[PConline evaluation]Now, it has been one month since Intel released the third generation Core i5/i7, and the replacement process of the old and new handover seems smooth. Intel Core i5 3450, as a new younger brother in the i5 series, is used to replace the original Core i5 2300/2320/2400 market. Recently, however, AMD quietly lowered the price of the flagship model processor FX-8150 to 1300 yuan, and the Core i5 3450 was attacked head-on. In the face of strong enemies, can Core i5 3450 cope?

If you are not familiar with the 3rd generation Core i5/i7, it is strongly recommended to read the following article first. Throw away from your opponent again! Authoritative Evaluation of Intel’s Third Generation i5/i7 //diy.pconline.com.cn/cpu/reviews/1204/2760640.html Standard for three generations of Core i! Authoritative evaluation of 7 series motherboards //diy.pconline.com.cn/main/reviews/1204/2736718.html
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● Market positioning of ●Intel Core i5 3450
Intel Core i5 3450 belongs to the third-generation Core i5 series. According to Intel’s plan, it is used to replace the second-generation Core i5 2300/2320/2400. The price is in the early thousand yuan, and it mainly focuses on the thousand-yuan market.

Core i5 3450 focuses on the thousand-yuan market.
The main difference between Intel Core i5 3450 and Core i5 3570K is that the former can’t overclock, except for the difference in frequency. However, with P67/Z68/Z75/Z77, four additional octaves can still be obtained.
Four extra multiples? Intel’s non-"K" series can’t be overclocked, right? In fact, starting from Sandy Bridge, Core i5/i7 (non-K series) with P67, Z68, Z75 and Z77 motherboards (other models are not available) can be overclocked in a small range, with an amplitude of four times. For example, the default frequency of Core i5 2300 is 2.8GHz, and the turbo frequency is 3.1GHz;; After overclocking, the frequency is 3.2GHz and the turbo frequency is 3.5GHz. Ivy Bridge inherits this feature, but it is suggested to match the Z75/Z77 motherboard, and the P67/Z68 needs BIOS support to realize the extra four octaves.
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● competitors of ●Intel Core i5 3450?
Before Ivy Bridge was released, Intel Core i5 had no competitors at the price of 1,000 yuan. But recently, AMD’s eight nuclear bulldozer has gone through several price dives and reached the price of 1,300 yuan, directly competing with Intel Core i5 3450. Who wins and who loses? We will reveal it in this PK.

AMD FX-8150 directly impacts Intel Core i5 3450.
● Analysis of ●Core i5 3450 specification
Core i5 3450 adopts 22nm process and is designed based on Ivy Bridge architecture. It is native with four cores and four threads, and the default frequency is 3.1GHz, which can be turbo-charged to 3.5Ghz, with 6MB of three-level cache. The core graphics card is integrated with HD2500, the default frequency is 650-1150MHz, 6MB L3 cache is shared with CPU, and the thermal power consumption of TDP is designed to be 77W.

Intel Core i5 3450 picture series evaluating forum quote Net purchase price
For more detailed specifications, we can refer to the following table, and compare Core i5 2300, Core i5 3450, Core i5 2500K and Core i5 3570K together:
Comparison of Core i5 parameters between the two generations.
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CPU model
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Core i5 2300
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Core i5 3450
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Core i5 2500K
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Core i5 3570K
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Micro-architecture
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Ivy Bridge
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Ivy Bridge
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Processor interface
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LGA1155
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LGA1155
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LGA1155
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Number of cores/threads
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4/4
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4/4
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manufacture craft
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32nm
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22nm
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22nm
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CPU base frequency
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2.8GHz
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3.1GHz
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3.3GHz
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3.4GHz
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CPU core frequency
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3.1GHz
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3.5GHz
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3.7GHz
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3.8GHz
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GPU (nuclear display)
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HD Graphics two thousand and five hundred
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HD Graphics 3000
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HD Graphics 4000
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L3 cache
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6M
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6M
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TDP thermal design power consumption
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77W
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95W
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77W
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It can be seen that the frequency of Core i5 3450 and Core i5 2300 is 0.3GHz higher than that of Core i5 2300, and the core frequency amplitude is also a complete four octaves (Corei5 2300 has only three octaves). In contrast, the specification of Core i5 3450 is closer to that of Core i5 2500K. However, because it doesn’t support hyper-threading technology, the whole series of Core i5 is four cores and four threads. Facing the impact of the competitor FX-8150 with four modules and eight threads, does i5-3450 have a chance of winning? Next, let’s start testing.
2. Introduction of evaluation platform and method description
Some time ago, we have tested the performance of the core graphics card of Core i5 3450, so this paper only tests the CPU part, and will not repeat it. If you want to know this information, you can clickhereRefer to the previous evaluation articles.
Intel LGA 1155 platform |
CPU |
Intel Core i5 3570K(4 cores /4 threads) Intel Core i5 2500K(4 cores /4 threads) Intel Core i5 3450(4 cores /4 threads) Intel Core i5 2300(4 cores /4 threads) |
mainboard |
Asus Sabertooth Z77 |
AMD AM3+ platform |
CPU |
AMD FX-8150(8 cores /8 threads) |
mainboard |
Asus Crosshair V Formula(990FX+SB950) |
Common fittings |
hard disc |
Western Digital 1TB Black Disk |
display card |
NVIDIA GTX680 |
memory |
Qiqi DDR3-1600 4G x 4(8-8-8-24),dual channel |
software platform
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operating system
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Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
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driver
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Graphics card: NVIDIA 301.10 WHQL
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Evaluation software |
Software: Fritz Chess Benchmark 4.3 wPrime 2.05 WinRAR 4.11 64Bit PhotoShop CS5 CineBench R11.5 64Bit TMPGEnc 4.7.7 3DMark Vantage v1.10 3DMark 11 v1.02 Game: StarCraft II: Wings of Freedom (DX9) Resident evil 5(DX10) Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City (DX9) |
The object of this evaluation is Core i5 3450, which is used to replace Core i5 2300/Core i5 2400 series; We add Core i5 2300, Core i5 2500K, Core i5 3570K and FX-8150 for comparison. The evaluation items include theoretical multithreading performance test, common software test, professional application test, game test, power consumption test and overclocking test.
In the mid-to high-end market, there is also E3-1230 V2, which has been popular recently, but strictly speaking, it does not belong to the desktop platform products under normal channels, so we will not compare it here. For the performance of E3-1230 V2, you can click.hereLearn more.
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3. Comparative evaluation of CPU performance
3.1, CPU theory multithreading performance evaluation
The test items include wPrime, a scientific computing test software, and Fritz Chess, an AI (artificial intelligence) computing test software, both of which greatly optimize the multi-core CPU and have great guiding significance for CPU performance. Because they are only theoretical operations, we classify them as CPU theoretical performance tests.
● Fritz Chess performance test:
Fritz Chess 4.3 (chess)
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Software introduction |
Test the AI computing performance and multi-thread processing ability of CPU.
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Software settings
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The default setting is to use the maximum number of threads of the CPU.
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test method |
Press Start directly to start the test and record the score.
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Software screenshot |
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Test results of "chess"
● wPrime 2.05 performance test:
wPrime 2.05
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Software introduction |
WPrime is a software to test the computing ability of a computer by calculating prime numbers. Because wPrime can support multi-thread parallel operations, it can better reflect the performance gap between multi-core and multi-thread CPUs.
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Software settings
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Set Set Thread Count to use the maximum number of threads of CPU.
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test method |
Run for 1024M and record the time.
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Software screenshot |
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WPrime 2.05 test scores
Test summary:In these two multithreading tests, the competitor’s FX-8150 is dominant, after all, the number of cores is twice that of Core i5. In the same direction, thanks to the progress of Ivy Bridge architecture and the improvement of main frequency, Core i5 3450 is more than 10% ahead of Core i5 2300.
3.2, commonly used software, RAR and PS performance evaluation
RAR file decompression and PS image processing are common operations for ordinary users. We chose the famous WinRAR software and PhotoShop to evaluate this part.
● WinRAR 4.11 performance test
WinRAR 4.11 (file decompression/compression)
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Software introduction |
WinRAR is a very popular compression software, which supports CPU multithreading. For ordinary users, the test results can reflect the speed of decompression/compression of RAR files.
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Software settings
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By default, the compressed package is the official WinRAR 4.11 installation package.
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test method |
Use your own Benchmark to record the score.
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Software screenshot |
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WinRAR 4.11 test results
● PhotoShop CS5 image processing test:
PhotoShop CS5 (image processing)
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Software introduction |
Photoshop is one of the most famous image processing software, which integrates image editing and modification, image production, advertising creativity, image input and output, and is deeply loved by graphic designers and ordinary users.
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Software settings
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Create a complex picture processing action
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test method |
Perform action batch processing on dozens of high-resolution photos and record the time.
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Software screenshot |
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PhotoShop CS5 test scores
● Cinebench R11.5 3D rendering performance test:
CineBench R11.5 64Bit(3D rendering)
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Software introduction |
CineBench R11.5 is the latest version of Cinebench series test software. It adopts the 3D engine of 3D design software CINEMA 4D, supports multi-thread simultaneous operation, and can be used to evaluate the performance of multi-core processors.
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Software settings
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test method |
Multi-core operation of CPU, recording scores
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Software screenshot |
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CineBench R11.5 3D rendering test
● TMPGEnc video conversion test:
TMPGEnc 4.77(Video compression/conversion)
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Software introduction |
TMPGEnc is a famous video coding/decoding software, which supports multiple formats. The multi-core processor is optimized and supported by new instruction sets such as SSE4, which can give full play to the performance of CPU and reduce a lot of coding time.
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Software settings
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test method |
Transform the clips of Transformed king kong 2 and record the time.
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Software screenshot |
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TMPGEnc Video Conversion Test Results
Test summary:The 3D rendering and video conversion software for professional users has fully optimized the multi-core/multi-thread CPU. The 8-thread FX-8150 makes up for the deficiency of the core architecture to some extent, and the test results are similar to those of the previous theoretical multi-thread performance evaluation.
3.4. Physical operation: 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11 evaluation.
This part of the test mainly examines the physical operation and artificial intelligence operation ability of CPU in the game. We choose the authoritative 3D testing software 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 11, which are the testing software of DX10 and DX11 respectively.
● DX10 test software 3DMark Vantage:
3DMark Vantage 1.10(physical operation)
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Software introduction |
3DMark Vantage is a 3D performance benchmark software based on DirectX 10, which mainly includes two parts: graphics card test and CPU test.
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Software settings
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test method |
Only the physical operation part of CPU is tested and the score is recorded.
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Software screenshot |
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3DMark Vantage test score (CPU score)
● DX11 test software 3DMark 11:
3DMark 11 1.02(physical operation)
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Software introduction |
3DMark 11 is a 3D performance benchmark software based on DirectX 11, which has three built-in test items: graphic performance test, physical performance test and comprehensive test.
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Software settings
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test method |
Only the physical operation part of CPU is tested and the score is recorded.
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Software screenshot |
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3DMark 11 test score (CPU score)
Test summary:In the CPU evaluation part of 3DMark series, we also examine the multi-thread operation of CPU, because they are both four cores and four threads, and the score difference of four Core i5 models is only reflected in the frequency difference. The FX-8150 with four modules and eight cores doesn’t get much advantage, and it is neck and neck with the Core i5 3450 with four cores and four threads.
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3.5、Game performance evaluation
In the game testing part, we selected StarCraft II: Wings of Freedom, Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City and resident evil 5 for testing. Although they are not the latest games, they put high demands on the CPU, and the test results can better reflect the game performance gap between the CPUs.
● DX9 game StarCraft II:
Starcraft ii(DX9 game)
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Introduction to the game |
StarCraft II is one of the most popular PC competitive games. The game has added a lot of AI operations and put forward higher requirements for CPU performance.
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Game settings
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1920×1080 superelevation, turn off vertical synchronization.
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test method |
We use the test video to test, select the fierce fighting part in the middle, which takes 1 minute, and record the average number of frames with Fraps.
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Game screenshot |
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Test scores of StarCraft II
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On the Significance of Game Frame Number (FPS)
The number of game frames is a standard to reflect whether the game runs smoothly, which can be classified in most cases.No playability:The number of frames is less than 30FPS;;Acceptable:30-50 frames;Smooth operation:50-60 frames;Perfect operation:The number of frames is greater than or equal to 60. That is to say, under normal circumstances, the number of frames is greater than 60, which is of little significance. At this time, you can increase the quality of the game to get more visual effects.
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● DX9 Game "Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City" Test:
Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City(DX9 game)
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Introduction to the game |
Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City is a masterpiece of the next generation of game consoles, which has high requirements for CPU.
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Game settings
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1920×1080 full height, turn off vertical synchronization, where View Distance is set to 90, Detail Distance and Vehicle Density are set to 100.
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test method |
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Game screenshot |
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Test results of Grand Theft Auto 4: Chapter of Freedom City
● DX10 game "resident evil 5" test:
Resident evil 5(DX10 Game)
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Introduction to the game |
Resident Evil series is a masterpiece of millions of sales of home game consoles. Now the latest work, resident evil 5, has been released in PC version, and supports DX10 technology, so that its image quality can be improved again.
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Game settings
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1920×1080 0AA, full height, turn off vertical synchronization.
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test method |
Self-contained Fix Benchmark
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Game screenshot |
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Resident evil 5 test scores.
Test summary:Compared with two generations of Core i5 2300, Core i5 3450 in the game test still keeps ahead. It can be seen that Ivy Bridge has indeed made progress compared with Sandy Bridge, but in the face of scores of hundreds of frames, the gap of 10 frames is actually not obvious. FX-8150′ s test in these two rounds is more tragic, because at this stage, the game has limited optimization of multi-core, and the test is actually the performance of single core.
3.6 Platform power consumption test
Because the individual power consumption of CPU can’t be accurately measured in general environment, we test the power consumption of the whole platform in the power consumption test part. By investigating the power consumption gap of each platform, the power consumption gap of each CPU is indirectly reflected. We chose the famous baking machine software Prime 95, and adopted the Large mode to make the CPU and memory work at full load, while the graphics card was not at full load, and then recorded the readings on the power consumption meter.

Test of baking machine with Prime 95

Comparative evaluation of platform power consumption — — Standby (The graphics card is in standby state.)

Comparative evaluation of platform power consumption — — Fully loaded (The graphics card is in standby state.)
Because of the Turbo function, the power consumption of the four Core i5 products in standby state is basically the same, and the difference between them is mainly reflected in the full load state. It can be seen that the full-load power consumption of Core i5 3450 is about 10 watts lower than that of Core i5 2300. As for competitors, the power consumption brought by FX-8150 with four modules and eight cores is still very large.
3.7. Free lunch! Overclocking Test of Extra Quadruple Frequency of Core i5 3450
As mentioned earlier, Core i5/i7 (non-K series) with P67, Z68, Z75 and Z77 motherboards (other models are not available) can be overclocked in a small range, with an amplitude of 4 octaves. So weDirectly increase the frequency of Core i5 3450 by four times in the BIOS, set it successfully and enter the system directly. At this time, the frequency is 3.5-3.9GHz (single core turbo frequency is 3.9GHz, quad core turbo frequency is 3.7GHz):

BIOS setting method
The above is the motherboard used in this test — — Screenshot of BIOS settings of ASUS Saber tooth Z77, the setting path is "Advanced Processor Settings CPU Power Management", in which a default value of CPU ratio is 35 (the highest turbo frequency of i5 3450), and we set it to 39, which successfully booted up and entered the system. Let’s take a look at how much performance improvement is brought by these four extra frequency doubling.

3DMark Vantage test: improved by 14%

3DMark 11 test: increased by 11%

Fritz Chess test: increased by 12%

WPrime test: increased by 11%
Summary:After four times of frequency doubling, the average performance of Core i5 3450 is improved by 12%, which is higher than Core i5 3570K at the default frequency, and the system runs very stably. We believe that this CPU still has a lot of room for overclocking. Later, we tried to increase the frequency by five times and set the CPU ratio to 40. As a result, it will be reset after each setting. It seems that Intel’s restrictions on overclocking are still very strict, so we can only choose the "K" series model if we want to overclock.
4. Summary of PConline Evaluation Room
Some time ago, we have tested the performance of the core graphics card of Core i5 3450, so this paper only tests the CPU part, and will not repeat it. If you want to know this information, you can clickhereRefer to the previous evaluation articles.

CPU performance ranking, based on the CPU score of 3DMark Vantage
(For reference only, it does not represent the comprehensive performance of CPU)
●CPU performance replaces Core i5 2300 without pressure, which is similar to FX-8150 and i5 2500K at the default frequency.
We convert the scores of each sub-item in the previous CPU performance test into percentages based on i5 2300, and then take the average value to get the following figure:

CPU performance comparison
The performance of Intel Core i5 3450 is 14% higher than that of Core i5 2300. Apart from the architectural advantages, the increase of core frequency is also one of the reasons for this difference, because Core i5 3450 was originally planned to replace two series of Core i5 2300/2400. Even so, the Core i5 3450 will not impact the products of the previous level, and its performance is basically the same as that of the Core i5 2500K at the default frequency. Look at the competitor FX-8150 again, and the comprehensive performance gap between them is almost negligible.
● Power consumption control is still eye-catching

Power consumption comparison
The power consumption of Core i5 3450 based on 22nm process is well controlled. Although the turbo frequency is 0.4GHz higher than that of Core i5 2300, the overall power consumption is still great. This aspect has always been the strength of Intel Core series, far ahead of competitors.
● Purchase suggestions

Intel Core i5 3450 picture series evaluating forum quote Net purchase price
1. Competitiveness analysis
In terms of performance:Core i5 3450Compared with Core i5 2300, it is improved by 14%, and its performance is close to that of i5 2500K and FX-8150 at the default frequency.
Power consumption:Core i5 3450 based on the new generation Ivy Bridge architecture has great advantages.
In terms of price:Same as FX-8150.
The original task of Intel Core i5 3450 is to replace the Core i5 2300/2400 series. Compared with the previous generation, the CPU performance is improved by about 10%, and it will not impact the previous product, so it is not a big problem to successfully take over the market. On the other hand, AMD’s FX-8150 has suddenly cut its price to 1300 yuan recently, which has a great impact on the i5 market.From the test results, the two have their own advantages and disadvantages, but Core i5 is far from the opponent in power consumption control.
2. User groups
Mid-to-high-end gamers and users who have certain requirements for performance.
Step 3 buy suggestions
If you focus on games and multimedia entertainment, Intel Core i5 3450 is a good choice, because at present, the game is not optimized for multi-core performance, and the four-core four-thread and Ivy Bridge architecture are enough to cope with it. Intel’s advantages in architecture and power control are still obvious; If you want to overclock, you can consider FX-8150. The price reduction of the eight-core bulldozer has been within a reasonable range.