Intel Core i3 4150 2-core LGA 1150

The Core i3-4150 sits in the 95th percentile for affordability at around USD 35 used, and its 54W TDP keeps it cool and quiet. The 3398 PassMark multi-core score is the weak point, landing in the 30th percentile. It's a great budget chip for everyday tasks with an upgrade path, but not for heavy gaming or encoding.

The single-thread score of 1921 in PassMark is the number to focus on here. That's about average across our database, which for a budget chip from 2014 is actually respectable. The 3.5GHz base clock does a lot of the heavy lifting, and Hyper-Threading means those 2 physical cores present as 4 threads to the OS. For everyday tasks like web browsing, document editing, and light multitasking, it feels snappier than the core count suggests.

Multi-core is where the ceiling shows. 3398 in PassMark puts it in the 30th percentile, so anything that scales across cores will feel sluggish. The 3MB of L3 cache is fine for basic workloads but tight for anything demanding. The HD Graphics 4400 iGPU handles casual gaming and video playback without a discrete GPU, which is a real advantage at this price point. Quick Sync Video helps with basic encoding tasks, though owners report video encoding is not this chip's strong suit. The 54W TDP means it runs cool and quiet with the stock cooler, and that's backed up by user feedback praising low power draw and near-silent operation.

Against the AMD Ryzen 5 5500, this chip gets absolutely demolished in multi-core workloads, the Ryzen's 6 cores and 12 threads are in a different league entirely. But the Ryzen also costs significantly more and needs a newer motherboard. The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 is an interesting alternative if you need more cores on the cheap, though it runs hotter and lacks integrated graphics. The AMD Phenom II X6 HDT90ZFBGRBOX offers 6 physical cores at a similar vintage, but owners of the i3-4150 specifically call out its lower power consumption and quieter operation as advantages over AMD alternatives. For a pure budget build with no discrete GPU, the i3-4150's HD Graphics 4400 is the tiebreaker.

At USD 35 on the US used market, this chip is in the 95th percentile for affordability, and that's the entire pitch. European buyers see a wider spread, EUR 57 to EUR 108 across four listings, so shopping around matters. Canadian listings range from CAD 50 to CAD 85, a CAD 35 gap between the cheapest and priciest vendor. The best deals are on the lower end of those ranges, and at those prices you're getting a functional CPU with integrated graphics for less than the cost of a decent dinner. The 4.4-star rating across 282 reviews suggests most buyers feel they got their money's worth.

The Core i3-4150 sits in the 95th percentile for affordability in our database, and that's really the whole story here. At around USD 35 on the used market, you're getting a Haswell dual-core with Hyper-Threading, a 3.5GHz base clock, and Intel HD Graphics 4400. It's a 2014 chip that still shows up in budget builds because it sips power at 54W TDP and handles everyday computing without breaking a sweat. The 4.4-star rating across 282 reviews tells you owners are generally happy with what they paid for.

But let's be honest about what this isn't. The PassMark multi-core score of 3398 lands in the 30th percentile, which means it's slower than 70% of CPUs in our database. Single-thread at 1921 is middle of the pack. If you're building a machine for web browsing, office work, or light media, this chip is a steal. If you're dreaming of AAA gaming or video editing, keep scrolling.

Skip this if you plan to do any serious gaming, video editing, or heavy multitasking. The 3398 PassMark multi-core score in the 30th percentile means anything that scales across cores will crawl. The 2 physical cores are the bottleneck, and no amount of Hyper-Threading fixes that. If you're already on a modern platform or need DDR4/DDR5 memory support, this chip is a step backward. And if you're buying new rather than used, the value proposition evaporates fast.

The i3-4150 earns its 4.4-star rating because it delivers exactly what budget builders expect: a cheap, cool, quiet chip that handles everyday computing and light gaming without drama. The 95th percentile affordability ranking is the headline, and the 54W TDP keeps it running silent. But the 30th percentile multi-core score is a hard ceiling. If your workload involves heavy multitasking, AAA gaming, or video encoding, this chip will frustrate you. For a basic office PC, a media box, or a first build with an upgrade path to i5 or i7, it's a smart buy at the right price.