Gamers who want to build a new gaming rig on a tight budget need to reserve as much cash as they can for the graphics card, so a CPU without an integrated GPU is both desirable and cost-effective. Intel just quietly introduced a new Core i3 that fits the bill and causes a headache for AMD.
As Tom's Hardware reports, Intel has yet to add this new Core i3-10100F to its master price list, but we're expecting it to cost between $79 and $97. In return, you get a quad-core, eight-thread processor running at 3.6GHz boosting up to 4.3GHz with a 65W TDP.
As to why Intel decided to introduce this new processor, AMD is the answer. You may remember earlier this year AMD launched the Ryzen 3 3300X. PCMag's review concluded that the 3300X was a "top CPU contender for anyone building a fast, but budget-conscious, AMD AM4-based gaming desktop." That chip also doesn't have a GPU, runs at 3.8GHz boosting to 4.3GHz, and offers four cores and eight threads. And while the 3300X does have 16MB of L3 cache compared to the 10100F's 6MB, it loses out on price.
The Core i3-10100F poses two problems for AMD's $120 3300X. The first is Intel's chip costing between $23 and $41 less while offering comparable performance. The second is availability, with the 3300X generally being out of stock everywhere, which has been the case for months. If Intel can make the 10100F readily available and decides to price it at $79, the 3300X really doesn't look so great anymore.