Intel Core i3-7350K Kaby Lake Processor Review

Intel Core i3-7350K Kaby Lake Processor Intel Core i3-7350K Kaby Lake Processor

Final Thoughts
So this is Intel’s first Core i3 processor with HyperThreading technology, and I think it is pretty cool that Intel did this. Just like in 2014 when Intel released the Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition, this processor has many enthusiasts very excited. Except this time we not only get a fully unlocked processor, but one that features HyperThreading. This means that you will see a performance boost in multi-threaded applications. Now in no way will this processor compete against Intel’s quad-core Kaby Lake processors or even Skylake processors, but for $168 you are getting quite a lot. The biggest thing is that if you are doing simple tasks like web browsing, word processing or other similar tasks you are not going to notice a difference between this chip and other more expensive chips. It is only when you go into more heavy tasks you will. This is thanks to great single-threaded performance brought on by the high default clock speed of 4.20 GHz.

When it comes to overclocking the Core i3-7350K did quite well in our tests. We were able to bring it up from its stock speed of 4.20 GHz all the way to 5.0 GHz by simply upping the frequency to 50 and the VCore votlage to 1.4V. This is an overclock that even a novice can perform in just minutes. 5.0 GHz is quite good, as we’ve seen Kaby Lake has had better overclocking results than Skylake. This is also great as this processor does not have a boost frequency.

At the end of the day the question is should you get this processor? Well if you are on a budget, but want to learn and get into overclocking it is a good choice. You can pretty much learn all of the fundamentals of overclocking on this chip. If you do plan on doing gaming this is a less expensive alternative to a Core i5 chip, but you are going to get less performance. Remember single-threaded performance is great, but you’ll notice a difference when you get into more demanding heavily threaded applications. I think this is a great chip, and again really cool that Intel gave us a fully unlocked Core i3 processor with HyperThreading! Right now you can pick this processor up at our favorite online retailer for $168. ThinkComputers would like to award the Intel Core i3-7350K Kaby Lake Processor our Recommended Award.

Award Recommended

Pros:
– Inexpensive
– HyperThreading & Fully unlocked
– Great single-thread performance
– Good overclocking

Cons:
– Will not complete with Intel quad-core parts

6 comments
  1. I don’t think this is a great value. I’d suggest either saving $100 and getting a Pentium G4560 for $65, which also has hyperthreading, or spending a little more getting a proper quad core.

  2. Pretty much every i5-7xxx and down processors have been rendered obsolete with Ryzen on the horizon anyway. Why someone would want to buy an i5, i3 or pentium right now is simply baffling, much less a dual core, even with HT. Might as well wait a month and put 30 more bucks on an AMD Ryzen 5 1400X 4c/8t or the same dollars on the 1300.

  3. AMD shill detected. We won’t know anything for sure until release day, when the reviews come out.

  4. Strawman logical fallacy detected.

    There’s plenty of reliable data availlable yet, especially from passmark… Just search the baselines yourself on the latest version for ryzen and amd engineering sample or ryzen serials. We also saw pretty solid evidence from Cinebench R15 runs and other reliable sources… But yeah, we’ll only know for sure when the NDA lifts, altho, early evidence suggests a wait and see approach instead of a blindly buy because you’re too impatient approach.

  5. You don’t know what a strawman is. Passmark and most synthetic benchmarks =/= real world testing or even close. Your so-called “reliable sources” are WTFTech and DGLee-esque shill fantasies.

  6. Fine, you don’t want to discuss this rationally and just blanket deny as well as display an arrogant ignorance for the sake of protecting some cognitive dissonance, soothe yourself. 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *