Intel Core i3-10100 + B460 Motherboard Review

[Julio Franco]

The Core i3-10100 is Intel's most affordable 4-core, 8-thread CPU ever at just $122. That places it in direct competition with AMD's Ryzen 3 3300X. As the successor of the i3-9100, clock speeds are about the same, but thanks to Hyper-Threading, it brings support for 8 threads. Spec-wise, the i3-10100 is similar to 2017's Core i7-7700 which cost more than twice as much as this i3 CPU.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2033-intel-core-i3-10100/

 

[Aryassen]

"In terms of gaming performance they’re pretty similar, the i3-10100 seems to have an advantage in less demanding titles "
Sorry Steve, but where does this come from? The included test data doesn't support that: is that something you have observed in other titles? (and if so, could you please throw a few examples, just for the sake of clarity)
Other than that, thank you for the thorough review, and especially thank you for taking the feedback on the stock cooler into consideration: it is great to see you guys listen and react to (reasonable) comments so quickly. Much appreciated

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I'm loving the 10th generation's capabilities, but I personally can't see upgrading annd buying a new motherboard till DDR5 comes to market. I need to see how these same exact CPU will compare on DDR4 vs. DDR5.

When Techspot does test DDR5, I hope you can demonstrate tests of that nature. All things being equal, what difference will DDR5 make?

This i3 is great news for laptop gaming but I want to see it paired with RTX graphics rather than lower end GTX graphics.

 

[Fuzzy Dunalap]

""In terms of gaming performance they’re pretty similar, the i3-10100 seems to have an advantage in less demanding titles "

*rubs thine eyes*

Uh, no. Every benchmark you posted has the i3 losing, don't do the Tom's Hardware thing guys. Now then, let us arm chair nerds pontificate...

that 10k i3 is clocked similar to the 3300x and it loses in damn near every benchmark, even the coveted "gaming" crown that Intel clings to.

Pay attention guys and gals, Intels' only advantage over Ryzen, with their current architecture, is clock speed, that's it. You need the higher clocked chips to get better FPS results, if that's your go to reason to upgrade.

*sniffs* Intel has no idea how to respond to Ryzen architecture and believe that jumping down to 7/10nm will solve their woos, how long have they been rocking this arch.. since the quad-core wolfsbane days? (dont quote me on that).. I think I'm gonna cry.

It's so beautiful!

 

[Irata]

Thanks for the review and thanks for also having a look at the supplied HSF. It's good to see that it is perfectly useable, I.e. no need to spend more money on an aftermarket HSF.

So I guess it does make sense to use the i3-10100 as a low end office type machine if the iGPU is enough (I.e. just to drive a monitor). That may change with the upcoming Ryzen 4000 APU but for now it does seem to offer better value vs. AMD's APU.

However, if you plan on getting a dGPU I.e. to do any gaming...well, not really.

In 1080p gaming, the 3300x is ahead by 9% on avg fps and 16% on the lows (vs. the 10100 running on 2666 Mhz memory).

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

Good review Steve.
I'm sure it will be a relief to many who were worried about the box cooler. It does the job as well, if not better than the decent stock AMD one.
The big problem Intel has with this chip in the enthusiast market, is that it's a year too late.
It should be selling for $90 given the performance difference with the AMD equivalent.

Nonetheless it will sell in huge numbers on the corporate market...Dell, HP etc. It's an ideal general purpose, cheap, office chip - And that is the market where AMD needs to make inroads.

 

[Lew Zealand]

About the B460:

Given what we’ve observed with the 10400 being right on the 65 watt TDP limit, parts like the i5-10500 will start to see power limits come into play on boards with a 65 watt limit, though the performance hit will be extremely mild in that example. You probably won’t see a harsh decline in all-core performance on a TDP limited board until you reach and go beyond the Core i5-10600K. The 10600K, for example, will see the package TDP go as high as 110 watts in an AVX workload.

Not really. The 10600K is a 125W part so if it draws 110W on AVX, that's well within the capabilities and spec of the B460. Of course you lose the OC capability on the B460 so the 10600K is not a good match for this MoBo.

And assuming you can undervolt the Intel CPU using XTU, you can get the 10500 under the 65W cap easily. I do this on my 8400 for AVX: it runs at about 72W all core for AVX but a -.08v undervolt gets that to about 63W. I bump up the power limit to 70W just to manage any short term spikes which you can also do.

IMO even the 8 core i7-10700 (not K) will be a decent match for the B460 but really you should be getting a Ryzen for productivity or a 10600K for (some) high refresh gaming if you're even considering the i7.

 

[Squid Surprise]

This i3 is great news for laptop gaming but I want to see it paired with RTX graphics rather than lower end GTX graphics.

If you're going to spend hundreds of dollars on a GPU, why would you skimp on the CPU? Minimum i5 / Ryzen 3600 if you're going for a high end GPU.

 

[Lew Zealand]

This i3 is great news for laptop gaming but I want to see it paired with RTX graphics rather than lower end GTX graphics.

???

This is a review of a desktop CPU.

Additionally there are no gaming laptops I've ever seen advertised that use an i3. Simply put, anyone who is enough of a gaming enthusiast to demand even a laptop GTX 1650 will want it paired with an i5. Doesn't matter if this year's desktop i3 is 3 years ago's desktop i7. i5 (and really i7) wins for marketing.

 

[Boshum]

"In terms of gaming performance they’re pretty similar, the i3-10100 seems to have an advantage in less demanding titles "
Sorry Steve, but where does this come from? The included test data doesn't support that: is that something you have observed in other titles? (and if so, could you please throw a few examples, just for the sake of clarity)
Other than that, thank you for the thorough review, and especially thank you for taking the feedback on the stock cooler into consideration: it is great to see you guys listen and react to (reasonable) comments so quickly. Much appreciated

I think he just had a brain fart. Happens to the best of us. Or maybe he's struggling to be charitable to avoid toxic feedback from people that accuse him of being biased for AMD. There were a couple games where it eeked out a lead in average frames.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Or maybe he's struggling to be charitable to avoid toxic feedback from people that accuse him of being biased for AMD.

That is exactly my assumption.

 

[bluetooth fairy]

(1) memory notes
DDR4-3200 CL14 2x8GB kits cost about the same as these i3's and R3's. I mean we shouldn't expect pairing a $100-120 CPU with the memory almost twice expensive than regular one.

The i3-10100 results here, with 2666 CL14 (?) memory, are closer to what one can get when (if) Intel will allow unlock potential of typical DDR4-3200 CL16-18-18 kits on B&H boards.

(2) competition
It's not that i3-10100 is below average. Look at the Ryzen 3 3100 results -- it sits just where it is expected and in accordance with AMD strategy: pay less, get more. With the Ryzen 3 3100 you get i3 performance and pay less. But the 3300X performs above expectations.

(3) iGPU/APU
Buying i3-10100 you pay $25 extra for the iGPU. We should expect Ryzen 4000G sooner or later to compare its price and performance to i3's and i5's ones with integrated graphics.

 

[meric]

R5 3600 was a serious competitor for intel's low to mid tier product family, and now there's an anomaly called R3 3300X. Intel could not live with their own failures, where did that bring them? -lol-

 

[BadThad]

Intel....please give us another 300A Celeron!!!

 

[MaxSmarties]

""In terms of gaming performance they’re pretty similar, the i3-10100 seems to have an advantage in less demanding titles "

*rubs thine eyes*

Uh, no. Every benchmark you posted has the i3 losing, don't do the Tom's Hardware thing guys. Now then, let us arm chair nerds pontificate...

that 10k i3 is clocked similar to the 3300x and it loses in damn near every benchmark, even the coveted "gaming" crown that Intel clings to.

Pay attention guys and gals, Intels' only advantage over Ryzen, with their current architecture, is clock speed, that's it. You need the higher clocked chips to get better FPS results, if that's your go to reason to upgrade.

*sniffs* Intel has no idea how to respond to Ryzen architecture and believe that jumping down to 7/10nm will solve their woos, how long have they been rocking this arch.. since the quad-core wolfsbane days? (dont quote me on that).. I think I'm gonna cry.

It's so beautiful!

Still some people would like to buy an Intel solution, no matter how hard AMD fanboys will try.

 

[HyPeroxya]

What are the idle wattages and undervolting potential ? I want a 24/7 CPU that puts out as little heat as possible but will mostly be idle maybe 2hours websurf 2 hours gaming . Where are the Eco mobo's.. I lean towards the ryzen 3300 as its newer 7nm ..but , maybe 14nm is refined ??
reviews of some Pico_psu please eg HDPLEX 400 vs competitors (how efficent? 92% is touted)

 

[flee2020]

For those who find that USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports are important to them, please note that the Intel B460 chipset does not support this. Only the H and Z series chipsets allow for these ports to be on board. So if you buy a B460 board and need USB 3.2 Gen 2, you will have to buy an additional add-on card.