Intel Core i3 14100F CPU Review

Just the other day, we took a look at the 14400F, A refreshed CPU that is the successor to the 13400F, and while it kept the core counts the same, it did see an increase in clock speed, which, depending on the game, made quite a bit of a difference, though for the most part, we were talking about 3% faster overall which might not sound like much, but considering the similar price point, definitely gave some room for discussion, even if AMD seemed to be able to beat it and for a cheaper price too. So what if you want something slightly lower-end from Intel’s latest i3 range? Well, that brings us to today with the i3 14100, a modest $140 processor that could rival the likes of the similarly priced Ryzen 5 5600, but before we get into that, here’s a quick word from this video’s sponsor.

Intel i3 14100 Features

• GAME WITHOUT COMPROMISE – Go beyond performance with the latest 14th Generation Intel Core processors, based on the Raptor-Lake Refresh Architecture with a hybrid design incorporating a mixture of high-performance P-Cores and efficient E-Cores. The i3-14100 comes with up to 4 cores and up to 8 threads. Capable of reaching maximum clock speeds of 4.7GHz and providing incredible versatility with support for PCIe 5.0 components, DDR4 and DDR5 memory and All-New Wifi 7 connectivity. Be your Best with Intel.
• REVOLUTIONARY PERFORMANCE AND MULTITASKING – Newly optimised hybrid architecture and industry-leading technology enable you to go beyond gaming and creation. From progressing in-game to advancing in real life, Intel® empowers you to be your best self. 
• 4 PERFORMANCE CORES – unleashes the capability to optimise the latest games and gaming software.
• INTEL THREAD DIRECTOR – Keeps your gaming free of interruptions by making sure your background tasks never slow you down.
• REALISE YOUR DREAM BUILD – 14th Generation Intel Core desktop processors deliver broad spectrum support and maximum versatility to enable you to personalise and optimise your system to suit your needs using the latest gaming technologies.
• EXPANDED MEMORY OPTIONS – Support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory gives you complete control over your memory configurations.
• BUILD OUT YOUR SETUP – Support for the latest PCIe Gen 5.0 components.
• COMPETITIVE CONNECTIVITY – Connect quickly and without interference with support for up to Wi-Fi 7 networks.

14th Gen

So let’s look at what’s changed from the 13th gen because just like the rest of the 14th gen stack, this is a refresh. It’s the same architecture, the same 4 performance cores, and the same amount of cache and power delivery. The only changes come by way of the base and turbo frequencies.

The 14100 has seen an increase in the base clock from 3.4GHz, up to 3.5GHz and the max turbo frequency has also seen a bump from 4.5GHz to 4.7GHz so much like I said when we looked at the 14400F, you essentially have an overclocked 13th gen processor, and that’s all there is to it. Now with the i5 we looked at, things were fairly interesting because though the only change, much like the i3 was down to the clock speeds, the price was pretty similar, separated by just $4 but with the i3, it’s quite a bit different.

Starting with the 12100F, which can now be had for $95 which is extremely affordable in the grand scheme of things. Moving up from there is the 13100F at $117, which puts it 23% more expensive, and then beyond that is the 14100 at $140 which is another 20% more expensive, so much higher levels of disparity and that will likely play a huge part in my overall conclusion unless that small but modest extra clock speed makes a much larger difference in terms of performance.

Now in terms of performance, to test, we used our Intel-based test bench consisting of an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme motherboard with 32GB of TEAMGroup T-Force Delta RGB 7600MHz CL36 DDR5 memory. For our Zen 4 bench, we used the Gigabyte X670E AORUS Master 32GB of G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 6000MHz CL30 memory and for Zen 3, we used the Gigabyte X570S AORUS Master with 32GB of Kingston Fury 3600MHz CL16 memory. All testing was used with an INNO3D RTX 4090 iChill X3 OC to alleviate any bottlenecks and the latest version of Windows 11 was used. As this is a CPU review and we’re looking at CPU performance, we’re focussing on 1080p today as this is where the CPU is typically at its highest utilisation and our main focus will be on the increase in performance if any over its predecessor, the 13100F. Also, if you want to see all of the charts, we will be putting them up onto our Patreon, where you’ll also get a ton of other cool and exclusive benefits as well as helping to support everything we do on the channel.

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