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The Intel Core i3 530 Review - Great for Overclockers & Gamers

 by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 22, 2010 12:00 AM EST
107 Comments | Add A Comment
107 Comments

Integrated Graphics - Slower than AMD, Still Perfect for an HTPC

Intel was very careful to seed reviewers with the Core i5 661, it provides integrated graphics performance equal to if not better than the best integrated graphics from AMD and NVIDIA.

The same, unfortunately, can’t be said about the Core i3 530. With 81% of the GPU clock of the 661, the i3’s graphics are obviously slower. It’s not a huge drop, but it’s enough to be noticeable and enough to be slower than AMD:

1024 x 768 Batman: AA Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Dawn of War II Dragon Age Origins HAWX World of Warcraft
Intel Core i5 661 (HD Graphics) 35 fps 21.6 fps 15.0 fps 41.5 fps 53 fps 14.8 fps
Intel Core i3 530 (HD Graphics) 28 fps 17.5 fps 9.5 fps 34.4 fps 45 fps 12.5 fps
AMD Phenom II X4 965 (790GX) 35 fps 29.3 fps 12.1 fps 35.6 fps 58 fps 21.1 fps
Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (GMA X4500) 15 fps failed 1.4 fps 16.8 fps 26 fps 11.7 fps

 

The i3 does retain all of the sweet TrueHD/DTS-HD MA bitstreaming support that makes Clarkdale the perfect HTPC platform. If you don’t need the extra CPU power, the Core i3 530 could make for a great HTPC.

The Performance & Power Summary Overclocking Intel’s HD Graphics - It Works...Very Well
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  • loucm - Sunday, August 1, 2010 - link

    using the same motherboard gigabyte h55m-ud2h
    i manage to get my i3 530 @ 4GHZ stable with only 1.184 core voltage.

  • polarq - Tuesday, August 3, 2010 - link

    Hi, I have a core i3-530 and h55m-ud2h, bought a coolermaster 212 and I'm trying to push the limits :) But with the GPU, in bios there's a possibility to change it from 733mhz, which I did, on 900 - but it still shows 733, both in bios and cpu-z.

    So I can freely input the value, but 733 is still lights up white in bios. Is there any possibility it was locked after it couldnt take 900? Can I unlock it again? I tried CLR_CMOS, load fail safe defaults, but nothing changed. Any advice please?

  • Alejo1879 - Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - link

    Need Opinion For Core i3 550
    Hello people, i need some opinions about the intel core i3 550.
    Is this CPU faster than core i3 530, i think so, but in cpubenchmark.com, in the High End CPUs - Updated 1st of February 2011 the core i3 530 is in the top and the i3 550 don't.

    Intel Core i7 995X @ 3.60GHz 10,795
    Intel Core i3 530 @ 2.93GHz 3,546 $124.95*
    AMD Phenom II X4 B40 3,534 NA
    Intel Core i5 655K @ 3.20GHz 3,525 $192.95*
    Intel Core i7 820QM @ 1.73GHz 3,520 $546.00**
    Intel Core2 Extreme @ 2.26GHz 3,518 NA
    Intel Core2 Quad Q9100 @ 2.26GHz 3,428 $385.89**
    Intel Core i7-2620M @ 2.70GHz 3,415 NA
    Intel Core i5 661 @ 3.33GHz 3,295 $209.99*
    Intel Core i3 560 @ 3.33GHz 3,283 $149.99*
    AMD Phenom II X4 910 3,281 $204.19**
    AMD Phenom II X4 B93 3,275 NA
    Intel Core i5 650 @ 3.20GHz 3,120 $182.99*
    Intel Core i5 660 @ 3.33GHz 3,101 $207.99*
    Intel Core i3 550 @ 3.20GHz 3,026 $124.99*

    IS IN FACT THE CORE I3 530 BETTER THAN I3 540, 550 AND EVEN I3 560?
    PLEASE HELP.

  • angga - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link

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  • sarp - Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - link

    Ive i3 530 @2.93

    Ive managed to get it to 4.00GHz with 182 BClk by changing QPI, Graphics and RAM Frequencies accodringly. Sometimes my screen just freezes with a solid color and I have to restart it in order to get to Windows again. Anyway, I want to boost Intel Graphics HD 3000 performance, it's default clock is 733MHz, since Ive changed BClk to 182, to be on the safe side it is 500MHz. I wonder, how much should I increase graphics core voltage in order to get to 900Mhz with 182 BClk?

  • KinderJoy - Tuesday, September 28, 2021 - link

    What software are you using to overclock?
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