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Intel Core i3-8100

Intel Core i3-8100 in 2025: A Budget Classic or an Outdated Solution?

Overview for Budget-Conscious Users

1. Main Characteristics: What Does Coffee Lake Offer?

The Intel Core i3-8100 processor, released in 2017, can still be found in budget builds due to its stability and affordability.

Architecture and Process Technology

- Codename: Coffee Lake (14 nm).

- Cores/Threads: 4 cores, 4 threads (without Hyper-Threading).

- Cache: 6 MB L3.

- Base Clock: 3.6 GHz (without Turbo Boost).

Performance

- Geekbench 6: 1237 (Single-Core), 3385 (Multi-Core).

- TDP: 65 W.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 (base clock 350 MHz, boost up to 1.1 GHz).

Key Features

- Supports DirectX 12 and 4K output via HDMI/DP.

- Includes Intel Quick Sync Video technology (video encoding acceleration).

Price in 2025

New units are scarcely available, but remnants on the market range from $50 to $70. Modern equivalents (such as the Intel Core i3-12100F) start at $90.

2. Compatible Motherboards: How to Choose Wisely?

Socket: LGA 1151 v2 (do not confuse with the first version for Kaby Lake!).

Chipsets

- H310/B360: Budget options (no overclocking, 1× PCIe 3.0 x16).

- H370/Z370/Z390: Enhanced capabilities (more SATA/USB ports, RAID support).

Choosing Tips

- BIOS: Boards released before 2018 may require a firmware update.

- Model Examples: ASUS PRIME B360M-A (approximately $60–80 on the second-hand market).

Advice: Look for boards with M.2 NVMe slots for fast SSDs—this will extend the longevity of your build.

3. Supported Memory: DDR4 and Its Nuances

- Type: DDR4-2400 (officially).

- Maximum Capacity: 64 GB (2×32 GB).

- Modes: Dual-channel for a +15–20% performance boost.

Why Not DDR5?

The Coffee Lake architecture does not support DDR5. Upgrading would require changing both the CPU and motherboard.

Recommendation: Use 2 modules of 8 GB DDR4-2400 (e.g., Crucial Ballistix)—optimal for office tasks and light gaming.

4. Power Supply: How Many Watts Are Needed?

- Power: A 300 W power supply is enough for a system without a dedicated graphics card. With a GPU (e.g., GTX 1650)—450 W.

- Certification: 80+ Bronze (e.g., EVGA 450 BR for $40).

Important: Don’t skimp on the power supply! Cheaper models (like Apevia) may operate unstably under load.

5. Pros and Cons: Who Is the i3-8100 For?

Pros

- Price: One of the most affordable 4-core CPUs.

- Energy Efficiency: 65 W—low electricity bills.

- Reliability: No reports of critical bugs.

Cons

- Lack of Hyper-Threading: Falls short in multi-threaded tasks (such as rendering) compared to Ryzen 3.

- Outdated Process Technology: 14 nm versus 7–10 nm of competitors in 2025.

- Limited Upgrade Path: Socket LGA 1151 v2 is no longer supported by Intel.

6. Use Cases: Where Is It Powerful Enough?

- Office and Web Browsing: Handles Chrome, Excel, and Zoom excellently.

- Multimedia: Streams 4K video and edits simple clips in DaVinci Resolve (with 16 GB of RAM).

- Gaming: Only with a dedicated graphics card! Examples:

- CS2: 60+ FPS on medium settings with GTX 1650.

- GTA V: 50–60 FPS (1080p, high settings).

- Not Suitable For: Streaming, VR, or working with AI.

7. Comparison with Competitors: Who Performs Better?

AMD Ryzen 3 2200G

- Pros: Vega 8 (twice as powerful as UHD 630), 4 threads.

- Cons: Weaker single-core performance (20% lower than i3-8100).

- Price: $60–70 (used).

Intel Core i3-12100F (2025)

- Pros: 4 cores/8 threads, single-core score of 1800+ in Geekbench 6.

- Cons: Requires a new motherboard (LGA 1700).

- Price: $90–100 (new).

Conclusion: The i3-8100 only wins in the used market price category.

8. Practical Assembly Tips

- SSD is a Must: Kingston A400 480 GB ($30) will speed up system boot times.

- Cooling: The stock cooler is sufficient, but for quieter operation, consider the Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 ($20).

- Motherboard: Choose models with USB 3.1 and HDMI 2.0 (e.g., ASRock H370M Pro4).

Example Budget Build

- CPU: i3-8100 ($50).

- Motherboard: ASUS PRIME B360M-A ($70).

- RAM: 16 GB DDR4-2400 ($35).

- SSD: 500 GB NVMe ($40).

- PSU: EVGA 450 BR ($40).

- Total: $235 (excluding case and GPU).

9. Final Conclusion: Who Is the i3-8100 For?

This processor is a good choice for:

- Budget-Conscious Users: Building a PC for study, document work, or movie watching.

- Owners of Old Systems: Upgrading a 2010s PC without changing the motherboard.

- Enthusiasts: Creating a media center or home server.

Why Not to Buy? If you plan to play AAA games in 2025 or work in Blender—even at $50, this is an unjustified saving.

Conclusion

The Intel Core i3-8100 in 2025 is a niche solution. It trails behind modern alternatives but remains a "workhorse" for less demanding tasks. Consider purchasing it only if you are on a tight budget and performance is not critical.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

October 2017

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.

i3-8100

Code Name

Coffee 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

3.60 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.

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.

L3 Cache

6 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1151

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

65 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.

DDR4-2400

Max Memory Size

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

64 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).

37.5 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.

Yes

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.

4096x2304@24Hz

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.

4096x2304@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.

4096x2304@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.

6 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

1237

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

3385

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

938

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3055

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2230

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

6138

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

EPYC 7302

1318 +6.5%

Core i5-4670K

1275 +3.1%

Core i3-8100

1237

Xeon E3-1220 v5

1198 -3.2%

Ryzen 5 PRO 2600

1166 -5.7%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i5-8257U

3851 +13.8%

Core i5-4670K

3600 +6.4%

Core i3-8100

3385

Core i3-9100TE

3119 -7.9%

Xeon E5-2470 v2

2945 -13%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E3-1280 v5

978 +4.3%

Xeon Platinum 8160T

960 +2.3%

Core i3-8100

938

Xeon Platinum 8280

925 -1.4%

Pentium G4600

906 -3.4%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E3-1265L v4

3300 +8%

Xeon E3-1220 v6

3181 +4.1%

Core i3-8100

3055

Core i5-4670

2900 -5.1%

Core i7-4785T

2768 -9.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i3-1110G4

2287 +2.6%

Pentium Gold G5600

2255 +1.1%

Core i3-8100

2230

Xeon D-2775TE

2203 -1.2%

Ryzen 7 2800H

2173 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i7-4770R

6620 +7.9%

Xeon E-2254ML

6333 +3.2%

Core i3-8100

6138

Core i7-5700EQ

5803 -5.5%

Core i5-4670K

5559 -9.4%