Civilization VI AI Test
The Civilization VI AI test measures CPU performance in a turn-based strategy game. An overclocked Core i3-8350K establishes a compelling lead over its locked Coffee Lake counterparts, while the Core i5-8400's Turbo Boost frequencies provide an edge over the -8100's 3.6 GHz ceiling.
AMD's Ryzen 3 processors are also competitive. The tuned Ryzen 3 1300X, an Editor's Choice award-winner, leads the Core i3-8100. Meanwhile, the overclocked Ryzen 5 models don't fare as well. Then again, those more expensive models feature simultaneous multi-threading, which this test historically punishes.
Civilization VI Graphics Test
Even with two extra cores, there are situations where the -8100's locked multiplier is a liability. Both overclocked Ryzen 3 models outperform the Core i3-8100 during this benchmark, while the -8100 fends off those same processors at stock settings by a similar margin.
There's a huge 24.2 FPS delta between the Ryzen 3 1200's stock 3.1 GHz base frequency and overclocked 3.9 GHz configuration. Overclocking the 1200's memory to 3200 MT/s helps quite a bit.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III
Warhammer 40,000: DoW III's benchmark scales well with execution resources, but aggressive clock rates also provide a big benefit.
The overclocked Core i3-8350K continues to impress, though the fact it requires an overclocking-friendly heat sink and Z370 motherboard hurts the value calculation compared to less expensive Core i3 and Ryzen 3 models.
Intel's Core i3-8100 takes a comfortable lead over the Ryzen 3 models, even after we overclock them. The -8100 also beats both stock Ryzen 5 CPUs, though AMD's 1500X jumps ahead once we overclock it.
MORE: Best Cheap CPUs
MORE: Intel & AMD Processor Hierarchy
MORE: All CPUs Content
