At this stage, the Core i3-14100F is an awkward processor. Its performance is significantly behind the Core i5-12400F, yet it is a few hundred RMB more expensive, making it less cost-effective.
From various past performance comparison reviews, it seems that the Core i3-14100F performs poorly, and many users are not impressed with this processor. Today, we will pit it against a very “interesting” opponent, the Core i9-9900K. These two processors each have their pros and cons. The single-core performance of the Core i3-14100F is about 25% higher than the Core i9-9900K, but its multi-core performance is about 30% lower.
As we all know, the gaming performance of a platform is not solely determined by the processor; it also includes processor architecture, process technology, memory, and bandwidth, among other factors. Clearly, comparing the old processor Core i9-9900K in this regard is a disadvantage, while the Core i3-14100F has the upper hand. Additionally, gaming performance mainly depends on the single-core performance of the processor.
On the surface, it seems that the Core i3-14100F has a greater overall advantage. However, the Core i9-9900K has larger cache, higher frequency, and some other advantages. Therefore, the outcome is highly variable and difficult to predict. This will be a very interesting comparison, and this article will reveal the results.
1. Parameter Comparison between Core i3 14100F and i9 9900K
The Core i9-9900K was released on October 19, 2018, based on Intel’s 14nm process. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 5.0 GHz. The total cache capacity is 16MB, with a TDP of 95W, and a recommended retail price of $488.
The Core i3-14100F was released on January 8, 2024, using a 10nm process. It has 4 performance cores and no efficiency cores, totaling 8 threads. The L2 cache is 5MB, and the smart cache is 12MB. Its base clock speed is 3.5 GHz, with a maximum turbo frequency of 4.7 GHz, a TDP of 58W, and a recommended retail price of $109.
2. Test Platform Configuration
The main configurations are as follows:
The Core i9-9900K is paired with an ASUS ROG Strix Z390-F Gaming motherboard and 32GB of DDR4 3600MHz RAM. The Core i3-14100F is paired with an ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming motherboard and 32GB of DDR5 6000MHz RAM.
The other components are the same: a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, two Samsung 970 EVO 1TB SSDs, and the operating system is Windows 11.
3. Game Benchmark Testing
We tested seven games, all at 1080P with maximum graphics settings. In the series of images below, the left side represents the Core i3-14100F platform, and the right side represents the Core i9-9900K platform.
① The first game is The Witcher 3.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 80
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 39
- Frame time: 12.2ms
- CPU usage: 66%
- Power consumption: 45W
- Temperature: 47°C
- Memory usage: 12.3GB
- GPU usage: 63%
- VRAM usage: 6.8GB
- GPU power consumption: 214W
- GPU temperature: 45°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 76
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 52
- Frame time: 12.8ms
- CPU usage: 44%
- Power consumption: 79W
- Temperature: 51°C
- Memory usage: 13.2GB
- GPU usage: 64%
- VRAM usage: 6.7GB
- GPU power consumption: 196W
- GPU temperature: 43°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 22% higher, memory usage is 0.9GB lower, GPU usage and VRAM usage are almost equal. The Core i3-14100F platform has 4 FPS more in average FPS but 13 FPS lower in minimum instantaneous FPS. Frame time is almost equal, overall performance is quite close, with the Core i3-14100F having 34W lower power consumption and 4°C lower temperature.
② The second game is Ghostwire: Tokyo.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 171
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 122
- Frame time: 5.4ms
- CPU usage: 50%
- Power consumption: 40W
- Temperature: 44°C
- Memory usage: 10.6GB
- GPU usage: 78%
- VRAM usage: 5.5GB
- GPU power consumption: 236W
- GPU temperature: 47°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 137
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 100
- Frame time: 7.0ms
- CPU usage: 29%
- Power consumption: 67W
- Temperature: 50°C
- Memory usage: 12.3GB
- GPU usage: 64%
- VRAM usage: 5.5GB
- GPU power consumption: 192W
- GPU temperature: 45°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 21% higher, memory usage is 1.7GB lower, GPU usage is 14% higher, VRAM usage is equal. The Core i3-14100F platform has 34 FPS more in average FPS, 22 FPS higher in minimum instantaneous FPS, 2ms lower frame time, significantly better performance, with 27W lower power consumption and 6°C lower temperature.
③ The third game is Cyberpunk 2077.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 73
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 53
- Frame time: 12.3ms
- CPU usage: 84%
- Power consumption: 48W
- Temperature: 48°C
- Memory usage: 9.7GB
- GPU usage: 44%
- VRAM usage: 7.7GB
- GPU power consumption: 179W
- GPU temperature: 45°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 81
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 61
- Frame time: 13.7ms
- CPU usage: 73%
- Power consumption: 101W
- Temperature: 57°C
- Memory usage: 12.0GB
- GPU usage: 56%
- VRAM usage: 7.6GB
- GPU power consumption: 182W
- GPU temperature: 44°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 11% higher, memory usage is 2.3GB lower, GPU usage is 12% lower, VRAM usage is almost equal. The Core i3-14100F platform has 8 FPS lower in average FPS, 8 FPS lower in minimum instantaneous FPS, 1ms lower frame time, slightly inferior performance, with 53W lower power consumption, less than half of the opponent, and 9°C lower temperature.
④ The fourth game is Horizon Forbidden West.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 131
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 92
- Frame time: 9.8ms
- CPU usage: 80%
- Power consumption: 50W
- Temperature: 49°C
- Memory usage: 10.6GB
- GPU usage: 67%
- VRAM usage: 9.1GB
- GPU power consumption: 209W
- GPU temperature: 46°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 127
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 80
- Frame time: 6.8ms
- CPU usage: 78%
- Power consumption: 107W
- Temperature: 60°C
- Memory usage: 13.5GB
- GPU usage: 75%
- VRAM usage: 8.8GB
- GPU power consumption: 201W
- GPU temperature: 47°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 2% higher, memory usage is 2.9GB lower, GPU usage is 8% lower, VRAM usage is 0.3GB higher. The Core i3-14100F platform has 4 FPS more in average FPS, 12 FPS higher in minimum instantaneous FPS, 3ms higher frame time, 57W lower power consumption, almost half of the opponent, and 11°C lower temperature.
⑤ The fifth game is Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 72
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 55
- Frame time: 12.9ms
- CPU usage: 57%
- Power consumption: 40W
- Temperature: 45°C
- Memory usage: 13.4GB
- GPU usage: 40%
- VRAM usage: 6.5GB
- GPU power consumption: 123W
- GPU temperature: 41°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 67
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 52
- Frame time: 14.4ms
- CPU usage: 25%
- Power consumption: 67W
- Temperature: 47°C
- Memory usage: 14.0GB
- GPU usage: 39%
- VRAM usage: 5.9GB
- GPU power consumption: 114W
- GPU temperature: 39°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 32% higher, memory usage is 0.6GB lower, GPU usage is almost equal, and VRAM usage is 0.6GB higher. The Core i3-14100F platform has 5 FPS more in average FPS, 3 FPS higher in minimum instantaneous FPS, 1ms lower frame time, slightly better overall performance, with 27W lower power consumption and 2°C lower temperature.
⑥ The sixth game is Hogwarts Legacy.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 46
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 32
- Frame time: 23.0ms
- CPU usage: 74%
- Power consumption: 44W
- Temperature: 46°C
- Memory usage: 20.8GB
- GPU usage: 41%
- VRAM usage: 10.6GB
- GPU power consumption: 172W
- GPU temperature: 44°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 42
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 27
- Frame time: 31.1ms
- CPU usage: 44%
- Power consumption: 79W
- Temperature: 49°C
- Memory usage: 22.7GB
- GPU usage: 40%
- VRAM usage: 10.6GB
- GPU power consumption: 170W
- GPU temperature: 43°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 30% higher, memory usage is 1.9GB lower, GPU usage and VRAM usage are almost equal. The Core i3-14100F platform has 4 FPS more in average FPS, 5 FPS higher in minimum instantaneous FPS, 8ms lower frame time, slightly better overall performance, with 35W lower power consumption and 3°C lower temperature.
⑦ The seventh game is Starfield.
Core i3-14100F platform
- Average FPS: 74
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 59
- Frame time: 12.9ms
- CPU usage: 84%
- Power consumption: 48W
- Temperature: 47°C
- Memory usage: 12.1GB
- GPU usage: 44%
- VRAM usage: 6.1GB
- GPU power consumption: 178W
- GPU temperature: 44°C
Core i9-9900K platform
- Average FPS: 80
- Minimum instantaneous FPS: 65
- Frame time: 12.5ms
- CPU usage: 78%
- Power consumption: 112W
- Temperature: 58°C
- Memory usage: 15.5GB
- GPU usage: 54%
- VRAM usage: 6.2GB
- GPU power consumption: 174W
- GPU temperature: 43°C
In this game, the Core i3-14100F platform’s CPU usage is 6% higher, memory usage is 3.4GB lower, GPU usage is 10% lower, VRAM usage is almost equal. The Core i3-14100F platform has 6 FPS lower in average FPS, 6 FPS lower in minimum instantaneous FPS, frame time is almost equal, slightly lower overall performance, with 64W lower power consumption, less than half of the opponent, and 9°C lower temperature.
4. Comparison Conclusion
From the above comparison results, the following key points can be summarized:
- The CPU usage of the Core i3-14100F platform is generally higher than that of the Core i9-9900K platform.
- The memory usage of the Core i3-14100F platform is generally lower than that of the Core i9-9900K platform.
- The GPU usage varies between the two platforms, but overall, the Core i3-14100F platform achieves higher GPU utilization.
In terms of overall gaming performance, the results are quite close, but the Core i3-14100F platform has a slight edge.
The conclusion is that, due to various factors, the Core i9-9900K cannot fully leverage its GPU performance to significantly surpass the newer Core i3-14100F. Its final gaming performance is roughly on par with the Core i3-14100F.
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