The ideal budget partner for a discrete
graphics card
Harley-Quinn
Great 2D performance for just $143; low
power consumption
Poison ivy
Poor on – board GPU makes discrete graphics
a must for games
How much?
Price: $142
Manufacturer: www.intel.com
There isn’t much difference between the
Core i3-3220 and its pricier sibling, the Core i3-3225. Both use Intel’s 22nm
lvy Bridge architecture and offer two Hyper-Threaded cores, so there are two
physical and two logical threads. They also both have the same nippy 3.3GHz
clock speed, though without Turbo Boost technology.
The difference then comes from the chip’s
on board GPUs. While the Core i3-3225 uses Intel’s latest HD 4000 GPU, the Core
i3-322 is equipped with the inferior Intel HD 2500. The HD 2500 still supports
DirectX11, but it’s equipped with just six execution units compared to HD
4000’s 16 units; however, both GPUs have the same 650MHz clock (with a boost up
to 1,050MHz).
However, this drop in GPU resources sees
the Core i3-3220 costing over $23 cheaper than its sibling. As Intel’s on-board
graphics system are so poor that a discrete GPU is required for decent 3D
performance, this makes it a more suitable partner for a capable mid-range GPU
such as AMD’s Radeon HD 7850 2GB.
In terms of speed, the Core i3-3220
performed very similarly to its sibling, the Core i3-3225, although there was
some variance. Needless to say, this saw the Core i3-3220 easily surpass AMD’s
A10-5800K in our Media Benchmarks, with the Core i3-3220’s image editing score
1,537 being vastly superior to that of the AMD processor. The video encoding
and multi-tasking scores of 2,145 and 1,410 respectively were also higher than
those of the A10-5800K, although not by such a significant margin.
Discrete GPU performance was also strong,
with a minimum frame rate of 51fps in Crysis 2 using a GTX 680 2GB-a 10per cent
advantage over the A10-5800K.
However, the on-board Intel HD 2500
graphics generated ghastly performance in Skyrim at 1,920x 1,080. A minimum
frame rate of just 4fps is a fifth of that achievable using the A8-5600K, a
chip that’s 20 cheaper, and makes the Core i3-3220 entirely unsuited to 3D
gaming unless paired with a discrete GPU. Of course, the HD 2500 GPU offers
other benefits, such as Intel’s long vaunted but rarely utilized Quick Sync
video encoding, but for most people, these are of little use. Meanwhile, a peak
power consumption of just 78W is very low and, as the CPU doesn’t support
overclocking, the stock Intel cooler does the job fine.
Conclusion
The Core i3-3220’s lower price tag and
downgraded graphics make it a strong budget CPU. On its own, it isn’t for
gamers who prioritise frags and frame rates, but it can form the basis of a
great budget gaming PC when paired with a discrete GPU. It’s also the best
budget CPU for those not interested in gaming.
Scores
§
Speed: 46 / 50
§
Features: 7 / 15
§
Value: 27 / 35
INTEL Core i3-3225
Great 2D performance, but the dire on board
GPU adds $23 to the price
Bridge
Fast performance in CPU benchmarks; low
power consumption; fast with discrete GPU
Chasm
Poor on –board GPU; $23 cheaper i3-3220
performs very similarly in CPU tests
How much?
Price: $164
Manufacturer: www.intel.com
The Core i3-3225 has two Hyper-Threading -
enabled lvy Bridge cores, for a total of four threads [two physical and two
logical]. While this may seem to put it at a disadvantage compared to the four
physical cores of AMD’s Trinity APUs, Intel’s chips are far more capable per
core. The CPU core runs at a set frequency of 3.3 Hz, but doesn’t use Intel’s
Turbo Boost further increase performance. This allows the chip to ship with a
low TDP of just 55W. As the Core i3-3225 isn’t a ‘K’ chip, there’s no unlocked
multiplier to allow overclocking.
Alongside the pair of lvy Bridge cores,
Intel has equipped the Core i3-3225 with its top-spec Intel HD 4000 graphics
processor- the same on-board graphics chip found in its higher-specification
Core i5 and Core i7 chips. HD 4000 boasts 16 execution units, and now supports
DirectX 11 and hardware tessellation too, although it still lags behind AMD
when it comes to pure 3D performance.
Conversely, the Core i3 3225 leaves little
doubt about its superiority over AMD’s Trinity chips when it comes to 2D
performance, but the gap between the two is now smaller than previously. An
image editing score of 1,533 points in our Media Benchmarks is 50 per cent
faster than the A10-5800K in the same test, while a video encoding score of
2,131 is around 10 per cent quicker than the top-spec Trinity chip. Meanwhile,
an overall score of 1,690 points sees the Core i3-3225 hold a 20 per cent
advantage over the A10-5800K at its stock speeds. Even when we overclocked the
A10-5800K to 4.5Hz, it remained over 200 points adrift overall. In Cinebench,
however, there’s little difference between the AMD and Intel chips at stock
speed, and the A10-5800K is notably quicker once overclocked.
Discrete GPU performance again sees the
Core i3-3225 better the AMD competition, with a minimum frame rate in Crysis 2
of 51fps compared to the A10-5800K’s 46fps. However, the Intel’s on-board GPU
sees it fall flat, and despite the use of Intel HD 4000 graphics, the Core
i3-3225 is only able to produce a minimum frame rate of 8fps in Skyrim at 1,920
x 1,080 with High detail. In the same test, AMD’s Trinity chips are all capable
of at least double this frame rate. Power consumption was very low, however,
with a peak load of just 85W for the whole system.
Conclusion
Despite the Core i3-3225’s excellent
performance in 2D apps and games with a discrete GPU, its on-board graphics are
poor, despite being among the best Intel can offer. You’ll need a discrete GPU
for any moderate 3D gaming, thus making the HD 4000 graphics redundant. As the
Core i3-3220 offers the same CPU performance for $23 less, it’s the better
option.
Scores
§
Speed: 46 / 50
§
Features: 8 / 15
§
Value: 23 / 35
