Intel Core i5 13400 Review

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The $196 Core i5-13400F version of the $221 Intel Core i5 13400 chip offers identical performance but lacks graphics. This gives AMD’s Ryzen 7000 lineup serious competition, especially in the mid-range segment where AMD’s chips are most negatively impacted by high platform prices. 

The Intel Core i5 13400 is a significant upgrade over the Core i5-12400 model, which for a long time led our list of the best CPUs for gaming thanks to its outstanding performance and alluring price. With the inclusion of e-cores to its 65W Core i5 processors, a first for Intel, the new 13th-Gen Raptor Lake chip offers even more gaming performance than its predecessor. This boost in threading power also benefits productivity and game streaming.

In our CPU benchmark hierarchy, Intel’s Raptor Lake CPUs have surpassed AMD’s Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 processors in terms of gaming performance, productivity, and pricing. Though the competition is still fierce, AMD just unveiled three new ‘non-X’ CPUs, including the $229 Ryzen 5 7600, which is the Intel Core i5 13400 major challenger. The non-X chips also have additional cost issues, despite being more affordable than AMD’s X-series CPUs. 

Intel Core i5 13400 Specifications

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The 13th generation Raptor Lake-S architecture is the foundation of the Intel Core i5 13400. The processor has more than six cores and 12 threads compared to its forerunners.

The x400 processors are the first in this generation to include effective “E” cores. Six performance ‘P’ cores and four efficiency ‘E’ cores give the CPU a total of 16 threads. The P cores’ maximum speed increase is 4.60 GHz.

The Intel Core i5 13400 may use up to 154 W when fully loaded, while having a base power rating of 65 W. As a result, the design is not energy-efficient. The processor can handle both DDR5 and DDR4 memory, enabling gamers to make some financial savings if necessary.

On paper, the Intel Core i5 13400 is therefore extremely outstanding. Below is a side-by-side comparison with the Ryzen 5 7600, the CPU that is most comparable to the 13400 in terms of cost.

In terms of single-core performance, Raptor Lake has often outperformed Zen 4’s offers. That does not apply to the Core i5 13400 and the Ryzen 5 7600, where AMD’s CPU outperforms the competition.

The Team Red CPU has a clear advantage in this area because it is just little more expensive than the more powerful 7600X. Gaming workloads are impacted by this. The AMD CPU is a quicker choice for playing the most recent video games available when combined with support for faster RAM.

In terms of single-core performance, Raptor Lake has often outperformed Zen 4’s offers. That does not apply to the Core i5 13400 and the Ryzen 5 7600, where AMD’s CPU outperforms the competition.

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The Team Red CPU has a clear advantage in this area because it is just little more expensive than the more powerful 7600X. Gaming workloads are impacted by this. The AMD CPU is a quicker choice for playing the most recent video games available when combined with support for faster RAM.

Intel Core i5 13400 Essential Information

Product Collection13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors
Code NameProducts formerly Raptor Lake
Vertical SegmentDesktop
Processor Numberi5-13400
StatusLaunched
Launch DateQ4’22
LithographyIntel 7
Recommended Customer Price$221.00
Use ConditionsPC/Client/Tablet

Intel Core i5 13400 Specs

Total Cores10
# of Performance-cores6
# of Efficient-cores4
Total Threads16
Max Turbo Frequency4.60 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency4.60 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency3.30 GHz
Performance-core Base Frequency2.50 GHz
Efficient-core Base Frequency1.80 GHz
Cache20 MB Intel® Smart Cache
Total L2 Cache9.5 MB
Processor Base Power65 W
Maximum Turbo Power154 W

Intel Core i5 13400 Performance & Tests

Even with the power limits enforced, using the Intel Core i5 13400 stock cooler results in little to no performance loss when gaming; we saw no difference with the box cooler at 1080p gaming, and the stock cooler was 1.2% slower at 1440p (close enough to call a tie). This information can be found in the thermal and overclocking section of our website. We eliminated the power limitations and utilized our H115i cooler for these testing to keep the playing field level.

Given that DDR4 memory is still less expensive than DDR5 in this price range, the 13400’s support for it is crucial. Overall, we notice a performance difference of 1 frames per second between DDR4 and DDR5, with DDR4 winning by just 0.6%. This means that the two Core i5-13400 configurations perform similarly.

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While DDR5-6800 does offer around 3% better performance than DDR4-3600, it is nearly three twice as expensive ($144 more) per kit. However, none of those DDR5 alternatives makes much sense in this pricing range. You could go back to a DDR5-6000 kit that ‘only’ costs twice as much.

The Intel Core i5 13400 is 7% quicker than the Core i5-12400 from the previous generation, although despite their physical similarity, the Core i5-12600K is still 3% faster due to its higher clock speeds. However, given the 13400’s cheaper price and significant upgrades to productivity programs, the difference is surprisingly small.

In the 1080p tests, the basic $229 Ryzen 5 7600 outperformed the stock $221 Core i5-13400 with DDR5/DDR4 by 7%. By overclocking the 7600, the difference between it and an overclocked 13400 DDR5 configuration rises to 9%, and to 12% for an overclocked DDR4 configuration. The 7600, however, costs around $30 more than the 13400F. As you will see in our value analysis in the conclusion, the increased motherboard and memory expenses related to the AM5 platform also have an impact.

Intel Core i5 13400 Conclusion

If you’re interested in productivity performance, you’d only choose the Core i5-13400 over the Ryzen 5700X (or 12400), but in that case, the i5-13500 makes more sense because it’s only $10 more expensive, has two times as many E-cores, 20% more L3 cache, and clocks 4-6% faster.

Furthermore, the Core i5-13400 will run around 5% slower than the 12600K; what good is the 13400 when the 12600K is now only $250?

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The DDR4 or DDR5 memory may be used with the Core i5-13500, which is the budget productivity king and is supported by a variety of Intel 600 and 700 series motherboards. Despite being the least expensive of the three, the Ryzen 7600 provides by far the greatest gaming performance and is supported by a better platform that will support future CPU generations. You may just disregard the Core i5-13400 in favor of one of the three CPUs we just discussed unless it reduces to at least $180.

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