Conclusions and Final Thoughts
Performance
The fact is that the Core i5-3350P is not going to win any performance awards but where this new processor does excel is in comparisons to similarly priced parts from the competition – and that is exactly its purpose in the market. At $189 from Newegg the 3350P goes up directly against the AMD FX-8150 and also makes up the bottom of the Intel Ivy Bridge processor stack.
Without integrated graphics, the 3350P will obviously only work for consumers that are setup to use discrete graphics cards. I built my new Windows 8 sytem using this exact CPU since I 100% knew I was going to be using a GPU for gaming and wouldn't need any of the features of the HD 4000 or HD 2500 graphics. The 3350P is still "slow" by Ivy Bridge standards though, coming in behind the Core i5-3470 but a few percentage points and with fairly low Turbo Boost capability (200 MHz range). In some cases difference between the high-end options like the Core i7-3770K and the Core i5-3350P can be as high as 35% though that tends to be in media transcoding and rendering applications.
AMD finds itself in continued discomfort as a comparison between the Core i5-3350P and the FX-8150 (though that part is based on Bulldozer cores, not Piledriver) as the quad-core Intel part is able to outperform the 8 "core" AMD part in the majority of our tests. Not only that, but if you look at performance per watt the Intel CPU is other-worldly dominant in that is uses 110 watts LESS POWER than the FX-8150 under a full load.
Pricing and Availability
As with mid-range and low-end graphics cards, the same markets on the CPU front are very congested. At $189, the Core i5-3550P has a lot of company.
- Core i5-3350P – $189
- Core i5-3470 – $199
- Core i7-3770K – $299
- Core i7-2700K – $329
- Core i7-2600K – $269
- Core i7-3960X – $1029
- Core i7-3820 – $299
- AMD FX-8150 – $189
Perhaps the most dangerous part to sales of the Core i5-3550P is the Core i5-3470. Only $10 more, the 3470 runs at a 3.2 GHz base clock and a 3.6 GHz maximum Boost clock while also still including the option to utilize the HD 2500 graphics and QuickSync transcoding technology. Both are quad-core, both lack HyperThreading, both have 6MB of cache; it's hard not to see the i5-3470 getting the nod here.
Final Thoughts
Intel's Core i5-3350P is a fantastic processor that is able to compete with AMD's parts in terms of performance while vastly undercutting them on the power consumption side. Without the inclusion of the integrated HD 4000 or HD 2500 graphics, this processor is aimed only at users that are looking to add a discrete card to their system for gaming, etc.
Due to the current pricing though, the Core i5-3470 looks like a better choice as it DOES including integrated graphics while also running at higher clock rates. If you happen to find the Core i5-3550P around the $170 mark then don't hesitate to pick one up for your next gaming system!
Good article. but I want to
Good article. but I want to know if a processor with HD Graphics is better than one without. I’m a hardcore PC gamer.
How many cores is good for gaming.
If you are using a extra
If you are using a extra graphics cart then it makes no difference. Because when you play a game the pc will automatically use the most powerful gpu.
My motto is “less is better”
My motto is “less is better” and as far as weight, I have to be able to carry it all in one tote bag. In doing so, you might consider a document found on the CTIA’s web site, entitled “Safe – Driving – Talking – Points2” (created June 6, 2006) that states “But for some reason, legislative efforts to prevent driver distractions have been narrowly focused on wireless phone use. So, I kept his information, and phone number in case I decide to start another cool, or hot rather, business.
Multiplier 37 ? Is it
Multiplier 37 ? Is it possible ?
What I take from this is that
What I take from this is that the only CPU improvement over my aginge i7-920 nahalem (which has HT) is that it will use a lot less power.
Seems no point to “upgrade” still from an “old” 920.
You nehalem quad is good for
You nehalem quad is good for a few years yet!
What motherboard was used to
What motherboard was used to overclock ?
What motherboard was used to
What motherboard was used to overclock ?
Thx in advance 4 reply.
I done the same with a MSI
I done the same with a MSI Z77A-G41, just can’t have a 37x multiplier in charge but 35x so i had 3675Mhz for nothing !
I have that mobo too, and I
I have that mobo too, and I wanted this proc…. but it was out of stock so I had to go with a i5-3470. I was not able to go past x36, but hey I’m fine with 3.6 Ghz.
I have the Mobo Asrock z77
I have the Mobo Asrock z77 pro 3 and a i5 3350p, i set the Multi of 37, but he go no on 3,7 ghz. By 3,5 ghz for all cores ist the limit, i don´t understand it. i hope everywhere can help me, with the right setting, sorry for my bad Englisch
Great procesor.Runs all new
Great procesor.Runs all new games at max settings.Paired with good graphic card its excellent gaming beast.No need for stronger.
Will a GTX 670 graphic card
Will a GTX 670 graphic card run properly on this one? what about 2×670 SLI?
Will a Radeon 7850 or GeForce
Will a Radeon 7850 or GeForce GTX 650 Ti work with it?
i have the i5-3350p paired
i have the i5-3350p paired with an evga gtx 660 sc and games run great at 1080p. crysis 3, tweaked with geforce experience, runs at 45-60 fps so a 650 ti should work just fine.
Thanx a lot. Your review was
Thanx a lot. Your review was very helpfull. 😉
How work i53350p with my gpu
How work i53350p with my gpu 6850Toxic?
3,7ghz stable on msi p67gd65
3,7ghz stable on msi p67gd65 mobo.checked in games-metro ll and crysis 3.gpu hd 7870.
1st of all – those voltages
1st of all – those voltages are way to high
here’s what I do. Lover the Pll to 1550 > then ur CPu will idle <0.9 and will reach tops full load at 1.03
I have z77 GD65
My clocks are stable even with block overclock 104. SO i get over 3.8 easily on air <60degrees with auto voltage <1.1
Turbo rocks. Why have the clocks high all the time.
I'm pretty sure there can be improvements and tweaks but nobody investigated (maintained high clocks and such)
Hey Gruia.
Would you mind
Hey Gruia.
Would you mind writing down your settings or maybe making a small tutorial on how exactly to get this 3350p CPU to that 3.8 you mentioned ?
I just got one such CPU and I’m interested in getting out of it all the juice it has, while still being stable for games and other software.
Thanks.
if you have msi mobo with oc
if you have msi mobo with oc genie its no problem.Set in bios cpu ratio in windows enabeled,its on oc menu.Save changes and restart pc.go to msi control center.Set cpu ratio on 35 and base clock on 104 mhz,thats it.Dont touch cpu voltage,leave it on auto.
I bought one of these and
I bought one of these and have been using it for a year – before this build I was using a pentium 4 HT, so obviously I saw a massive performance boost, but I was still expecting worse than I got. This rocks for gaming, which is more GPU intensitive anyway, and it’s solid specs make for an excellent speedy video encoder. FFmpeg works superbly for me, and since I upgraded from 2GiB to 6GiB of RAM, I’ve never once had a lock-up or hang (besides when I killed init in linux… my fault).
It can emulate gamecube and wii games at full-speed (60fps) in the dolphin emulator under linux, so I am confident that this CPU is plenty to handle anything you throw at it. While there are better CPU’s out there, for the extra 20% speed boost I don’t think it’s worth an extra $300. This does everything you need.
My motherboard is an AsRock H77M, and my GPU is a cheap (~$65) Galaxy nvidia GT 630 card, 1GiB buffer, and because I already had some parts (case, hard disk, PSU) from my old pentium 4 HT pc, I only spent about $300 total on an awesome computer – totally functional (but it looks like crap, because it’s in a dell dimension case). my sound card is a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 that i got free from a friend who threw out his old PC.
Didn’t have to upgrade my PSU because the GT 630 and 3350p use such small amounts of power – 340w is plenty. off the top of my head, my graphics card uses 120 watts, and the CPU uses 88 – i only use around 208 watts and I get awesome performance – although my most demanding game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl in dolphin.
Still, i have plenty of room to get a more powerful card, and I still have a great PC for everything I do.