Ryzen 3 2200 vs Core i3-6100

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Ryzen 3 2200 scores 21 and the Core i3-6100 scores 20, about 5% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Ryzen 3 2200 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i3-6100 has 2 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Ryzen 3 2200 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.4 GHz and 3.7 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Ryzen 3 2200 uses the AM4 socket and the Core i3-6100 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 65 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 Ryzen 3 2200 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 5600 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i3-6100 reaches the GeForce RTX 2060. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Ryzen 3 2200 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i3-6100 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.