Core i5-2300 vs AMD FX-4350

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i5-2300 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 i5-2300 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the AMD FX-4350 has 4 cores and 4 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.1 GHz and 4.3 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i5-2300 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 95 W for the first and 125 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i5-2300 cost $177 and the AMD FX-4350 $122, which gives 7.3 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 i5-2300 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 i5-2300 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. 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.