The Intel Core i3-13100F Review: Finding Value in Intel's Cheapest Core Chip

Gaming Performance: 720p And Lower

The reason we test games in CPU reviews at lower resolutions such as 720p and below is simple; titles are more likely to be CPU bound than they are GPU bound at lower resolutions. This means there are more frames for the processor to process as opposed to the graphics card doing the majority of the heavy lifting.

There are some variances where some games will still use graphical power, but not as much CPU grunt at these smaller resolutions, and this is where we can show where CPU limitations lie in terms of gaming.

Normally, of course, this would be the domain of integrated GPUs. However since the Core i3-13100F is a true ultra-budget entry-level processor – sans even the most basic of integrated graphics – there's nothing to speak of here. You'll need a discrete video card to see anything on a 13100F system, so we'll start things off with a look at gaming with a discrete GPU – making this a pure CPU test in the end.

We are using DDR5-4800 memory on the Intel Core i3-13100F as per the JEDEC specifications. Other recent chips, such as Intel's 13th/12th Gen Core series and Ryzen 7000 processors, are also tested at the rated JEDEC specifications. We tested the aforementioned platforms with the following settings:

• DDR5-5600B CL46 - Intel 13th Gen
• DDR5-5200 CL44 - Ryzen 7000
• DDR5-4800 (B) CL40 - Intel 12th Gen
• DDR5-4800 (B) CL40 - Intel 13th Gen Core i3 series

All other CPUs such as Ryzen 5000 and 3000 were tested at the relevant JEDEC settings as per the processor's individual memory support with DDR4.

Civilization VI

World of Tanks

Borderlands 3

Grand Theft Auto V

Red Dead Redemption 2

F1 2022

Hitman 3

Total War: Warhammer 3

While the compute performance is good for a quad-core but not quite up with the competition, it's time to move on to gaming performance. Starting with testing at 720p, which is a very CPU dependant resolution, we see the Core i3-13100F show its limitations as a quad-core processor once again.

While the charts paint a picture of clear domination for the other processors against the quad-core Intel pairing, it's worth noting that performance in EVERY one of our 720p results denotes both quad-core chips as having playable framerates, in fact, unquestionably playable frame rates at lower resolutions when paired with a good discrete graphics card.