Intel Core i3-7350K Review

[ingtar33]

" the overclocked Core i3-7350K's win suggests that DirectX 11 doesn't take full advantage of four physical cores as well as we might expect."

I don't want to be "THAT" guy, but it's been known for years DX11 caps out at 3 cores because it was designed for the XB360. Now there have been work around provided by GPU companies in their drivers for this limitation, as well as work arounds provided by software coders themselves, but without special consideration from either a GPU driver or a software coder pretty much anything that uses DX11 is capped at 3 cores on the cpu.

 

[Maebius]

Honestly, even though the price of this little chip seems steep, the bigger problem is the motherboard pricing.
In order to play out the illusion of having many products, we're flooded with 200+$ motherboards with gimmicky features, blinky lights and "cool" design.
If this was 20-30$ cheaper and we had a 80-100$ motherboard to put it in and overclock it, we'd all be happy campers.

 

[rgrigio]

The only reason I'd pick up this would be for playing games like Sins of a Solar empire that don't make use of enough cores and loads the screen with lots of processing at end game.

Also DCS World, as it is cpu-intensive but dual threaded only. OFC you would want an i7 given it`s big L3, but look at the prices...

 

[cats_Paw]

A dual core that performs very close to a 4 core / 4 thread CPU?
Am I missing something here?
I know many applications dont use multiple cores but... come on.
It almost seems as if you would have to compare this to a 4 core 8 thread CPU to see if it actually is a big change...

To be honest, it does not look good for the CPU market that a 2 core is still "enough"...

 

[paradyme]

No mention that AMD 8350 is still $40 cheaper with higher i5 performance?? Sure it's old and higher power but still competitive. Intel getting credit for innovation in a stagnant market where 7th Gen is just another marketing badge.

 

[InvalidError]

A dual core that performs very close to a 4 core / 4 thread CPU?
Am I missing something here?

You overlooked the fact that getting that i3 CPU to outperform the lowest-end i5 from the same generation (only in some cases) requires a decent aftermarket HSF and Z-series motherboard that make the i3 more expensive than the i5 using stock HSF and a H-series motherboard. The overclocked i3 also uses about 50% more power than the i5.

The i3-7350K is a horrible value proposition.

 

[logainofhades]

No mention that AMD 8350 is still $40 cheaper with higher i5 performance?? Sure it's old and higher power but still competitive. Intel getting credit for innovation in a stagnant market where 7th Gen is just another marketing badge.

In gaming, the FX 8350 is closer to an i3, these days.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

This utterly the worst CPU Intel has ever built

It is a great little chip. But the CPU pricing is horrible and the need for a premium motherboard to use it as intended (unlock the K's multipliers) kills it. It should cost under $120 without HSF, and a successful Ryzen launch may make that happen.

That pricing is very close to the 7100. Matching or slightly higher than the nigh-identical 7320 would make more sense to me.

 

[InvalidError]

It is a great little chip. But the CPU pricing is horrible and the need for a premium motherboard to use it as intended (unlock the K's multipliers) kills it. It should cost under $120 without HSF, and a successful Ryzen launch may make that happen.

That pricing is very close to the 7100. Matching or slightly higher than the nigh-identical 7320 would make more sense to me.

When I wrote that the 7350k should be closer to $120, I wasn't pricing relative to the rest of Intel's i3 lineup. I was pricing it relative to the benefit compared to Pentiums and what the pricing might be like were Intel not operating as a monopoly.

Put another way: that's the price it will need to be at to remain relevant after Ryzen launches. At the $180 price point, you'll be looking at the R5-1400X which should be comparable to the i7-6700k. Good luck selling i3 for anywhere near $180 after Ryzen's launch. Even i5 at that price may become a tough sell.

 

[bogda]

After my unlocked i5 Sandy bride CPU died during painting of my house (do not ask me how), I bought locked i5 Ivy Bridge CPU. Although CPU is locked it is still possible to up the multiplier by a few steps and gain a few hundred Mhz. I own Z77 motherboard.
Is it still the case? If the answer is yes, than slightly overclocked i5 7400 performs like a i5 7500 at default clock and that is what we compare new CPU to.

 

[TJ Hooker]

After my unlocked i5 Sandy bride CPU died during painting of my house (do not ask me how), I bought locked i5 Ivy Bridge CPU. Although CPU is locked it is still possible to up the multiplier by a few steps and gain a few hundred Mhz. I own Z77 motherboard.
Is it still the case? If the answer is yes, than slightly overclocked i5 7400 performs like a i5 7500 at default clock and that is what we compare new CPU to.

No, I do not believe that is still possible.
What Ivy Bridge i5 do you have, and what frequency did you overclock it to? Are you sure that you didn't just set it so that all cores can run at the maximum turbo boost (which is a feature some mobos had IIRC)?

 

[Sakkura]

After my unlocked i5 Sandy bride CPU died during painting of my house (do not ask me how), I bought locked i5 Ivy Bridge CPU. Although CPU is locked it is still possible to up the multiplier by a few steps and gain a few hundred Mhz. I own Z77 motherboard.
Is it still the case? If the answer is yes, than slightly overclocked i5 7400 performs like a i5 7500 at default clock and that is what we compare new CPU to.

No, I do not believe that is still possible.
What Ivy Bridge i5 do you have, and what frequency did you overclock it to? Are you sure that you didn't just set it so that all cores can run at the maximum turbo boost (which is a feature some mobos had IIRC)?

That feature was called "limited unlocked" and applied to non-K Sandy and Ivy Bridge CPUs with Turbo Boost. Intel dropped the feature with Haswell, and it hasn't come back since.

Spoiler

 

[Walter_35]

After reading this review, it appears to me that the real question for a budget build would be if the extra $20-$30 is worth it to move from the top Pentium (4620) to the bottom end i3-7100. This i3 7350K's pricing is just ridiculous.

 

[TJ Hooker]

@Walter_35 basically the only budget Intel that makes sense at the moment is the G4560. Next step up would be an i5. Nothing in between (including the entire i3 line) is very attractive.

 

[Math Geek]

yah lots of good info in the review suggesting options other than this unlocked i3. still valuable info all around. new pentium looks good as does cheap locked i3 on sale or as a good combo deal. once we see what AMD is doing, and prices change i'm sure prices will adjust and this will become a more viable option. buying now is not a good idea but in a few months who knows. might be worth considering then. but will have to wait and see what Ryzen brings to the mix.

 

[bogda]

After my unlocked i5 Sandy bride CPU died during painting of my house (do not ask me how), I bought locked i5 Ivy Bridge CPU. Although CPU is locked it is still possible to up the multiplier by a few steps and gain a few hundred Mhz. I own Z77 motherboard.
Is it still the case? If the answer is yes, than slightly overclocked i5 7400 performs like a i5 7500 at default clock and that is what we compare new CPU to.

No, I do not believe that is still possible.
What Ivy Bridge i5 do you have, and what frequency did you overclock it to? Are you sure that you didn't just set it so that all cores can run at the maximum turbo boost (which is a feature some mobos had IIRC)?

I have i5 3470 with default clock of 3.2GHz and Turbo Clock of 3.6GHz. I can overclock it to 3.6Ghz base clock and 3.8 or 4.0GHz turbo without raising bus speed. As Sakkura explained Intel cancelled this feature from Haswell on.

I have been overclocking my CPUs since Celeron 300A on ABIT BX Motherboard (yes I am that old). Little by little, Intel took all the fun out of overclocking making it almost pointless exercise. Hope new AMD CPUs force Intel to change that.

 

[littleleo]

Good article how ever this line made me do a double take:"Enthusiasts have long flocked to Intel’s Core i5, Core i3, and Pentium processors as go-to solutions for budget-minded gaming rigs"

I don't recall ever selling an Enthusiast anything less than a i5. i3s and Pentiums are for budget gamers not so much enthusiast which are more hardcore . The Pentium that was unlocked didn't sell very well compared to AMD 860K it was weak.

This i3 won't sell at this price level at all, it is to close to the i5 pricing which is probably the point. If it was too cheap it would hurt i5 sales so...So far the i3 7th gen are starting around $112 jumping to $180 for this model. Way too much, at this price it is DOA.

 

[Zaxx420]

I bet it gets cheaper after Ryzen launches. Until then, an o/ced i5 is best 'bang for the buck' imho...

 

[filippi]

Considering both MSI and Asrock offer basic B150 motherboards @$60 price tag and the i5-6500@3.2-3.6GHz w/ stock cooler priced as low as 190 bucks...
This i3-7350K is a hard deal for budget pc gaming.

 

[logainofhades]

Or go with a pentium G4560, with a B250 board, so you can get a better graphics card, for the same amount of money spent. The i3 in general is irrelevant now, due its price/performance ratio. The new hyperthreaded pentiums are better buys than the locked i3, and a locked i5 is a better buy, than the 7350k.

 

[Onus]

Or go with a pentium G4560, with a B250 board, so you can get a better graphics card, for the same amount of money spent. The i3 in general is irrelevant now, due its price/performance ratio. The new hyperthreaded pentiums are better buys than the locked i3, and a locked i5 is a better buy, than the 7350k.

Indeed. I really hope Ryzen throws some spice into this mix. If it doesn't, Intel's lineup just returned to "ho-hum" predictable and expensive.

 

[InvalidError]

I really hope Ryzen throws some spice into this mix.

With all the "leaks" pointing to AMD offering 4C8T for about $180, I think there is very little doubt left that AMD will be giving Intel's whole lineup a run for its money. Can't wait to see Intel's lineup finally having a pricing sanity check.

 

[Onus]

We may have pricing, but we don't have performance. Faildozer taught the lesson that no matter what the marketing droids say, we MUST wait for benchmarks. Soon, I hope! I want you to be absolutely right, but we won't know until we get the real performance story.

 

[InvalidError]

We may have pricing, but we don't have performance.

There have been quite a few benchmark result leaks too and most of them look promising. From those leaks, it seems AMD still has a lot of catching up to do in the memory controller department. Hopefully it'll get around to it with Ryzen+/2/whatever.

 

[Onus]

I'm not ready to trust leaks. They might be cherry-picked. Faildozer had some promising leaks released too.