Core i3-3240 vs AMD A10-7850K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-3240 scores 13 and the AMD A10-7850K scores 12, about 8% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-3240 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the AMD A10-7850K has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the AMD A10-7850K help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.4 GHz and 4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-3240 uses the LGA1155 socket and the AMD A10-7850K uses FM2+, 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 i3-3240 cost $138 and the AMD A10-7850K $131, which gives 9.4 and 9.2 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 i3-3240 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 6500 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The AMD A10-7850K reaches the GeForce GTX 980. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-3240 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the AMD A10-7850K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.