Core i3-3250 vs AMD FX-4350

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-3250 scores 13 and the AMD FX-4350 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 i3-3250 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the AMD FX-4350 has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the AMD FX-4350 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.5 GHz and 4.3 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-3250 uses the LGA1155 socket and the AMD FX-4350 uses AM3+, 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 125 W for the second. That difference changes the cooler you need, and it shows up in heat and noise.

At launch the Core i3-3250 cost $138 and the AMD FX-4350 $122, which gives 9.4 and 9.8 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 i3-3250 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 6500 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The AMD FX-4350 reaches the GeForce GTX 980. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-3250 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the AMD FX-4350 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.