by Is a 4-core CPU enough for gaming? Let’s find out
Updated: March 16, 2023 9:42 am
4-core CPUs, also known as quad-cores, have remained a staple of PC gaming for most of the past decade. They are still very popular today because of their affordability and the practical amount of performance they offer, but all the latest CPUs have many more cores, which raises some doubts.
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If you are interested in PC gaming, you may have considered getting yourself a 4-core CPU. Well, today we find out: is a 4-core CPU enough for gaming?
How many cores do you need to game?
Gaming, as an activity performed on your processor, does not consume many cores. Essentially, game developers find it difficult to write code that uses multiple cores effectively.
You may be surprised to learn that many older games don’t use more than a single core at all. This is why the maximum clock speed (which is directly related to the performance of one core) has much more influence on the game performance than the number of cores.
As technology – both software and hardware – has improved, games have made better use of multiple cores.
We now have very CPU-intensive modern titles that can make more effective use of multicore processing, although games still generally prefer processors with higher clock speeds over more cores.
Are 4 cores good enough for gaming in 2023?
It really comes down to whether or not the 4-core processor in question has SMT, also known as Hyperthreading.
With SMT, each CPU core acts as 2 “logical processors” and can handle more workload. A regular 4-core, 4-thread processor like the Core i3-9100F or the Core i5-4570K will squeeze pretty hard when running resource-intensive triple-A titles like Elden Ring.
However, a 4-core, 8-thread processor with SMT has the processing power to give you a very comfortable 60FPS experience in most modern titles.
SMT is really the deal breaker if you work with 4 core processors these days. We can’t recommend going with a quad-core without SMT if you can find just a few dollars more that have this feature and thus give you much better performance and value for money.
What is the best 4-core gaming processor?
The Intel Core i3 and AMD Ryzen 3 lineups have some excellent options for you to consider. Currently, the quad-core CPU with the best performance metrics is the Intel Core i3-13100.
Intel Core i3-13100
The i3-13100 is a 4-core, 8-thread CPU with a maximum clock speed of 4.5 GHz. It was released in January 2023 and is slightly better than its predecessor, the Core i3-12100.
Intel Core i3-13100F
The i3-13100 pairs well with mid-range cards like the RX6600 to give you powerful 1080p gaming at 60 FPS or higher. 1440p is also possible, but only in less graphically demanding games and with somewhat toned down settings.
It is recommended to go for the “F” variant of the 13100 processor if you are interested in the lowest price and don’t need the integrated graphics card.
Last words
To summarize the information we presented to you in this article: Yes, a 4-core CPU is still enough for gaming in 2023, but only as long as SMT or Hyperthreading is enabled. This feature allows the 4 cores to function as 8 logical processors, making the difference between a laggy experience at unstable frame rates and one at stable, consistent 60FPS or more.
