Intel Core i3-6320 Review

Discover the Core i3-6320! This Desktop processor is a star in Intel's entry-level portfolio. Released in 2015, it sports 2 cores and 4 threads. It has a base frequency of 3.9GHz, can reach up to 3.9GHz, and has a power rating of 51W, ready to enhance your gaming rig. The Core i3-6320 is built using the Skylake-S 14nm process and is a part of the esteemed Core i3 series.

And guess what? The Core i3-6320 is the ultimate successor to Intel's previous-gen gaming champion, the Core i3-4350. The Core i3-4350 was based on the legendary Haswell Refresh and 22nm process, and it made its grand entrance into the gaming scene back in 2014. But now, it's time for the Core i3-6320 to take the throne and conquer the gaming world!

Can the Intel Core i3-6320 finally dethrone the king of mainstream CPUs, the A6-7470K? It's a maybe. The Core i3-6320 doesn't quite reach the same single-core performance as its rival, but more games are starting to use all those threads, so who cares!

The Intel Core i3 6th Generation boasts the Skylake-S architecture, which brings 14nm processors to the mainstream for the first time. But there's more to this story than just a smaller size. Get ready for some serious performance upgrades!

Heads up, with a simple overclock, the Core i3-6300 can actually perform almost as well as the Core i3-6320, even when the Core i3-6320 is overclocked too. But the Core i3-6300 is $70 cheaper! Don't get us wrong, the Core i3-6320 is still a beast and offers more overall performance than AMD's A6-7470K, but if you're on a budget, the cheaper sibling might be the better call.

The Core i3-6320 is the more expensive version of the Core i3-6300, and it shows with its higher base and boost clock speeds: 3.9 GHz and 3.9 GHz, respectively. That's a nice boost in speed, but the real game changer is the higher power delivery (PPT). This lets the motherboard pump more juice (up to 142W) to the Core i3-6320 compared to the Core i3-6300's limit of 51W. This extra power allows the Core i3-6320 to crank up the boost clocks even more aggressively, on both single and multiple cores. That means the performance gap between these two CPUs might be bigger than what the specs on paper suggest.

But for most gamers who also do other stuff on their PC besides gaming, the Core i3-6320 is a better overall choice. It offers double the threads compared to the similarly priced A6-7470K, and those extra threads come in handy for tasks like editing and encoding videos. The Core i3 chips have always been great for these workloads, and Intel's recent improvements to AVX performance are super impressive.

Straight out of the box, the Core i3-6320 is a better all-rounder than the A6-7470K. It offers slightly better performance than its cheaper sibling, the Core i3-6300, and comes with a free cooler which saves you money on the build. Plus, there are tons of motherboards compatible with it, so you have plenty of options to choose from.

The wait is finally over! The Intel Core i3 6 Gen is here, and the Intel Core i3-6320 might just be the perfect example of what this new generation brings to the table. It keeps the same core and thread count (2 cores and 4 threads) as its predecessor, the Core i3-4350. But thanks to the new, smaller 14nm manufacturing process, it delivers significantly better performance while using less power.

The Intel Core i3-6320 launched on Oct 2015 for $157, which is pretty much the same price as the last-generation Core i3-4350. At least there's no crazy price hike this generation!

Shrinking down to a 14nm process gives the Core i3-6320 a whopping 15% boost in IPC (instructions per clock). Basically, compared to a similar CPU from the last generation (Core i3 4 Gen) clocked at the same speed, you'll get 15% better performance. It might not be a huge difference in everyday tasks, but it's still something.

One of the best things about the Intel Core i3-6320 is that it comes with a free CPU cooler! You can grab the Core i3-6320 for $157 without having to spend extra on cooling.

The Intel Core i3-6320 comes with a basic heatsink cooler, nothing fancy. But it gets the job done for this low-power CPU (TDP of 51W). You won't need a fancy aftermarket cooler unless you want to overclock it.

The Intel Core i3-6320 is a decent performing chip for $157. The main competitor at this price point is the A6-7470K, a 2-core unlocked processor with integrated graphics, which costs $215.7.

The Intel Core i3-6320 might not get a lot of hype, but it's a solid entry-level option that delivers a good experience for casual users.

If you don't care too much about overclocking and max boost speeds, then the Intel Core i3-6300 is a good option for $147. It also has 2 cores and 4 threads, but with slightly lower clock speeds (3.8GHz base and 3.8GHz boost).

Building on the success of mainstream Core i3 CPUs, Intel is now attacking the entry-level market with the Core i3-6320 processors, available since Oct 2015.