On YouTube I received a considerable amount of hate for using a dual core processor in ‘this day and age’, but I’ve done builds with i7’s since i7 first released and wanted to check out an unlocked i3 for the first time. NOTE: this is not my daily driver PC.

Except for the fact that it’s about $50-60+ overpriced, I’m fairly happy with the i3-7350k! I could play all of the games I tested on high or ultra settings while maintaining decent FPS using a RX480. Overclocking it to 4.9ghz (ran too hot at 5.0ghz at full load, so I dropped it a bit) also gave it a few more FPS and a nice boost in benchmarks like Time Spy and Cinebench R15. This is also NOT a budget build, as I obviously focused more on aesthetics than price by using an AIO, flashy RAM and a custom cable set. Cutting out those options for more budget friendly components would have dropped the price closer to $1k (if not under). If you’re looking for a budget processor, I wouldn’t recommend the i3-7350k until after Intel drops the price in the near future (it’s inevitable) and only if you plan on overclocking. Otherwise I’d probably suggest an older i5 or even the G4560 (which will be in my next true budget build).

Specs and Amazon links

CPU: i3-7350k 7th gen intel processor http://amzn.to/2l6CNv2
Motherboard: MSI Z270 Krait Gaming http://amzn.to/2l6DaFW
Graphics Card: XFX Radeon RX 480 4GB RS http://amzn.to/2l1JqTu
CPU Cooler: DeepCool Captain 240 EX http://amzn.to/2k5d1HD
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LED 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 http://amzn.to/2jMvesc
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB SSD http://amzn.to/2l6olmK
Case: Fractal Design Define C with Window ATX Mid Tower http://amzn.to/2kBIjJ0
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX http://amzn.to/2jMuR14
EVGA Cable Set: http://amzn.to/2l6HCEF