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Intel Core i3-10305T

Intel Core i3-10305T: A Budget Processor for Office and Multimedia in 2025

Relevant analysis and practical recommendations

Key Characteristics: Architecture and Performance

The Intel Core i3-10305T processor, released in 2021, remains a popular choice for budget builds due to its balance of price and capabilities.

- Architecture and Technology: Based on the Comet Lake microarchitecture (14nm). Despite Intel transitioning to 7nm and 10nm processes in new lines by 2025, 14nm chips maintain their position in the low-price segment.

- Cores and Threads: 4 cores, 8 threads (Hyper-Threading). Base frequency is 3.0 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.0 GHz.

- Cache and Graphics: L3 Cache is 8MB, integrated GPU is Intel UHD Graphics 630 (base frequency 350 MHz, dynamic frequency 1.2 GHz).

- Performance: In the Geekbench 6 test (2025), it scores 1253 in single-core and 2931 in multi-core modes. This is sufficient for office tasks, streaming video, and light gaming.

Key Features:

- Low power consumption (TDP 35W).

- Support for virtualization (VT-x, VT-d).

- Intel Quick Sync technology for accelerated video encoding.

Compatible Motherboards: Sockets and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1200 socket, which limits the selection of motherboards to outdated but available models:

- Chipsets: H410, B460, H470, Z490. For the i3-10305T, B460 boards are optimal as they offer basic features without excess (for example, ASRock B460M Pro4, $75-90).

- Selection Features:

- H410 boards are cheaper ($60-70) but have limitations: 2 RAM slots and no PCIe 4.0 support.

- Z490 supports overclocking, but this is irrelevant for the i3-10305T.

- Advice: In 2025, new LGA 1200 boards are no longer being produced, but you can find them in stock or from resellers. Check BIOS support—some boards require updates to work with the 10th generation.

Supported Memory: DDR4 and Its Potential

The i3-10305T works with DDR4-2666 MHz (up to 128GB). By 2025, DDR5 has become the standard, but for budget PCs, DDR4 remains relevant:

- Recommendations:

- 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-2666 is optimal for multitasking (cost $40-60).

- For an office PC, 8GB (2x4GB) is sufficient.

- Limitations: No DDR5 support or XMP profiles for overclocking.

Power Supplies: Power Consumption Calculation

With a TDP of 35W, the processor is extremely economical. Even considering other components, the system does not consume much:

- Basic Scenario (without a discrete graphics card):

- A PSU of 300-400W is sufficient (for example, be quiet! System Power 10 400W, $45).

- With a discrete GPU (for example, GTX 1650):

- A PSU of 450-500W (Corsair CX450, $55).

- Advice: Don’t skimp on the power supply. Even for low-power builds, choose models with an 80+ Bronze certification.

Pros and Cons: Who Should Buy It?

Pros:

- Low price ($120-140 in 2025).

- Energy efficiency—suitable for compact PCs and HTPCs.

- Support for multitasking for light work tasks.

Cons:

- Outdated 14nm process technology.

- No PCIe 4.0 (only PCIe 3.0).

- Integrated graphics insufficient for modern gaming.

Use Cases: Where the Processor Shines

1. Office and Study: Working with documents, browser (20+ tabs), Zoom/Teams.

2. Multimedia: Streaming video (4K via Intel Quick Sync), basic video editing in Shotcut or DaVinci Resolve.

3. Light Gaming: CS:GO, Dota 2, Minecraft on low settings (UHD 630 delivers 30-45 FPS at Full HD).

4. Home Server/NAS: Low power consumption and support for virtualization.

Practical Example: A user built an HTPC on the i3-10305T in a Mini-ITX case (ASRock H470M-ITX). The system runs quietly, consumes 25W at idle, and streams 4K content without lag.

Comparison with Competitors: AMD vs Intel

The main competitor is the AMD Ryzen 3 5300G (4 cores/8 threads, 7nm, Vega 6):

- Performance: Ryzen 3 5300G scores ~1350 (Single), ~3100 (Multi) in Geekbench 6.

- Graphics: Vega 6 is 10-15% faster than UHD 630.

- Price: $130-150.

- AMD Advantages: PCIe 4.0, more modern process technology.

Conclusion: Ryzen 3 5300G outperforms in performance, but the i3-10305T is preferable for low TDP systems.

Practical Build Tips

1. Case: Compact models are suitable for office use (Fractal Design Core 500, $60).

2. Storage: An SSD is essential (Crucial P3 500GB, $40)—it speeds up system performance.

3. Cooling: The stock cooler is adequate, but for silence, you can opt for Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 ($25).

4. Motherboard: Choose models with HDMI 2.0 if using integrated graphics.

Final Conclusion: Who Is the i3-10305T Suitable For?

This processor is a good choice for:

- Budget office PCs—low price and power consumption.

- Home theater PCs (HTPCs)—support for 4K and quiet operation.

- Students—sufficient for studying and simple projects.

- Entry-level servers—virtualization and stability.

Why You Shouldn't Buy It: If you need a modern gaming system or are working with 3D rendering, consider Ryzen 5 or Core i5 from the 12th generation.

In 2025, the Intel Core i3-10305T remains a niche but practical solution for those who value the balance between price and reliability. It may not impress with innovations but does its job honestly.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

March 2021

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.

i3-10305T

Code Name

Comet 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.

Basic Frequency

3.00 GHz

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.

4.00 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

4.00 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

8 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1200

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.

14 nm

TDP

35 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.

3.0

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 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

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.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

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

128 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

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).

41.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.10 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2160@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

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.

8 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 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 Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

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 InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1253

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

2931

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

969

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

4020

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2457

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

8136

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-8559U

1338 +6.8%

Xeon E3-1270L v4

1289 +2.9%

Core i3-10305T

1253

Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U

1209 -3.5%

Xeon Gold 6134

1174 -6.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i3-8300T

3357 +14.5%

Core i5-7440HQ

3101 +5.8%

Core i3-10305T

2931

Core i5-1035G4

2646 -9.7%

Ryzen 3 3350U

2422 -17.4%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Pentium Gold G6605

1016 +4.9%

Xeon E3-1515M v5

994 +2.6%

Core i3-10305T

969

Xeon Gold 6148F

948 -2.2%

Core i7-6820EQ

930 -4%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E7-8850 v2

4495 +11.8%

Core i5-10500T

4284 +6.6%

Core i3-10305T

4020

Xeon Gold 5412U

3839 -4.5%

Xeon E5-4603

3693 -8.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i9-9980HK

2546 +3.6%

Xeon E3-1280

2504 +1.9%

Core i3-10305T

2457

Xeon E3-1240

2425 -1.3%

Core i7-8809G

2393 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i3-1305U

8923 +9.7%

Core i5-10300H

8469 +4.1%

Core i3-10305T

8136

Core i5-8400H

7713 -5.2%

Ryzen 3 4300U

7462 -8.3%