Core i7-4770 vs Core i3-7300

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i7-4770 and the Core i3-7300 are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i7-4770 has 4 cores and 8 threads, and the Core i3-7300 has 2 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Core i7-4770 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.9 GHz and 3.8 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i7-4770 uses the LGA1150 socket and the Core i3-7300 uses LGA1151, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 84 W for the first and 51 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

We do not have launch prices for both chips, so we cannot compare value.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i7-4770 can feed a card up to the Arc A580 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i3-7300 reaches the Arc A580. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i7-4770 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i3-7300 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.