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Intel Core i3-13100F

Intel Core i3-13100F: Budget Processor for Gaming and Work in 2025

Updated: March 2025

Key Features: Raptor Lake in a Compact Form

The Intel Core i3-13100F belongs to the Raptor Lake generation while retaining characteristics of its budget line. It is a 4-core chip with 8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading, allowing it to compete in multi-threaded tasks. The Intel 7 process (10 nm Enhanced SuperFin) strikes a balance between energy efficiency and performance.

Key Specifications:

- Base/Max Frequency: 3.4 GHz / 4.5 GHz (Turbo Boost 2.0).

- Cache: 12 MB L3 — double that of the i3-12100F.

- TDP: 58 W — easily cooled even with a stock cooler.

- Integration: No integrated graphics (indicated by "F"), so a discrete graphics card is required.

Performance:

According to Geekbench 6, the i3-13100F scores 2280 in single-core and 7760 in multi-core tests. This is a 12% increase over the i3-12100F, thanks to Raptor Lake optimizations. In games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Apex Legends, the processor consistently delivers 60+ FPS when paired with a graphics card like the NVIDIA RTX 3060.

Architectural Features:

- PCIe 5.0 support (16 lanes) — relevant for next-generation SSDs.

- Intel Thread Director technologies for thread optimization in hybrid applications.

Compatible Motherboards: LGA 1700 Socket and Chipset Choices

The i3-13100F uses the LGA 1700 socket, compatible with 600 and 700 series chipsets.

Recommended Chipsets:

1. H610/B660 (DDR4): Budget option for office PCs. Example: ASUS Prime H610M-K ($85).

2. B760 (DDR5): Optimal choice for gaming builds. Example: MSI Pro B760M-A WiFi ($140).

3. Z690/Z790: Overkill for i3, but suitable for upgrading to i5/i7.

Important:

- BIOS updates may be required for 600 series motherboards.

- For PCIe 5.0, choose models with Gen5 support (e.g., Gigabyte Z790 UD).

Supported Memory: DDR4 vs DDR5

The processor works with DDR4-3200 and DDR5-4800, but the type of memory depends on the motherboard.

Comparison:

- DDR4-3200 (CL16): Affordable option (32 GB — $70), suitable for gaming and everyday tasks.

- DDR5-4800 (CL40): More expensive (32 GB — $110), but yields a 5-10% boost in CPU-dependent games (Microsoft Flight Simulator, CS2).

Recommendation: For a budget build, choose DDR4. If considering an upgrade, opt for DDR5.

Power Supply: Minimum Requirements and Tips

With a TDP of 58 W, the processor does not require a high-capacity power supply.

Power Calculation:

- Without a graphics card: 300 W.

- With RTX 3060 (170 W): 500 W (recommended 80 Plus Bronze).

- With RTX 4070 (200 W): 650 W (80 Plus Gold).

Power Supply Examples:

- EVGA 500 BR ($50) — for RTX 3050.

- Corsair CX650M ($80) — for RTX 4060.

Pros and Cons of the i3-13100F

Pros:

- Price: $120 (new) — one of the most affordable CPUs for 2023-2024.

- Energy efficiency: suitable for compact cases.

- Gaming performance: rivals Ryzen 5 5500.

Cons:

- 4 cores: limitation in heavy multi-threading (rendering, streaming).

- No integrated graphics: cannot operate without a graphics card.

Use Cases: Where the i3-13100F Will Shine

1. Gaming: Ideal for Full HD gaming with a GPU like the RTX 3060/RX 6600. In Fortnite (Epic) — 90 FPS, in Elden Ring — 60 FPS.

2. Office Tasks: Multitasking with a dozen tabs, Excel, Zoom.

3. Multimedia: Streaming 4K video, editing in DaVinci Resolve (projects up to 1080p).

Limitations: Not suitable for 3D rendering in Blender or working with neural networks.

Comparison with Competitors

1. AMD Ryzen 5 5500 ($100): 6 cores, but weaker in single-core tests (Geekbench 6 SC: 1980). Better in multi-threading.

2. Intel Core i5-12400F ($160): 6 cores/12 threads, Geekbench 6 MC: 9200. A choice for those needing future-proof performance.

3. Ryzen 5 5600 ($130): Higher gaming performance (+8%), but more expensive.

Conclusion: The i3-13100F excels in price and power consumption, but falls behind 6-core models in multi-threading.

Building Tips for a PC with i3-13100F

1. Cooler: The stock cooler is sufficient, but for quieter operation, consider the DeepCool AG400 ($20).

2. Motherboard: B760 + DDR5 if the budget allows.

3. Graphics Card: Don't skimp — go for RTX 3060 or RX 7600.

4. Storage: PCIe 4.0 SSD (WD Black SN770 1TB — $80).

Mistakes to Avoid:

- Buying a Z790 for i3 — excessive.

- Using DDR5-6000 — the processor does not support such frequencies.

Final Verdict: Who Should Consider the i3-13100F?

This processor is an excellent choice for:

- Budget Gamers: Maximum FPS for $120.

- Office PCs: Reliability and low power consumption.

- Home Media Centers: 4K streaming without hiccups.

Why in 2025?

Despite the launch of new generations, the i3-13100F remains relevant due to its low price and compatibility with modern platforms. It is a "workhorse" for those not willing to overspend on excess power.

Prices are current as of March 2025.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2023

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i3-13100F

Code Name

Raptor Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Performance-cores

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.50 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

L3 Cache

12 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1700

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

Intel 7

TDP

58 W

Processor Base Power

The time-averaged power dissipation that the processor is validated to not exceed during manufacturing while executing an Intel-specified high complexity workload at Base Frequency and at the junction temperature as specified in the Datasheet for the SKU segment and configuration.

58 W

Maximum Turbo Power

The maximum sustained (>1s) power dissipation of the processor as limited by current and/or temperature controls. Instantaneous power may exceed Maximum Turbo Power for short durations (<=10ms). Note: Maximum Turbo Power is configurable by system vendor and can be system specific.

110 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

5.0 and 4.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16+4 | 2x8+4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

192 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

76.8 GB/s

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

12 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

CET - Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.

Yes

Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost)

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

2280

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

7760

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1709

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

6656

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

3612

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

14654

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 5 PRO 7645

2564 +12.5%

Core i7-13700T

2406 +5.5%

Core i3-13100F

2280

Core i9-11900F

2188 -4%

Ryzen 7 5800X3D

2085 -8.6%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Ryzen 5 5600X

8641 +11.4%

Xeon W-3323

8239 +6.2%

Core i3-13100F

7760

Xeon Gold 5315Y

7344 -5.4%

Ryzen 5 5500GT

6917 -10.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i7-13700F

1908 +11.6%

Ryzen 7 PRO 7840HS

1799 +5.3%

Core i3-13100F

1709

Core i9-12900H

1652 -3.3%

Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U

1587 -7.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Ryzen Z1

7404 +11.2%

Xeon w3-2423

7066 +6.2%

Core i3-13100F

6656

Core i7-9700F

6266 -5.9%

Xeon E5-1680 v2

5956 -10.5%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 7 8845HS

3803 +5.3%

Xeon w7-2475X

3706 +2.6%

Core i3-13100F

3612

Core i5-12500T

3521 -2.5%

Ryzen 9 5900

3449 -4.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-2660

16070 +9.7%

Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U

15232 +3.9%

Core i3-13100F

14654

Core i3-12100F

14153 -3.4%

Xeon E5-1660 v4

13574 -7.4%