A Buyer's Guide to Intel's 10th Gen CPUs - Chillblast Learn

The Intel 10th Gen CPU Range ; Core i3. i3-10320; i3-10300T; i3-10300; i3-10100T; i3-10100 ; Core i5. i5-10600T; i5-10600KF; i5-10600K; i5-10600; i5-10500T; i5- ... TopPostsEscapefromTarkovPCRequirementsNvidiaRTX3070vs.3080vs.3090WhatCPUworksbestforLightroomandPhotoshop?...ATXvs.M-ATX:WhichSizeMotherboardisRight...Doesplayinggamesdamagecomputersandlaptops?ABuyer’sGuidetoIntel’s10thGenCPUsWhyTBWMattersinSSDsTheBestCPUforStreamingandGaming2021What’sBetterforGaming:APCora...BestIntel11thGenCPUforGamingMyAccountABuyer’sGuidetoIntel’s10thGenCPUsABuyer’sGuidetoIntel’s10thGenCPUsWiththereleaseofIntel’s10thGenCPUs,choosingtherightCPUforyourPCisnotaneasytask.It’sespeciallydifficultifyou’renotup-to-dateonthelatestreleasesandinformationinthetech-sphere.Choosingaprocessorthat’srightforyourPCisanimportantbalancebetweenyourbudget,whatperformanceyouneedandwhichfeatures.WhenitcomestoDesktopPCCPUstherearetwochoicesofbrand,AMDorIntel.BothbrandshavetheirProsandCons,whichisawholedifferentarticle.Forthisbuyersguide,we’llassumeyou’reprimarilyinterestedinIntel’soffering.Intel’s10thGenCPUsareofficiallymakingtheirwayintoChillblastPCs.It’sabouttimewegiveyouanin-depthlookatwhatIntelisofferingthisiterationandinvestigatewhichCPUisbestforyouruses.TheIntel10thGenCPURangeHere’severyCPUavailableinIntel’s10thGeneration.You’llnoticethatthey’resubdividedintodifferentranges.Rangingfromi3throughtoi9processors.i3processorsarethe“lowend”ofIntel’soffering.Theyoffergreatvalue.However,they’renotintendedforseriouscomputingpower,that’swherethei7andi9rangescomein.Moreonthislateron.Corei3i3-10320i3-10300Ti3-10300i3-10100Ti3-10100Corei5i5-10600Ti5-10600KFi5-10600Ki5-10600i5-10500Ti5-10500i5-10400Ti5-10400Fi5-10400Corei7i7-10700Ti7-10700KFi7-10700Ki7-10700Fi7-10700Corei9i9-10900Ti9-10900KFi9-10900Ki9-10900Fi9-10900Imagesource:IntelThisistherangeofCPUsavailablesimplyinIntel’sDesktoprangeofprocessors.Therearedifferentmodelsavailableforlaptopsandothersuchdevices.We’reabouttogothroughIntel’snamingconventions.Youcanusethisinformationtodecipherthemodelnumbers(nowandinfuture)andbecomeamoreinformedconsumer.However,IfyouwouldratherwejusttellyouwhichCPUsarebestforeachuse,youcanskipahead.Intel10thGenCPUModelNumbersandLettersExplainedCPUModelSeriesi5-10600Thebeginningofthemodelnumberoutlineswhich“series”theprocessorisfrom.Aswementionedearlier,thei3processorsarethelowestpowered.Theystepupinpoweruntilyoureachthei9range,Intel’smostpowerfuldesktopprocessors.Youcanseeinthemodeltableabove,eachmodelstartswitheitheri3,i5,i7ori9anditclearlydenoteswhichrangeyou’relookingat.We’lldiveintothespecsofeachrangeinamoment.CPUModelGenerationi5-10600Aftertheseriesicon,wehavethenumber10.Ifyou’vebeenpayingattention,you’llhaveguessedthatthisreferstothefactthattheseareIntel’s10thGenerationoftheprocessor.i5processorsinthe9thgenerationwouldhavemodelnumberslikei5-9600etc.Noticehowthefirstnumberisnowa9,ratherthana10.Ifyou’relookingatacomputerwhichquotesamodelnumberwitha9,ratherthana10,it’susinglastgeneration’stechnology.Thisisnotalwaysabadthing.Insomeinstances,10thgenerationCPUsarestilldifficulttogetinstock,oraremuchmoreexpensive.Generally,however,anewergenerationshouldbepreferred.CPUModelNumberi5-10600ThenumbersfollowingtheGenerationIDspecificallyidentifywhichkindof10thgenerationprocessoryou’relookingat.Intheexampleabove,we’relookingatani5seriesCPU,ofthe10thGeneration,inthe600range.Otheroptionsintheprocessorarethei5-10400andthei5-10500.Asyouwouldimaginethehigherthenumber,themorepowerfultheprocessoris.Inthisexample,thedifferenceistheCPU’sfrequency.Now,withoutgettingintothecomplicatedworldofCPUfrequency.AhigherCPUfrequencyisnotalwaysbetterwhencomparingprocessors.However,whencomparingwithinthesamemodelandbrand,youcanassumethatahigherfrequencywillgiveyouabetterperformingPC.Thei5-10600hasabasefrequencyof3.30GHz(Turboto4.8GHz)Thei5-10500hasabasefrequencyof3.10GHz(Turboto4.5GHz)Thei5-10400hasabasefrequencyof2.90GHz(Turboto4.3GHz)Whilstthatmaynotseemlikemuch,theadditional0.4GHzinbasefrequencybetweenmodelswillmakeanoticeabledifferenceincertaintasks.CPUChipTypei5-10600KTokeepthingssimple,weremovedtheadditionallettersfromtheabovemodels.ManyIntelCPUshavealetterortwoaftertheirname.Intelmodelswithoutaletterindicatethattheyarethe“base”model.Thebasemodelsarestandard,theydon’tsupportoverclockingandthey’renottryingtosqueezeouteverygramofperformanceorefficiency.Ifyouseeamodelnumberwithaletterattheendofit,itmeansitdeviatesfromthe“standard”modelinsomeway.KChips“K”Chips,arewhatyouwillmostcommonlyfindinperformanceapplications.TheKmeansthattheyare“unlocked”andyouasauser(orChillblastcandothisforyouwhenyoupurchaseaPCwithaKchip)canincreasethebaseCPUfrequencyforadditionalperformance.Somethingyoucan’tdowithregularchips.Forinstance:Thei5-10600khasabasefrequencyof4.1GHz(Turboto4.8GHz)That’s0.8GHzmorethanthe“locked”or“standard”i5-10600modelandamassiveeverydayimprovementinperformance.ThefactthattheseCPUsareunlocked,meansthattheycanbe“overclocked”whencombinedwithadequatecooling.Youcangeteverylastgramofperformanceoutofthechip.FChips“F”Chipsareaneweradditiontotherange.Itdenotesthattheprocessordoesnotincludeanonboardgraphicsprocessor.CPUshaveboththeabilitytoprocessthecomplicated“behindthescenes”calculationsthatmaketheprocessorrun.Theyalsoincludetheabilitytooutputitinagraphicalwaythatwemere-humanscanunderstand.Asthegraphicrequirementgrowswithmoreintensivegamesandprograms,dedicatedGraphicalProcessingUnitshavegrowninpopularitytoo.TheseGPUsaremuchmorepowerfulthanyourCPUcouldeverbeatproducingbeautifulgraphics.IntelnowproducesCPUsthatareslightlycheaper,andrequireyoutosupplyyourowngraphicalprocessingunit.TChips“T”Chipsarelessknown,becausethey’relesspopularandatChillblast,wetypicallydon’tusethemunlessforveryspecificcircumstances.Theseprocessorsarelesspowerfulthansimilarmodels,assuchtheyusemuchlesspowerandproducelessheat.They’reusefulforsomeapplications,butprobablynotusefultoyouraveragebuyer.KFChipsIntelwilloccasionallycombinetwoletterstodenotetwodifferenttechnologiesinone.KFChipsarethemostcommonyou’llseeandareacombinationofbothKandFtypesinoneCPU.Inthisinstance,it’saprocessorwithanunlockedcore(K)andlackingagraphicsprocessorinside(F).Usefulforcertainapplications.Choosinga10thGenInteli3,i5,i7ori9ProcessorIntelhandilybreaksdowneachofitsprocessorgroupsbythenumberofcorestheprocessorshave,whichmakesitniceandsimpletodeterminethevalueyou’regettingfromeach.However,thenumberofcoresyougetwithaspecificrangewillchangethroughthegenerations.10thGenerationInteli7processorsfeature8Coresand16Threads.However,the9thgenerationofthei7featuresjust6Coresand12Threads.Itusedtobethatani5wasaquad-core,whichisnolongerthecase.Corei34Cores/8ThreadsUpto4.4GHzCorei56Cores/12ThreadsUpto4.8GHzCorei78Cores/16ThreadsUpto5.2GHzCorei910Cores/20ThreadsUpto5.3GHzHopefully,throughusbreakingdownthenamingconventionsofeachchip,andtheabovetableoutlineeachgroup’sheadlinespecs,youwillhaveagraspofwhattheycandoforyou.Ifyou’restillunsureofwhethertogoforani3,i5,i7ori9processor,keepreading.We’llhelpyouchoosewhichtobuyforyourspecificuse.Imagesource:IntelA10thGenProcessorForEverydayHome&OfficeTasksIfyou’relookingforasystemthathandlesyoureverydaytaskswithease,you’llwanttochoosesomethingtowardsthelowerendofIntel’s10thGenrangeasyouwon’tneedanythingunlockedorwithoutgraphics.Whenwe’reresearchingourPCsforhomeandofficeuse,wefindthatthemajorityofpeopledon’tneedmoreprocessingpowerthanwhatabrandnew10thGeni5CPUcanprovide.With6coresand12threadsandupto4.8GHzcorespeed,10thGeni5processorsoffersimilarperformancetothemostexpensiveCPUsfromjustagenerationortwoago,atamuchlowercost.Multiplehigh-speedcoresaregoingtoallowyourPCtohandlelargespreadsheetsanddocumentswithease,withplentyof“performanceheadroom”tohandlethesetasksforthenextseveralgenerations.Ifyourbudgetwon’tstretchquitetoai5,ani3isstillanadmirableandstrongCPUinthe10thgenerationoffering,ifyou’rededicatedtochoosinganInteloveranAMDbasedcomputer.Eventhemostcost-effectivei3inIntel’s10thgenerationoffersfastclockspeedsandhyperthreading.With33%fewercoresthanthei5,it’snotgoingtobequiteaseffectiveinsomeintensivetasks,butasan“all-round”PCthat’sgoingtolastseveralgenerationsofinternet-browsing,photo-sharing,andword-crunching–you’regoodtogo.TheBest10thGenCPUForGamingThebestCPUforgamingtypicallyhasthehighestclock-speedavailable.Mostoftoday’sgamesdon’ttakeadvantageofmulti-coreprocessingaswellasotherprogramsdo,soit’sasmuchaboutfastasinglecorecandothemostwork,ashowmanycoresithas.Asyouwillhaveseenintheabovetables,themoreexpensivehigherclock-speedprocessorsalsofeaturemorecores.ThebestperformanceinlightgamingwithanIntelCPUistobegainedthroughani5ori7CPU.ani7CPUisgoingtodeliveryougreaterperformanceineverytaskwhencomparedtothei5.However,naturallythiswillneedanincreasedbudget.ChoosingaCPUforlightgamingisatrade-offforbudgetandspeed.Ifgamingperformanceonabudgetisyourultimategoal(andyou’resetonchoosingintel,overAMD),thenanunlockedi5isonepossibleoption.Choosinganunlocked10thGeni5,withanaftermarketCPUcoolerallowsyoutomakeuseofourfreeoverclockingservice.We’llincreaseyourCPU’sclockspeedstogiveyoubettergamingperformance,andensuresystemstabilityandcooltemperatures.ThiswillallowyoutosavealittlebudgetandputittowardsamorepowerfulGraphicsCard,whereyou’llseerealperformancedifferences.However,ifyou’relookingforano-holds-barred,best-of-the-bestgamingcomputer.Somethingtoshow-offandtodeliverthebestperformanceimaginable,you’llwantani9processor.Reasonsforwhywe’lldiscussinthenextsection.Best10thGenCPUforGaming,Streaming,RecordingandContentCreationIfyou’reagamer,butyoualsorecordandstreamyourcontent,you’llneedsomethingalittlemorepowerfulthanIntel’s10thGeni5andi7,evenwithoverclocking.InourrangeofContentCreationPCs,weuse10thGeni9CPUswherepossible.Theirhigh-speedmulti-coreperformancemakesthemIntel’sbestofferingforcontentcreators.WhenyourGamingPCisrunningtheGame,OBSisrecordingANDstreaming,andChatisblowingup,youneedsomethingthatcanhandleeverythingbeingthrownatit.Thei9has10Coresand20threadsrunningatupto5.3GHz,whichismorethanenoughpowertostream,editandplaygames.Butifyouneedsomethingalittleextra,mostofoursystemscomewiththeunlockedversionofthei9,allowingforoverclockingtogetevenmorepowerfromyourmachinewithadequatecoolingandmotherboardsupport.Best10thGenCPUforFlightSimFlightSimulationPCsneedhigh-speedcoresinordertoperformtotheirbestability.You’llnoticethatourentirerangeofFlightSimulationPCsutilisesomeformofunlockedprocessor,unlessbudgetconstricted.Thisallowsustogetthebestclock-speedthroughoverclocking,anddeliverthebestpossibleflightsimexperience.FlightSimsneedtobeabletocalculatephysicsandflightcharacteristicsasyounavigate.Sinceyournavigationisn’tpredictable,thePCneedstomakethesecalculationsinreal-time.Ifitcan’tcalculatefastenough,youencounterstutteringwherethePCistryingtocatch-up.It’sunfortunatelynotsomethingthatadditionalcoresareabletohelpwithall-that-much.ThebestCPUforflightsimulationistheCPUwiththefastestclock-speed–Thei9-10900K.That’snottosaythatasingle-coreCPUat6GHzisbetterthanIntel’s10thGeni9at5.3GHz.YourPCisn’tjustrunningthesimulation,remember.YourPCwillbeusingtheothercores,andthesimulationwillbeusingthemtoo,buttheextracoreswon’tmakeasmuchperformanceasadditionalclock-speed,andahigh-endGPUwill.Best10thGenCPUforPhotographyandVideoEditingProgramssuchasAdobe’sPhotoshop,Lightroom,AfterEffectsandPremiereProwillbenefitfrombothadditionalcoresandclock-speedinIntelCPUs.Onaslidingscaleofbudgetvsperformance,simplyput,themoreyouspend,thegreatertheperformanceyoucanexpect.You’llnoticethatourPhotographyPCsandVideoEditingPCscoverabroadrangeofbudgets.Ifyoufrequentlyfindthatyou’reinanAdobeprogram,withmultiplewindowsopen,runningcomplicatedprocessesthroughwhichevermediayou’reediting,itwillbenefityoutogetthelatest10thGenerationi9-10900K.The10Cores/20ThreadsarewellsupportedinAdobe’ssoftware,allowingyoutomakethemostofyourentireCPU.Thehigher-thanaverageCPUspeedwillpaydividendswhenyoubeginthoseintensiveprocesses.Bareinmind,thattheCPUisn’teverythinginyourPC.Adobe(andother)programsofferHardwareAccelerationthroughonboardGraphicsCards;theybenefitfromlargeamountsofhigh-speedRAM;andyoucanalwaysutilisemoreon-boardstorage.However,ifyoufindthatyou’reworkingonacase-by-casebasis,openingsingle,smallerprojectsoneatatime,whilsta10900kprocessorwillstillbenefityou,youwouldbebetteroffoptingforamorebudget-friendly10thGeni7processor.The(stillveryhigh)core-countandclock-speedswilloffergreatperformance,butthebudgetsavingscangotowardsgreatGPU(forhardwareacceleration),RAMorStorage,whichwilllikelyworkbetterwithyourworkflow–bygreatlydecreasingrendertimeinvideoprojects,forinstance.GetapersonalisedPCtomeetyourneedsWedon’texpectyoutoknoweverythingaboutPCs.That’swhatwe’reherefor!Ifyou’restrugglingtonarrowdowntheexactspecthatyouneedinyourPCforyouruses,giveourdedicatedCustomerServiceTeamacall,oranemail.Welistentoyourneedsandwe’llprovideacustomPCdesignthatcombineseverythingyouneed,witheverythingweknow.Itdoesn’tcostextra.CONTACTUSPrevPreviousNextNextMorearticlesHowToGoProInValorantMay20,2022LeagueofLegendsBeginner’sGuidePart1May19,2022BestValorantSettingsGuide–ProTips&TricksMay19,2022ReadalsoxIntegratedGraphics:Canyouplaygameswithouta...May11,2022AComprehensiveBuyer’sGuidetoAMDCPUs(2022)April25,2022ABuyer’sGuidetoIntel’s11thGenCPUsApril20,2022