The Intel Core i3-3250 is a desktop processor with 2 cores, launched in June 2013, at an MSRP of $138. It is part of the Core i3 lineup, using the Ivy Bridge architecture with Socket 1155. Thanks to Intel Hyper-Threading the core-count is effectively doubled, to 4 threads. Core i3-3250 has 3 MB of L3 cache and operates at 3.5 GHz. Intel is building the Core i3-3250 on a 22 nm production process, the transistor count is unknown. The multiplier is locked on Core i3-3250, which limits its overclocking capabilities.
With a TDP of 55 W, the Core i3-3250 consumes typical power levels for a modern PC. Intel's processor supports DDR3 memory with a dual-channel interface. The highest officially supported memory speed is 1600 MT/s, but with overclocking (and the right memory modules) you can go even higher. For communication with other components in the machine, Core i3-3250 uses a PCI-Express Gen 3 connection. This processor features the Intel HD 2500 integrated graphics solution.
Hardware virtualization is available on the Core i3-3250, which greatly improves virtual machine performance. Programs using Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) will run on this processor, boosting performance for calculation-heavy applications.