Intel Core i3-10300 Review

The Core i3-10300 is one of Intel's entry-level Desktop processors. It was released in 2020 with 4 cores and 8 threads. With base clock at 3.7GHz, max speed at 4.4GHz, and a 65W power rating. The Core i3-10300 is based on the Comet Lake 14nm family and is part of the Core i3 series.

Core i3-10300 is also the successor of Intel's last gen Core i3-9300 processor that was based on the Coffee Lake Refresh and 14nm process and was released in 2019.

In our mind, the best processors are the ones that deliver outstanding performance at a reasonable price point. And, the Core i3-10300 absolutely nails this concept.

This processor packs 4-cores and 8-threads in a mainstream package for the first time, and does it at a similar price point as the Ryzen 3 3200G, a processor with just 4-cores and 4-threads.

Now, we're asking ourselves whether or not the Intel Core i3-10300 finally dethrones the Ryzen 3 3200G as the de facto ruler of the mainstream processors. Ultimately, it depends: the Core i3-10300 doesn't reach the same single-core performance as AMD, but we're starting to see more games adopt multi-threaded CPUs, so that doesn't matter as much.

We covered the deep dive details of the Comet Lake chip design in our Intel Core i3-10320 and Core i3-10100 review, so head there for more information on the Core i3-10300's architecture, which is identical to the Core i3-10100.

As the higher-priced version of the Core i3-10100, the Core i3-10300 has higher base and Boost frequencies of 3.7 and 4.4 GHz, respectively. That's an increase in base frequency and a bump to boost clocks, but the real advantage should lay in the higher Package Power Tracking (PPT) envelope, which is a measurement of the maximum amount of power delivered to the socket. The Core i3-10100's PPT tops out at 65W, while the motherboard can pump up to 142W to the Core i3-10300 at peak performance. That opens up much more aggressive boost behavior, on both single and multiple cores, that could widen the performance gap beyond what we see on the spec sheet.

But, like most humans, if you do things other than gaming, the Core i3-10300 offers a better mixture of performance in single- and multi-threaded applications. The Core i3-10300 offers twice the threads of the price-comparable Ryzen 3 3200G, and it wields them to great effect in threaded workloads. As such, rendering and encoding remain a strong suit of the Core i3 chips, and Intel's improvements to AVX throughput have yielded impressive results.

What this all means is that the Intel Core i3-10300 is an absolute beast when it comes to multi-threaded workloads, especially at this price point. If you're counting on doing some video editing or compiling one hell of an Excel spreadsheet, you're going to see firsthand a performance boost with the Core i3-10300.

One of the nice things about the Intel Core i3-10300 processors is that the retail boxed models come with a CPU cooler. So, you can pick something like the Intel Core i3-10300 up for $143 and don’t need to spend any extra money on CPU cooling.

The Intel Core i3-10300 retail boxed processor comes with the traditional ‘pancake’ CPU cooler. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done on this processor which is rated at 65W TDP. You do not need to have an aftermarket cooling solution unless you want to.

Our look today at the Intel Core i3-10300 showed that it is a very capable processor. A 4-core processor sounds like it would be really under-powered these days, but we were pleasantly surprised with a snappy and very capable system. Having just 4 cores had this processor coming in at the back of the pack for heavily threaded workloads, but it performed better than some of its more expensive siblings in lightly threaded workloads where it shined thanks to its high base clocks.

The Intel Core i3-10300 seems to be a decent performing chip that is readily available for $143 at your favorite retailer. The main competition for this processor is the Ryzen 3 3200G 4-Core unlocked desktop processor with Radeon Vega 8 graphics ($89 shipped).

Bottom Line, the Intel Core i3-10300 does not get much media attention since it is entry-level 10 Gen Core Comet Lake processor, but it is a very capable processor that still delivers a good computing experience for entry-level users.

If extended overclocking and boost frequencies are trivial matters to you, Intel also offers the Core i3-10100 at $122. It’s still outfitted with 4-cores and 8-threads, but clocks in at a slower 3.6GHz and maxes out at only 4.3GHz.

With Core i3, Intel continues to innovate on its new architecture and 14nm process. Like Core i3, Intel has engineered Core i3 to operate on a LGA1200 chipset with all the modern amenities of computing. This includes support for DDR4 RAM, the fastest NVMe SSDs and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Now the biggest question is can Intel’s Core i3 processor play games? The answer is simply yes as it got a respectable gaming score of 86% in our benchmarks.

If you’ve been looking for an affordable, powerhouse CPU that both works and parties hard, this is it.

That said, to squeeze out all the potential of this surprisingly potent entry-level chip, you’ll want (and need) to splurge on an enthusiast-grade H410, Z470, Z490 motherboard.