build an intel setup with an i3-9100f vs an AMD Ryzen alternative. This new i3-10100f CPU will be the "go to" budget gaming chip considering it will even be cheaper than the Ryzen 3100.

    Also, although my main gaming rig is a Ryzen 3900x, I built a rig for someone recently with an i9-9900K cpu which I was able to pick up at Newegg for $379, coupled with an inexpensive Z390 motherboard and it nearly matched my rig in performance, yet was a couple hundred bucks cheaper overall. It's weird how the tides have turned but that's the reality I guess.
    Reply
  • Kamen Rider Blade
    It's a sad day for Intel when they are fighting on the bottom end product stack instead of swinging for the top end stack where higher margins lie.
    Reply
  • spentshells
    What a good chip! For gaming on high this cpu will be a good match for 1080p gaming at a solid 60FPS.
    Reply
  • RodroX
    At that price sounds like a nice entry level chip for gaming/working. At least while the Ryzen 3 cpus are not around.

    It seems to be the same 10100 but without a iGPU, and if thats the case it barely match the Ryzen 3 3100 in some productity works and lose in most of them. Gaming wise seems to be basically the same, the only times it wins against 3300X is while using a Z490 mobo and DDR4 3200 RAM. (https://www.techspot.com/review/2033-intel-core-i3-10100/)

    AAPq9LthhncView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAPq9Lthhnc

    Im guessing intel cripple the new core i3 somehow, to avoid Core i7 7700K owners rage. Still at less than U$ 99 sounds like a nice deal.

    In any case you could probably get a Ryzen 5 2600 + B450 mobo + DDR4 3200 memory for equal or less than a i3 10100 + Z490 mobo + DDR4 3200 memory.
    Reply
  • derekullo
    You have to give Intel credit.

    They are highly experienced at 4 core 8 thread chips ...

    :tongueout:
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    RodroX said:
    In any case you could probably get a Ryzen 5 2600 + B450 mobo + DDR4 3200 memory for equal or less than a i3 10100 + Z490 mobo + DDR4 3200 memory.
    Few sane people would put an i3 on a z490 motherboard, h470 would make a whole lot more sense. DDR4 pricing is more or less flat from 2133 through 3200, so I wouldn't call 3200MT/s RAM an expense over anything else and on platforms that don't allow memory clocks to go that high, timing margins can still be leveraged to tighten latencies.
    Reply
  • shady28
    Uhh, no. This chip is $50 less than the $130 3300X. I think this author just made an (bad) assumption and posted an article as if their assumption were fact.

    This looks to me more like a dozen or so 14nm fab plant managers asked the question "What do we do with these 200,000 i3-10100's whos iGPU failed validation after that screw up last month?" and the answer was "Rebadge them to i3-10100F and knock $50 off the price."

    A lot less dramatic but a lot more probable sequence of events.
    Reply
  • PapaCrazy
    derekullo said:
    You have to give Intel credit.

    They are highly experienced at 4 core 8 thread chips ...

    :tongueout:

    GN had a video about the RTX 2080 that said "We get it Nvidia. you can make a 1080ti." I feel the same way about this chip... "We get it Intel, you can make a 2600k"
    Reply