Core i3-3210 vs Core i5-750

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-3210 scores 12 and the Core i5-750 scores 11, about 9% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-3210 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i5-750 has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-750 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.2 GHz and 3.2 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-3210 uses the LGA1155 socket and the Core i5-750 uses LGA1156, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 55 W for the first and 95 W for the second. That difference changes the cooler you need, and it shows up in heat and noise.

At launch the Core i3-3210 cost $117 and the Core i5-750 $196, which gives 10.3 and 5.6 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

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

At 1080p the Core i3-3210 can feed a card up to the GeForce GTX 980 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-750 reaches the GeForce GTX 1650 Super. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-3210 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i5-750 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.