Introduction
Choosing a CPU for a new PC build, serves as a good starting point to figure out your budget, use-case, and the kind of achievable performance metrics. Doing this allows consumers to determine compatibility, get an idea of what cost bracket their build will fall under, and provides some idea of of the other components you should pick up that will pair well with your build.
However, when you’ve picked out your CPU, how do you decide which graphics card to buy too. If you’re a first-time builder, the graphics card market is a rather daunting rabbit hole to dive into. You’re faced with a myriad of different components from two major brands, with a range of SKUs that can just add to the confusion. So how do you choose?
Well, we’ve done all of the hard work for you by rounding up the best graphics cards to buy for a plethora of different CPUs. In this buyers guide we’ll be taking a look at which GPUs are best paired up with Intel‘s budget titan, the Core i3 13100F. We’ll be taking a look at a few options from both AMD and NVIDIA with different price points, suited to varying use-cases.
Suggested Article: Best Motherboards to Buy for Intel Core i3 13100F
Our Recommendations
1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
👑 The best budget NVIDIA graphics card.
Introduction
First up in our roundup is NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050. This graphics card was a late addition to the RTX 3000 series line-up, launching as one of the final cards, just before the release of the RTX 3090 Ti. Much like the 3090 Ti, a ’50 series’ SKU was a first for NVIDIA offering impressive hardware at a relatively low MSRP of $249. This card was relatively difficult to secure at launch due to the infamous GPU shortage, but consumers saw available go back to normal around a year later.
In terms of performance, the RTX 3050 is one of the key budget cards to offer solid framerates at 1080p. This card can easily handle popular Esports titles without issues, with some capability in some of the more recent games such as F1 2022, or COD Warzone 2.0. Consumers will have to play around with settings to a degree to ensure optimal performance, but the RTX 3050 for the most part, should be able to cope with most games without any major problems. Needless to say, once this card did become available, it was a massive hit in the budget gaming space.
Key Specs
| Key Specs | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Base Clock Speed | 1.55GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 1.78GHz |
| CUDA Cores | 2560 |
| Power Consumption | 130W |
| RT Cores | 18 |
| PCI-E Generation | PCI-E 4.0 |
| GPU Length | 278mm (MSI Gaming X Variant) |
| Fans | 2 |
| RGB | Yes |
Things We Like
Solid 1080p performance: The RTX 3050 is a solid GPU for 1080p gaming. Consumers can expect great framerates in popular Esports titles such as Apex Legends, Valorant, and Fortnite. This card is definitely a winner for those that just want to play games at 1080p.
Great price point: Although the RTX 3050 has jumped up a little bit in price due to stocking, but for the most part this card sits well below the $300 mark, making it perfect for those on a price restrictive budget.
Things We Don’t Like
There are cheaper cards available: NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 is pretty cheap overall, but it isn’t the cheapest and best option available. For consumers looking to get the cheapest option on the market, there are alternative cards that you can pick up that will offer similar performance.
Only good for 1080p: The RTX 3050 is a solid card purely for 1080p gaming and doesn’t really cope with higher resolutions. For those that plan on pushing their PC to play games at 1440p, you’ll want to pick up a better card.
Summary
NVIDIA’s RTX 3050 is a solid entry level card for consumers looking to build a great 1080p gaming PC. This GPU is not the best performing option on the market by any means, but if you’re building a PC on the cheap, then the RTX 3050 is a great GPU to pair up with a budget CPU like the Core i3 13100F.
Features: 3.8/5
Design: 4/5
Performance: 3.8/5
Value for Money: 3.9/5
Pros
- Great for 1080p games.
- Solid price point.
- Perfect for a budget system.
Cons
- Not the best performing option on the market.
- Will struggle at 1440p.
Where to Buy
Buy the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 on:
2. AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
👑 The best priced budget graphics card.
Introduction
Next up is AMD’s Radeon RX 6600 XT, an older card, but a tried and true option. AMD‘s older Radeon 6000 cards have aged like fine wine, offering drastic performance improvements contrasting to the initial launch. With significant driver improvements, consumers can enjoy their favourite games at higher framerates, with a price tag that sits below $250. The RX 6600 XT is an excellent card for 1080p games, and the very low price point is pretty difficult to argue with when looking at the rest of the market.
Performance wise, the RX 6600 XT offers similar framerates to the RTX 3050 with, improvements in certain games due to driver refinement. The slightly better specs on the 6600 XT will be beneficial for consumers with high refresh rate monitors. If you’re the kind of consumer that enjoys playing Esports titles in the smoothest way possible, the 6600 XT will be a worthwhile consideration.
Key Specs
| Key Specs | AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT |
|---|---|
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Base Clock Speed | 1.96GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 2.58GHz |
| Stream Processors | 2048 |
| Power Consumption | 160W |
| Ray Accelerators | 32 |
| PCI-E Generation | PCI-E 4.0 |
| GPU Length | 282mm (Gigabyte Eagle Variant) |
| Fans | 3 |
| RGB | No |
Things We Like
Perfect for high refresh rate displays: If you plan on picking up a high refresh rate display to pair up with your Core i3 build, the RX 6600 XT will be an ideal card to pick up, as this card can easily handle high refresh rates at 1080p.
One of the cheapest modern cards: The RX 6600 XT is one of the cheapest options on the market right now, sitting below the $250 mark. If you’re on a price restrictive budget, the 6600 XT is a perfect card to pickup.
Things We Don’t Like
Not great for 1440p: Much like the RTX 3050, this card also isn’t really ideal for higher resolutions. If you plan on picking up a higher resolution monitor later down the line, you’ll want to make sure you upgrade your GPU too.
FSR is generally weaker: Although FSR has been improved a fair amount in the past year or so, it is generally weaker than DLSS. If you’re wanting to alleviate some stress on your GPU, just be aware that the selection of games isn’t as strong in comparison to NVIDIA.
Summary
The Radeon RX 6600 XT from AMD is one of the best budget cards that we’ve seen in quite some time. The low price point, and excellent performance metrics, make this card worth picking up for a true budget build, especially if you’re looking to play games at high refresh rates.
Features: 4/5
Design: 3.9/5
Performance: 4.2/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Pros
- Excellent price point.
- Ideal for high refresh rate monitors.
- Stronger than the RTX 3050.
Cons
- Weaker performance at 1440p.
- FSR isn’t as good as DLSS.
Where to Buy
Buy the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT on:
3. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
👑 The best performing 1080p GPU.
Introduction
For our third recommendation, we’ve picked out NVIDIA‘s tried and true GeForce RTX 3060. This card is one of the best options for a 1080p gaming PC, and offers excellent framerates in modern titles, and a number of Esports games too. Although this card is on the pricier side contrasting to other options in this roundup, it still stands to be one of the best options for those building a high performance 1080p gaming system.
The RTX 3060 does have its limitations, namely performance at higher resolutions. However, if you’re looking for a standalone 1080p gaming graphics card, the RTX 3060 is an excellent option that can be picked up for a pretty reasonable price point overall. I’d also go as far to argue that the RTX 3060 is also one of the longest standing options on the market, due to the higher VRAM capacity of 12GB.
Key Specs
| Key Specs | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
|---|---|
| Video Memory | 12GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 192 bit |
| Base Clock Speed | 1.32GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 1.78GHz |
| CUDA Cores | 3584 |
| Power Consumption | 130W |
| RT Cores | 28 |
| PCI-E Generation | PCI-E 4.0 |
| GPU Length | 278mm (MSI Ventus 3X Variant) |
| Fans | 3 |
| RGB | No |
Things We Like
High performance at 1080p: The RTX 3060 is one of the highest performing cards geared towards 1080p gaming. Consumers can expect great framerates, making this card ideal for high refresh rate monitors.
Awesome design choices: NVIDIA‘s RTX 3060 is one of the best SKUs that has an awesome set of AIBs to choose from. For consumers looking to add some flair to their system, I’d argue that the 3060 is one of the best budget cards that offers a massive range of excellent looking GPUs.
Things We Don’t Like
Pricier than other options: Although this card has a budget designation, it is still one of the pricier options compared to the rest of the market. Consumers may need to shell out around $350 to secure this GPU.
Not great for 1440p: Much like the other cards we’ve covered in this roundup, the RTX 3060 also tends to struggle at a 1440p resolution. Although consumers can play some games with this GPU at 1440p, we would urge looking at some alternative options to guarantee higher framerates.
Summary
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 is one of the best performing 1080p graphics cards on the market. Whilst this GPU is a more expensive option compared to some other budget cards. If you’re looking for a high performing 1080p card that can reach great framerates in your favourite games, the RTX 3060 is definitely worth taking a look at.
Features: 4/5
Design: 4.5/5
Performance: 4.3/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Pros
- Perfect for high refresh rate 1080p gaming.
- Great AIB cards to choose from.
- Ideal for a high performing budget system.
Cons
- Can’t really handle 1440p.
- Somewhat pricier contrasting to the rest of the market.
Where to Buy
Buy the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 on:
4. AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT
👑 The best budget 1440p graphics card.
Introduction
For our fourth and final graphics card recommendation, we’ve picked out AMD’s Radeon RX 6650 XT. During the initial launch of the RX 6650 XT, we were disappointed by the underwhelming performance of this card. AMD advertised this card as a strong competitor versus the RTX 3060 and 3060 Ti, and during our testing, it fell a bit flat. We were expecting much better performance out of the gate, but were dismayed when we saw metrics that did not match what was advertised.
Fast forward about six months, and now the RX 6650 XT is an absolute beast of performance. AMD is known for significantly refining drivers at a later date, and the RX 6650 XT is case and point of this. Consumers can expect performance that lies very closely to the RTX 3060 Ti and will oftentimes be even better. This goes to show that AMD are pretty strong when it comes to driver optimisation, and your brand new launch card might just need a little bit of time and then you’ll start to see performance improvements.
Key Specs
| Key Specs | AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT |
|---|---|
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Base Clock Speed | 2.05GHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 2.63GHz |
| Stream Processors | 2048 |
| Power Consumption | 180W |
| Ray Accelerators | 32 |
| PCI-E Generation | PCI-E 4.0 |
| GPU Length | 278mm (MSI Gaming X) |
| Fans | 2 |
| RGB | Yes |
Things We Like
Can handle 1440p: The biggest selling point of the 6650 XT, is that this card can handle 1440p relatively well. This is one of the cheapest cards consumers can pick up that can handle 1440p with ease.
Very reasonably priced: The RX 6650 XT is one of the cheapest 1080p and 1440p capable cards on the market right now sitting below the $300 mark at various retailers. Definitely worth looking at if you’ve picked up a 1440p monitor.
Things We Don’t Like
Can’t do high refresh rates at 1440p: Although this card can handle 1440p gaming pretty well, this card won’t be able to reach extremely high framerates, so high refresh rate displays won’t see a whole lot of usage.
8GB of VRAM doesn’t have much longevity: With the increasing demand in gaming performance, more than 8GB of VRAM is becoming a requirement for consumers to play modern games at reasonable framerates.
Summary
AMD’s RX 6650 XT is one of the most powerful budget-oriented graphics cards on the market right now. This GPU can handle 1080p with ease, and has solid legs in 1440p too. Not only is this GPU incredibly priced, it is also one of the cheapest options too, making it a worthwhile consideration for anyone wanting the best performance money can buy.
Features: 4.3/5
Design: 4.3/5
Performance: 4.6/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5
Pros
- Exceptional price point.
- Excellent 1080p and 1440p performance.
- The best performing budget oriented GPU.
Cons
- 8GB of VRAM won’t last incredibly long.
- High refresh rate monitors are pointless to a degree.
Where to Buy
Buy the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT on:
Is the Core i3 13100F Any Good?
In short, yes. But it might not be in a few years time. Intel tend to be the kings when it comes to budget performance. AMD led the fore for quite a while, but with the release of 12th and 13th-Gen, Team Blue have been given back their crown. Their Core i3 range offers a reasonable set of cores and threads, at a great clock speed. Whilst the 13100F won’t be able to handle complicated productivity tasks, 1080p gaming isn’t an issue for this CPU.
Consumers should be able to play the vast majority of titles at 1080p when paired up with the right graphics card, but keep in mind that you won’t be able to max out your settings. Whilst the Core i3 13100F is a solid performer at the budget end of the spectrum, this CPU is likely to be outdated within the next couple of years as games become more demanding and a more powerful option is required.
The 13100F serves as a great option for consumers looking to build their first budget PC, especially if you’re not able to afford more powerful options, but for gaming at a higher resolution, you’ll require better components. We would only urge consumers to pick up this CPU if you’re building a budget PC, or if you’re using it as a stop-gap, because despite its strong performance, games are becoming more demanding by the second.
Do I Need to Worry About My Motherboard?
When choosing a CPU, you’ll want to pick out a motherboard that matches your use-case and budget. The Core i3 13100F is a budget CPU, geared towards 1080p gaming, so you should realistically choose a budget motherboard too. But what counts as a budget motherboard? For Intel users, you’ve got a fair bit of choice when it comes to boards, as 13th-Gen CPUs work with both 12th, and 13th-Gen motherboards, providing you with more options.
For budget boards, we tend to lean towards the ‘B’ series chipsets (either B660, or B760), as these boards are much cheaper contrasting to their ‘Z’ series counterparts. B660 and B760 boards don’t have any overclocking capability and will be more restrictive when it comes to ports, and expansion slots, but because of this, these boards don’t cost a fortune. I find that B760 motherboards are comparatively better when it comes to features, as they are more refined compared to B660 options. There are a multitude of B760 motherboards that cater to a range of budget and use-case, but this is where we would recommend sticking to as a pairing for the Core i3 13100F.
Why You Can Trust Us
After taking a look at our suggestions, you’re probably wondering why you should trust our takes on the best graphics cards for the Core i3 13100F? Allow us to explain. As soon as we get new components and products in the GeekaWhat office, our team of PC enthusiasts get to work straight away testing each product in a range of different scenarios, including games and productivity benchmarks. We use this to forge a general overview for consumers to read in various articles, or through YouTube videos. If you’re interested in learning more about our editorial team, check out the About Us section.
How We Tested the Best GPUs for the Core i3 13100F
In order to test and evaluate the best graphics cards to pair up with the 13100F, there are a number of factors that we take into account, these are:
- Performance
- Pricing
- Aesthetic
- Value for Money
Conclusion
Best GPU for the Intel Core i3 13100F: AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT
AMD’s Radeon RX 6650 XT is one of the most powerful budget-oriented graphics card on the market right now, whilst offering an extremely tantalising price that is difficult to argue with. This card might be slightly overkill for 1080p, but because this card is one of the cheapest options in this entire roundup, it serves as a great option for those on a restrictive budget, and consumers looking to pick up a 1440p monitor later down the line too.
Read our full MSI Gaming X RX 6650 XT review, or AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT on Amazon
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Play Games at 1440p with the Core i3 13100F?
You can, but we wouldn’t recommend it. The 13100F is highly likely to bottleneck your entire system at 1440p even with a solid graphics card. If you’re playing games at 1440p, we would urge you to pick up a more powerful CPU to minimise any bottlenecks.
What Does the ‘F’ Mean on an Intel CPU?
The ‘F’ designation means that this CPU doesn’t have any integrated graphics. This means that you’ll have to pick up at discrete graphics card, as this CPU it not able to output it’s own display.
Can I Overclock My Core i3 13100F?
Unfortunately not. The 13100F has a locked core multiplier, which means you can’t push the clock speed any higher. To determine if you can overclock your CPU, look for a ‘K’ at the end of the CPUs name.
Is DLSS or FSR Better?
DLSS takes the win on this one. DLSS is much more refined, has a wider suite of games, and offers better performance. FSR is likely to be a massive competitor in the next year or so, but until then, DLSS takes the win.
