Core i3-6300 vs Core i5-4690K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-6300 scores 21 and the Core i5-4690K scores 20, about 5% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-6300 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i5-4690K has 4 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-4690K help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.8 GHz and 3.9 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-6300 uses the LGA1151 socket and the Core i5-4690K uses LGA1150, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 51 W for the first and 88 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i3-6300 cost $149 and the Core i5-4690K $242, which gives 14.1 and 8.3 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 i3-6300 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 5600 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-4690K reaches the GeForce RTX 2060. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-6300 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i5-4690K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.