Core i5-3330 vs Core i3-3250

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i5-3330 scores 14 and the Core i3-3250 scores 13, about 8% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i5-3330 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i3-3250 has 2 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-3330 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.2 GHz and 3.5 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 77 W for the first and 55 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i5-3330 cost $182 and the Core i3-3250 $138, which gives 7.7 and 9.4 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 i5-3330 can feed a card up to the GeForce GTX 1660 Super before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i3-3250 reaches the Radeon RX 6500 XT. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i5-3330 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i3-3250 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.