Core i3-7300 vs Core i5-6500

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-7300 scores 21.8 and the Core i5-6500 scores 21, about 4% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-7300 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i5-6500 has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-6500 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.8 GHz and 3.6 GHz.

Platform, power and price

Both chips use the LGA1151 socket, so they fit the same motherboards. You can swap one for the other without changing the board.

Rated power is 51 W for the first and 65 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

We do not have launch prices for both chips, so we cannot compare value.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i3-7300 can feed a card up to the Arc A580 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-6500 reaches the Radeon RX 5600 XT. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-7300 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i5-6500 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.