Core i7 7700K vs i3 12100F CPU Gaming Performance

We have tested out some new games on the last generation Core i7 7700k vs i3 12100F to how much of a performance difference it makes.

In today’s calculation, Intel’s Core-i3 series CPUs are manufactured as entry-level CPUs, and Core-i7 CPUs are manufactured as medium to high-level CPUs per their electronic architecture and performance. Core-i7 7700k is a 7th gen Intel CPU and is the top variant of Core-i7 7th Gen. This CPU performed its best at the time of its release. Meanwhile, Core-i3 12100F is the latest 12th gen entry-level CPU, and it delivers a low performance compared to the other 12th Gen i5, i7, or i9 CPU series.

Now the real question is, can the latest 12th Gen entry-level Core-i3 12100F overtake the old 7th Gen flagship intel CPU Core-i7 7700K? Or can Core-i7 deliver a better performance than the latest i3 processor? To check it out, we have tested out these 2 CPUs with the same system hardware.

So without further delay, let’s check the experiment details of the Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F CPU benchmark test.

i7 7700K vs i3 12100F – CPU Specs

Here are the full CPU specification of Intel Core-i7 7700k and Core-i3 12100F CPUs.

CPU Name vs CPU Specs	Core-i7 7700k	Core-i3 12100F
CPU Gen	7th	12th
Code	Kaby Lake	Alder Lake
Total Cores	4	4
Total Threads	8	8
CPU Base Frequency	4.20	3.30
CPU Boost Frequency	4.50	4.30
Cache	8 MB	12 MB
TDP	91 W	58 W
Max Memory Size	64 GB	128 GB
Max Memory Channel	2	2
Graphics	Intel HD 630	N/A
Graphics Base Frequency	350 MHz	N/A
DirectX	12	12
PCIe Express	3.0	5.0 and 4.0
Socket	FCLGA1151	FCLGA1700

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Core i7 vs Core i3 Gaming Benchmark – Test Setup

Here are the system details we used for the experiment for Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F CPUs.

Processor	Intel Core-i7 7700K Intel Core-i3 12100F
Motherboard	Gigabyte Aorus Master Z690 Motherboard ASUS STRIX Z270E Motherboard
CPU Cooler	NZXT Kraken X73 RGB 360MM AIO Liquid Cooler
Graphics Card	Zotac RTX 3080 Graphics Card
RAM	XPG Lancer (16×2) 32GB DDR5 RAM 5200Mhz Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM 3600Mhz
SSD	Samsung 970 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Power Supply	Coolermaster V850 850W PSU
Case	Coolermaster HAF 700 EVO
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10

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Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F – Gaming Benchmark

Here are the Gaming Benchmark outcomes of the Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F experiment. All of the games were set to 1080p resolution with ultra-high settings.

Game Name	Core-i3 12100F	Core-i7 7700K
Marvel’s SpiderMan	101 fps avg	90 fps avg
Forza Horizon 5	216 fps avg	195 fps avg
Hitman 3	134 fps avg	118 fps avg
Microsoft Flight Simulator	53 fps avg	52 fps avg
Cyberpunk 2077	96 fps avg	84 fps avg
BeamNG Drive	405 fps avg	385 fps avg
God of War	150 fps avg	134 fps avg
PUBG	215 fps avg	206 fps avg
Red Dead Redemption 2	134 fps avg	119 fps avg
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt	169 fps avg	159 fps avg

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Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F CPU Performance Final Verdict

The above chart shows that the latest-gen alder lake entry-level Intel Core-i3 12100F performs way better than the 7th Gen Kaby Lake high-level Intel Core-i7 7700K. In every game, the Alder Lake 12100F provides an average of more than 25 fps than 7700k CPU. Only in Microsoft Flight Simulator, there is a 1fps difference but that does not matter in both single or multiplayer games.

So if you are looking to upgrade to a better CPU without breaking the bank then you can go for the i3-12100F only as 7th Gen Processors are really old and don’t support Windows 11 as well.

So this was all about Core-i7 7700K vs Core-i3 12100F CPU Benchmark Test. If you think we have missed out on something, let us know in the comments.

That’s all, Folks!

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