Intel Core i3 14100F wins the $100 CPU fight, but Ryzen 5 5500 still makes sense for budget multitasking

Tom’s Hardware has compared three budget CPUs around the $100 mark, and the result is useful for anyone trying to build a low cost gaming PC with DDR4 memory. The test compared AMD’s Ryzen 5 5500, Intel’s Core i3 12100F, and Intel’s Core i3 14100F, with the Core i3 14100F coming out as the overall winner for gaming.

The comparison matters because budget PC building has become harder. RAM, SSD, and GPU prices have all made entry level systems more expensive, so saving money on the CPU and memory platform can make a real difference. All three chips support DDR4, which is much cheaper than DDR5 right now.

Intel leads in games and single thread work, while AMD’s extra cores help in heavier tasks

The Ryzen 5 5500 is the cheapest chip in the group at around $80. It has 6 cores and 12 threads, uses AMD’s Zen 3 architecture, and works with AM4 motherboards. Its biggest limitation is PCIe 3.0 support, which can matter with some budget GPUs and faster SSDs.

The Core i3 12100F costs around $90, while the Core i3 14100F sits at around $100. Both Intel chips have 4 cores and 8 threads, support DDR4 or DDR5 depending on the motherboard, and offer PCIe 4.0. The Core i3 14100F is newer and runs at higher clocks, but it is still closely related to the older 12100F.

In gaming, the Core i3 14100F was the strongest choice. With an RTX 5090 used to expose CPU limits, it was 3.8 percent faster than the Core i3 12100F and 11.8 percent faster than the Ryzen 5 5500. With a more realistic RTX 4060 setup, the gap between the two Intel chips shrank to around 2 percent, but the 14100F still stayed 10.7 percent ahead of the Ryzen chip.

That is important because many budget builders are more likely to pair these CPUs with cards like the RTX 4060 than a flagship GPU. Even in that more realistic setup, Intel still had the edge in many games.

The Ryzen 5 5500 fights back in productivity. Its extra two cores helped it beat both Intel chips in multithreaded workloads. Tom’s Hardware found it 13.7 percent ahead of the Core i3 14100F and 18.2 percent ahead of the Core i3 12100F in multithreaded performance. That makes it a better pick for users who do some video encoding, rendering, or heavier background work on a tight budget.

Intel’s advantage returns in single thread tests. The Core i3 12100F was 11.9 percent faster than the Ryzen 5 5500, while the Core i3 14100F was 22.1 percent faster. That helps explain why Intel performs so well in games, office apps, and lighter workloads.

Power use is low across all three chips. None of them crossed 100W in testing, and the highest recorded figure was 78W for the Core i3 14100F during a Blender render. The Ryzen 5 5500 was the most efficient overall, helped by lower power draw and stronger multithreaded output.

Platform cost may be the biggest reason to still consider AMD. A Ryzen 5 5500 build can be cheaper because AM4 motherboards are widely available and affordable. Tom’s Hardware estimated the Ryzen platform around $310, while the Core i3 14100F DDR4 platform was around $370. That makes Intel roughly 19 percent more expensive at the full platform level.

Still, Intel has two important advantages. First, PCIe 4.0 support is available immediately. Second, LGA 1700 offers stronger upgrade options with 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen CPUs still available. AM4 has a long history, but many of its best gaming upgrade options, especially X3D chips, can be expensive or harder to find.

The final result is clear. The Core i3 14100F is the best gaming CPU in this $100 shootout. The Core i3 12100F is still a solid cheaper alternative if the price gap is meaningful. The Ryzen 5 5500 is not the gaming winner, but it remains attractive for builders who want the lowest platform cost, better multithreaded performance, and a simple DDR4 AM4 setup.