Core i3-4330 vs AMD FX-8320

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-4330 scores 16 and the AMD FX-8320 scores 15, about 7% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-4330 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the AMD FX-8320 has 8 cores and 8 threads. The extra cores of the AMD FX-8320 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 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-4330 uses the LGA1150 socket and the AMD FX-8320 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 54 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 i3-4330 cost $138 and the AMD FX-8320 $169, which gives 11.6 and 8.9 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 i3-4330 can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The AMD FX-8320 reaches the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-4330 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the AMD FX-8320 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.