Intel Core i5-10400F

[W1zzard]

Intel's new Core i5-10400F offers a large performance jump over the previous generation Core i5-9400F because of its six-core/twelve-thread design. In this Core i5-10400F review we also test the feasibility of overclocking through BCLK, or by relaxing the PL1 and PL2 Turbo Limits.

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[_Flare]

nice test, but nobody should pair it with a Z-Board and the perf-hit with only 2666 RAM is huge like the test of games nexus showed

 

[ncrs]

nice test, but nobody should pair it with a Z-Board and the perf-hit with only 2666 RAM is huge like the test of games nexus showed

And this review is using a 3rd party cooler from what I understood? Totally unrealistic...

 

[kayjay010101]

In Metro Exodus at 1440p: why does an i5-8400 outperform an i7-9700k? The 9700k has literally better specs in every single category, so how is it being beaten by the generation previous' locked i5?

 

[Caring1]

In Metro Exodus at 1440p: why does an i5-8400 outperform an i7-9700k? The 9700k has literally better specs in every single category, so how is it being beaten by the generation previous' locked i5?

The only spec the i7-9700k has that is better is boost speed.

 

[$ReaPeR$]

And this review is using a 3rd party cooler from what I understood? Totally unrealistic...

Let alone the z490 and the 3200 ddr... Better value my @ss.

 

[Caring1]

@W1zzard the CPU you used is the older G1 stepping which uses Thermal paste, not STIM.
Any chance of retesting with the Q0 stepping version?

 

[Rhurba]

Why would anyone in their right mind buy technology that is 6 years old?

This just means that you would support this sharade and bullsh** intel has been doing for years, the cow-milking corporate crap that Intel has become.

Since Skylake everything has been about milking the 14nm which as of this year reaches it's 6th "+" sign. inovation = 0. 14nm ++++++. Great tech !

 

[roberto888]

@W1zzard the CPU you used is the older G1 stepping which uses Thermal paste, not STIM.
Any chance of retesting with the Q0 stepping version?

I assume he had to purchase the CPU, and from online store you can hardly check which stepping it is. I guess you can buy and send him one! no offence

 

[Bee9]

I checked on newegg, bestbuy, amazon and some other major online stores, 10400 runs around $195 and the 3600 at $175. Am I missing anything.

 

[kayjay010101]

The only spec the i7-9700k has that is better is boost speed.

Are you sure you're looking at the right CPU? I said i5-8400.

CPU	i5-8400	i7-9700k
Base	2.8GHz	3.6GHz
SC Boost	4.0GHz	4.9GHz
All-core Boost	3.8GHz	4.6GHz
# of Cores	6	8
Hyperthreading?	No	No
L1 (in KiB)	384	512
L2 (in MiB)	1.5	2
L3 (in MiB)	9	12
iGPU	UHD 630	UHD 630
node	14nm	14nm
socket	LGA1151	LGA1151
TDP	65W	95W
Generation	8th	9th

Every single spec relating to performance that I know of is either in favor of the 9700k or it's a draw. So I ask again, how is the 8400, an inferior chip in every single measurement, superior to the 9700k? Seems to me like the testing wasn't done properly.

 

[Caring1]

Are you sure you're looking at the right CPU? I said i5-8400.

My bad, I assumed 10400 as that is what this review is for.

 

[Ruru]

nice test, but nobody should pair it with a Z-Board

There isn't other chipsets than Z490 for LGA1200 on the market yet.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

I checked on newegg, bestbuy, amazon and some other major online stores, 10400 runs around $195 and the 3600 at $175. Am I missing anything.

Yes you are. The "f".

 

[EarthDog]

Why would anyone in their right mind buy technology that is 6 years old?

This just means that you would support this sharade and bullsh** intel has been doing for years, the cow-milking corporate crap that Intel has become.

Since Skylake everything has been about milking the 14nm which as of this year reaches it's 6th "+" sign. inovation = 0. 14nm ++++++. Great tech !

Who GAF? Core for core and thread for thread it is a competitive product. Pricing is higher, indeed. But you act like these aren't high performing parts. I don't give 2 hoots what process node a cpu is on, really. Performance is where its at...

...though yes, I understand power will be helped with a shrink and many other things.

 

[Bee9]

Are you sure you're looking at the right CPU? I said i5-8400.

Every single spec relating to performance that I know of is either in favor of the 9700k or it's a draw. So I ask again, how is the 8400, an inferior chip in every single measurement, superior to the 9700k? Seems to me like the testing wasn't done properly.

I think it’s because the games do not scale very well with the increased core count and many are GPU bound
I read other reviews and many mentioned: To use ddr4 3200, we must use a z490 board and any decent board with that chipset will cost more than 200.
Not sure if we should take this into consideration in term of value of the system.

Yes you are. The "f".

Would you kindly send me the link on Amazon or Newegg to the 10400F. I could not find it.

Who GAF? Core for core and thread for thread it is a competitive product. Pricing is higher, indeed. But you act like these aren't high performing parts. I don't give 2 hoots what process node a cpu is on, really. Performance is where its at...

...though yes, I understand power will be helped with a shrink and many other things.

In this case is the price higher because of supply law? I think we have an issue with judging the value of the product when take into consideration cooler and motherboard cost (to new users).

 

[Daven]

Are you sure you're looking at the right CPU? I said i5-8400.

CPU	i5-8400	i7-9700k
Base	2.8GHz	3.6GHz
SC Boost	4.0GHz	4.9GHz
All-core Boost	3.8GHz	4.6GHz
# of Cores	6	8
Hyperthreading?	No	No
L1 (in KiB)	384	512
L2 (in MiB)	1.5	2
L3 (in MiB)	9	12
iGPU	UHD 630	UHD 630
node	14nm	14nm
socket	LGA1151	LGA1151
TDP	65W	95W
Generation	8th	9th

Every single spec relating to performance that I know of is either in favor of the 9700k or it's a draw. So I ask again, how is the 8400, an inferior chip in every single measurement, superior to the 9700k? Seems to me like the testing wasn't done properly.

This is why there is no such thing as a 'Gaming CPU'. You can get results all over the place based on the game, the latest game patch, the cooling inside your system, etc. etc etc. Most games work just fine at any resolution with a quad core or higher CPU from either AMD and Intel. Minor differences of 10% or less is just noise and varies from test to test. If you are one of the few trying to get the highest possible frame rates, you will always be disappointed in the result as that goal is nigh unobtainable. Here is the simple truth to buying a CPU:

Single/lightly threaded tasks or multitasking only: Any latest gen AMD/Intel Quad core or higher CPU
Highly Multithreaded tasks or lots of multitasking: Latest gen AMD 12-core or higher
Gaming only: Any latest gen AMD/Intel Quad core or higher CPU
Gaming plus multitasking: Latest gen AMD 12-core or higher

 

[Taraquin]

10400 would be great..... If H and B-motherboard would support higher than 2666MHz ram. In the GN-review, some games saw a 20% difference between 2666cl15 and 3200cl14 which TPU uses. If Z490-board had a decent price it would have been an easy choice, but 150usd+ is a bit much when the included cooler sucks and a good B450-board with ram-oc of 3733-3800 is easy for most buyers. A 3600 tends to be 100usd lower since stock cooler is usable. A 80usd 2x8 ballistix 3200-set easily does 4000+ when overclocked and is a good match for both.

You can either get a 10400F, a H or B-board and get generally equal or lower gamingperformance than 3600 for same price, or spend 100usd more and get up to 10% more gamingperf when CPU-bound.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Would you kindly send me the link on Amazon or Newegg to the 10400F. I could not find it.

I don't believe it's available yet.

 

[Bee9]

I don't believe it's available yet.

I see. Thanks for the response. I am just curious to see how much does it cost on major retailers.
Did not realize this is just a paper release.

Meanwhile, Microcenter has the Ryzen 3600 for $160. Okay that's some serious discount.

 

[phanbuey]

I see. Thanks for the response. I am just curious to see how much does it cost on major retailers.
Did not realize this is just a paper release.

Meanwhile, Microcenter has the Ryzen 3600 for $160. Okay that's some serious discount.

160 with a cooler and a $80 b450 board that can run it nicely... I don't see how this can possibly be better value with the motherboard situation included in the cost.

 

[ppn]

It will cost $13 more than the 1000 tray units price of $157,, say $170 or the same as 3600.

65 watts, 4.00GHz, 149.6 mm² die size and 49.6 mm² of it are dead weight laser cut GFX.
so 100mm2 for the 6core part. not bad, 2500K was 216mm².

But Why does it need to shrink more at this point. If It works nicely with 2080Ti / 3070.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

I see. Thanks for the response. I am just curious to see how much does it cost on major retailers.
Did not realize this is just a paper release.

Meanwhile, Microcenter has the Ryzen 3600 for $160. Okay that's some serious discount.

I know that Newegg just had the i5-9400 for $155. Maybe they're holding the i5-10400(f)s back while the inventory of the previous generation is reduced.

 

[W1zzard]

@W1zzard the CPU you used is the older G1 stepping which uses Thermal paste, not STIM.
Any chance of retesting with the Q0 stepping version?

yeah i'm aware, we ran a news story yday based on my findings. not sure if worth buying another one, the differences won't be significant, and I just spent 1.5k on more CPUs for review

TIM or sTIM, doesn't matter, because you can't OC the CPU either way. The only difference is that sensors on one CPU will show other temps than on the other due to better heat transfer. Both versions are 65 W heat output, so your cooler has to work just as hard, heat won't magically disappear from sTIM

he had to purchase the CPU, and from online store you can hardly check which stepping it is. I guess you can buy and send him one!

correct

In Metro Exodus at 1440p: why does an i5-8400 outperform an i7-9700k?

interesting indeed, and it seems to be the case with 1080p, 1440p and 4K in metro, so doesn't look like a random variation. maybe metro somehow prefers 6c over 8c ? or it prefers 8c, but loading 8c = lower boost clock than 6c loaded?

 

[Bee9]

I know that Newegg just had the i5-9400 for $155. Maybe they're holding the i5-10400(f)s back while the inventory of the previous generation is reduced.

That is possible. However, I don't see it anywhere else too. May be Covid-19 screwed up the supply line.
All I hope is healthy competition so we can all enjoy lower price and better performance.

It will cost $13 more than the 1000 tray units price of $157,, say $170 or the same as 3600.

65 watts, 4.00GHz, 149.6 mm² die size and 49.6 mm² of it are dead weight laser cut GFX.
so 100mm2 for the 6core part. not bad, 2500K was 216mm².

But Why does it need to shrink more at this point. If It works nicely with 2080Ti / 3070.

I have the same thought as you in the beginning. Then I play the what if game. What if the process goes down to 10nm or 7nm, we will have more cores and less heat on the same 100mm2 die. But Intel did not do that because they did not feel any pressure of doing so. That's why AMD can do a sneak attack and took Intel by surprise. Lack of competition leads to lack of innovation.