AMD Phenom II X6 1100T vs Core i3-2105

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T scores 12 and the Core i3-2105 scores 11, about 9% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The AMD Phenom II X6 1100T has 6 cores and 6 threads, and the Core i3-2105 has 2 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.3 GHz and 3.1 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The AMD Phenom II X6 1100T uses the AM3 socket and the Core i3-2105 uses LGA1155, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 125 W for the first and 65 W for the second. That difference changes the cooler you need, and it shows up in heat and noise.

At launch the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T cost $265 and the Core i3-2105 $134, which gives 4.5 and 8.2 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 AMD Phenom II X6 1100T can feed a card up to the GeForce GTX 980 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i3-2105 reaches the GeForce GTX 1650 Super. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i3-2105 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.