Intel Core i3 8300 4-core LGA1151

The i3-8300 is a basic 4-core chip with decent single-thread speed and ECC support. Multi-core is below average and it only works on Intel 300 series boards. Worth it only if you find it cheap, around $125 or EUR 169, and already have a compatible motherboard.

PassMark puts this at 6337 multi and 2256 single. Single thread lands in the 64th percentile, which is fine for an old budget chip. Multi thread sits at 45th, so it's below average when you push all four cores. The 65W TDP keeps power draw reasonable, but efficiency only hits the 55th percentile. You get DDR4 support up to 64GB and ECC, which is a nice touch for a cheap workstation. The UHD 630 iGPU handles 4K video and light desktop work, but don't expect much beyond that.

Against modern chips like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, this thing looks ancient. The 9800X3D is in a completely different league for gaming and multi-threaded work. The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 is an older server chip with similar single-thread numbers but worse platform support. The Phenom II X6 is even older and slower. Honestly, the i3-8300 only makes sense if you already have a 300 series motherboard and need a cheap drop-in upgrade. Otherwise, even a used Ryzen 5 would beat it in most tasks.

Pricing is all over the place. US listings show $125, but European vendors range from EUR 169 to EUR 261. That's a EUR 92 spread for the same chip. If you're in Europe, shop around. The cheapest EUR 169 listing is the only one worth considering. At $125 or EUR 169, this is a passable budget chip for office work. At EUR 261, you're getting robbed. For that money, you can find newer options with way more performance.

The Core i3-8300 is a 4-core, 4-thread chip from Intel's 8th gen lineup. It runs at 3.7GHz with 8MB of L3 cache and a 65W TDP. Nothing fancy here, just a basic quad-core for basic jobs. It comes with a boxed cooler and Intel UHD 630 graphics, so you can skip a GPU if you're not gaming.

Skip this if you need real multi-core performance for video editing, streaming, or modern gaming. The 4 threads will choke on anything heavy. Also skip it if you don't already own a 300 series motherboard. The platform lock makes it a bad choice for a new build when newer budget chips offer way more for similar money.

This is a chip for people who need a basic quad-core for office work, light browsing, or a cheap home server. The ECC support and boxed cooler make it a decent low-cost option. But the platform lock to 300 series boards is annoying, and multi-core performance is weak. If you're building new, look elsewhere. If you're upgrading an old LGA1151 system, it's fine.