Intel's excellent Core i3-12100F CPU is down to £83 from Box right now
A fantastic budget CPU.
The Core i3 12100F is one of the best value CPUs on the market, with enough grunt to power most systems and compatibility with modern components like PCIe 5.0 SSDs and DDR5 RAM, all for less than £100. Today we spotted a deal at Box in the UK that brings this CPU down to just £83.
Based on our glowing write-up in the intro paragraph above, it probably comes as little surprise to learn that we rate the Core i3 12100F as the best budget Intel gaming CPU we've tested, offering solid performance for the price that is unmatched by any of their other chips. What's more, it also manages to overpower a lot of the previous-generation mid-range options, such as the venerable Ryzen 5 3600 or even Intel's Core i5 11600K. That's quite a feat - well done, Intel.
The 12100F comes with a total of four cores and eight threads, as well as a boost clock of 4.3GHz, meaning it's no slouch. As much as four cores and eight threads may seem a tad outdated in 2023, let's not forget this is a modern 12th gen Intel processor that takes advantage of the large boosts in single core performance that were brought with the Alder Lake architecture, while also having a simpler design than the mixed P-core and E-core designs of Intel's higher-end CPUs.
You also have a lot of flexibility with the 12100F that you don't get with Ryzen 7000 processors, including the choice of DDR4 or DDR5 motherboards. As this CPU is so cheap, you could also justify an upgrade to a higher-end 12th or 13th-gen Intel CPU later without needing to change motherboards, all the way up to Intel's incredibly powerful 13900K.
If it's a solid budget Intel processor you're after for a more affordable system that will still pack a punch, the i3 12100F is one of our favourite choices, and well worth a look.