Core i3-3240 vs Core i5-2300

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i3-3240 and the Core i5-2300 are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i3-3240 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i5-2300 has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-2300 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.4 GHz and 3.1 GHz.

Platform, power and price

Both chips use the LGA1155 socket, so they fit the same motherboards. You can swap one for the other without changing the board.

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 Core i5-2300 $177, which gives 9.4 and 7.3 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 Core i5-2300 reaches the Radeon RX 6500 XT. 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 Core i5-2300 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.