Intel Core i3-7350K first test: Unlocked i3 can reach 5GHz with air cooling

With more and more news about AMD Ryzen recently, Intel's own i7 is still invincible at this stage, but it is bound to need more powerful mid-range products to seize the market. With the advent of Intel Core i3-7350K, the first i3 processor in history that is open to overclocking has undoubtedly become the absolute focus of current PC players.

What kind of i3 is this?

The Intel Core i3-7350K uses a dual-core, quad-thread design, Kaby Lake architecture, 14nm process, 4MB of L2 cache and a default frequency of up to 4.2GHz. Although it does not support Turbo Boost acceleration, the "K" at the end of the name indicates that the multiplier is unlocked when it leaves the factory. Of course, its 60W design power consumption is also slightly higher than other i3 products.

The new generation of HD 630 core graphics card has become the standard configuration of the seventh generation Core processors, and Intel Core i3-7350K is no exception. The general parameters of the graphics card are not much different from the version in i7-7700K, but in theory the core graphics frequency will be different.

Intel Core i3-7350K supports up to DDR4-2400 memory and LGA 1151 interface design. The motherboard model we used for this test is ASUS PRIME Z270-A from ASUS, which uses the new 200 series chipset, with the latest G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 series, 16GB memory with a frequency of up to 3600MHz and Windows 10 operating system. I believe this will help us get a better understanding of the processor's true performance.

Performance test: Refreshing i3 to a new height

With the new Kaby Lake architecture and the most powerful model of i3 processor ever, it is natural that Intel Core i3-7350K will further improve the performance level of i3.

In the pi calculation software Super π, the Intel Core i3-7350K achieved a score of 8.955 seconds for 1 million digits. Running under 9 seconds is quite outstanding for an i3.

In the chess test and wPrime, which test multi-threaded computing capabilities, the Intel Core i3-7350K test results are equivalent to 17.79 times that of the P3 processor 1.0GHz. The scores of the 32M and 1024M benchmark tests under wPrime are 11.375 seconds and 358.894 seconds respectively, which are also very good results for a dual-core four-thread processor.

In the Cinebench R15 test, the Intel Core i3-7350K's CPU score was 452cb, which is close to the third-generation Intel Core i7-3840QM in the ranking. This also indirectly verifies the previous rumors that the Intel Core i3-7350K beats the second-generation Sandy Bridge architecture flagship Intel Core i7-2600K.

In terms of core graphics card, through 3D MARK11 software, the Intel Core i7-7700K we tested before can run above P1900 points, while the HD 630 graphics card in the Intel Core i3-7350K is around P1700 points. It can be seen that although the graphics card models of i3 and i7 in this area are still the same, there is still a difference in actual performance.

Overclocking test: Are you afraid of running stably at 5GHz with air cooling?

I heard earlier that the overclocking quality of Intel Core i3-7350K is quite good and it can run stably in the 4.8-5.0GHz range. With the help of the extremely simple and intuitive graphical BIOS interface of the ASUS motherboard, the new generation of unlocked i3 has knocked on the door of 5GHz.

There is no need for the complicated settings of the past. Just set the multiplier to 50 in the BIOS of the ASUS PRIME Z270-A motherboard and save it. After restarting, the Intel Core i3-7350K will directly complete the overclocking work.

It has to be said that the Intel Core i3-7350K is very capable. With just air cooling, the 5GHz high-frequency operation can successfully complete all consecutive software test projects. It was not until trying 5.2GHz that the system reported an error.

Regarding the performance improvement after overclocking, taking Cinebench R15 software as an example, the Intel Core i3-7350K at 5GHz, the CPU project exceeded 500cb, which has already killed some products with more cores.

The most worthwhile i3 processor to buy

Considering that the previous generation of the highest model i3 sold in the domestic market, namely the Intel Core i3-6300, is priced at around RMB 1,000, the new generation Intel Core i3-7350K, which plays a relay role, should also be roughly in this price range, close to its actual price of about US$160 in the US market.

It can be said that the emergence of Intel Core i3-7350K is not only an important moment in the development of Intel Core i3, but also an important product in Intel's processor product market layout. The Kaby Lake architecture combined with the unlocked frequency design has greatly improved the performance and playability of this i3, making it an ideal CPU choice for mid-range PC users and most PC gamers.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.