Intel Core i3 12100F 4.3GHz Quad Core LGA1700 CPU - £88.14 delivered @ CCL

Very good processor. Its performance is surprising. I was running a Ryzen 5900X in X570 mobo, but when I looked at performance reviews I could see what a bang-for-buck gem this chip/platform was. Based on this and the desire to have more than two Gen4.0 M.2 slots and better DDR4 support, I decided to sell the premium AM4 kit and pick up a new LGA1700 CPU and Motherboard combo . . .

Changing CPU and Mobo is too much work for many . . .

The general public seems to be still vibing on AMD Ryzen so it's only really the hardware enthusiasts that have jumped over to Intel's latest platform. The sentiment towards Intel is not good, mainly down to the stingy upgrades and big price tags they offered us in the past with each new platform. However things have changed now, AMD got their act together and we have both companies competing for our money.

The Core i3-12100/f with its four Golden-cove performance cores running at 4.3GHz should keep the average person happy as a daily driver. I used this CPU for about 4 months and it instils that warm fuzzy feeling. At 1080p this CPU will push every last frame from an older graphics card. If your running an RX 5700 XT class GPU (or lower) you can be confident the CPU is extracting the maximum FPS from your GPU.

Doesn't use much power, runs quite cool, loves playing games, and is very affordable. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one for a new gaming build. Many folks went for a Core i5-12400/f instead of this. I nearly did but at the time of purchase, a new i5-12400/f was nearly £100 extra compared to the i3 so no deal.

If you game at 1080p high refresh and you have a more powerful graphics card like an RTX 3070 then you should get the I5-12400/f or better.

If I wasn't into memory overclocking as a curious pastime, I would still be running the i3-12100f. I really can't find anything to complain about. It's the perfect starter CPU, comes with a modern platform, and it's unlikely to give you buyer's remorse.

Pair it with a B660/B760 chipset and you have enough legs in the motherboard to drop in a high-end chip in the future. If you think you may want to buy a "K" class CPU in the future and do some overclocking, then you should consider the more expensive overclocking motherboards based on the Intel Z690/Z790 chipsets. If you are just a regular mainstream user and you don't think you will ever be overclocking then the B660/B760 will work well and still allow you to swap out CPUs in the future should you get an itch to upgrade.

I rate this CPU 9/10. Great platform too!

If you were going to start your system you couldn't get a better bang for buck than this, Better and faster than my 6 core i5 10400 apparently which I got for a great price in £130's last year

Absolute smashing CPU for the price definitely best bang for buck. I had 3400g before this and Amazing results after changing

I’ve got one of these in a small itx build with 16gb ddr4 & a 12gb RTX 3060 and it’s a fantastic little computer.

 Amazing and efficient cpu for just over 88 quid.

What’s a good cpu for this

If only there was a mid tier mini-ITX compatible mother for sub £100, to go with it.

I paid roughly the same for 5600G ( i thought i would use the integrated graphics but ended up getting a cheap GPU instead) quite happy with mines even though i cant update to AM5 with B550 board...
But it should do for a while.. This is would have been very tempting.. Then you would be looking at DDr5 board etc..i upgraded from i5 4th generation i think and pretty happy with what i made for just over£350 (edited)