Intel Core i5-12400F 6-Core 2.5 GHz LGA 1700 65W Desktop Processor

• Total Cores6
• # of Performance-cores6
• # of Efficient-cores0
• Total Threads12
• Max Turbo Frequency4.40 GHz
• Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency4.40 GHz
• Performance-core Base Frequency2.50 GHz
• Cache18 MB Intel® Smart Cache
• Total L2 Cache7.5 MB
• Processor Base Power65 W
• Maximum Turbo Power117 W

12400F

Introducing the Intel® Core™ i5-12400F processor, a powerhouse of performance and efficiency designed to enhance your computing experience. With its impressive 18M Cache, this processor delivers lightning-fast responsiveness and smooth multitasking capabilities for a wide range of applications.

Featuring a 12th generation architecture, the Intel® Core™ i5-12400F offers a base clock speed of 2.0GHz, which can be boosted up to 4.0GHz with Intel Turbo Boost technology. This ensures seamless performance for demanding tasks, including gaming, content creation, and productivity applications.

Equipped with 6 cores and 12 threads, this processor excels in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, providing exceptional performance and responsiveness across various applications. The large cache size further data access and speeds, resulting in faster loading times and smoother overall system performance.

The Intel® Core™ i5-12400F supports DDR4 memory

With its advanced Intel® UHD Graphics built-in, you can enjoy stunning visuals and smooth playback of 4K content without the need for a dedicated graphics card. However, for gaming enthusiasts, pairing this processor with a dedicated GPU will unlock its full potential.

Designed with power efficiency in mind, the Intel® Core™ i5-12400F operates at a low power consumption while delivering impressive performance. This ensures a balance between performance and energy efficiency, making it an ideal choice for both gaming and professional applications.

Upgrade your system with the Intel® Core™ i5-12400F processor and experience exceptional performance, responsiveness, and efficiency in your everyday computing tasks. Whether you’re a gamer, content creator, or professional, this processor provides the power you need to unleash your full potential.

Intel® Arc™ & Iris® Xe Graphics – Windows*

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i5 12400f Review

Let’s start with the bad news, which is that Intel’s 10nm hybrid core architecture sees huge variations in core counts and types across the 12th-gen range, and the Core i5-12400F differs significantly to the Core i5-12600K.

For starters, it lacks the four E-Cores of the Core i5-12600K that make it so potent in multi-threaded software.

Instead, it only matches the six performance cores of its K-series sibling, meaning it has four fewer cores and threads as a result. This will likely mean a large reduction in multi-threaded performance.

This is in the power too, with a base power of 65W compared to 125W for the K-series CPU and 117W vs 150W maximum turbo power for the Core i5-12400F and Core i5-12600K respectively.

We saw both CPUs hit their boost regularly, while under multi-threaded workloads, the Core i5-12600K fell back to 4.5GHz on its P-Cores, with the Core i5-12400F dropping further to just 4GHz.

Compare

While pairing the Core i5 12400F with an expensive motherboard might seem counter-intuitive,

are also in the process of rolling out BIOS versions for premium boards that allow the CPU to be overclocked using the base clock.

The F-version we’re testing here is cheaper than the standard Core i5-12400, since it lacks integrated graphics, but the non-F

version gets you the same Intel UHD 770 graphics as the Core i5-12600K too.

B660 are available for under £150 too, meaning that £300 can now bag you a 6-core 12th-gen Intel CPU and motherboard with PCI-E 4 support.

AMD also has little to worry Intel in this market segment Core i5-12400F.

The Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 7 5700G are far more expensive, and any of its cheaper CPUs will be using the older Zen 2 architecture,

which is completely by Intel’s 12th-gen CPUs.

Performance

The Core i5-12400F’s image editing test result of 66,394 was over 10,000 points lower than that of the Core i5-12600K,

showing the difference those higher frequencies and core counts make, albeit costing you an extra £100 in the process.

The Ryzen 5 5600X was also quicker here, but again, it’s significantly more expensive.

The system score of 220,553 was again snapping at the heels of the Ryzen 5 5600X,

but a long way off the Core i5-12600K. Once again, though, the Core i5-12600K was a lot faster in both tests.

Importantly, the Core i5-12400F is also leagues ahead of its predecessor, the Core i5-11400F, across the board.

Conclusion

The gulf between Intel’s cheapest and most expensive Core i5 CPUs is the biggest we’ve ever seen,

thanks to differing core and thread counts.

The fact that the Core i5-12400F lags well behind in most tests is to be expected then,

given the price difference.

Far more, it trades blows with the pricier Ryzen 5 5600X,

and with LGA1700 motherboards now available for under £150,

the argument that AMD are cheaper is growing thin,

especially given the very low cost of the Core i5-12400F.

The Intel Core i5-12400F is designed to be 12th Gen “Alder Lake” for the masses who game.this 6-core/12-thread processor has some pretty big shoes to fill as nearly all its predecessors sold in heaps, from the i5-8400 to the extremely popular i5-9400F, i5-10400F, and, to a lesser extent, i5-11400F. These SKUs have been characterized by a price well under $200, but with the hardware feature-set resembling the top  Core i5 part, albeit with lower clock speeds. With its 12th Gen Core family, however, Intel has fundamentally changed the Core i5 brand.

The new Core i5-12400F isn’t just a locked, lower-clocked sibling of the i5-12600K we reviewed last year. In fact, we couldn’t simulate this chip by underclocking that one. This is because the i5-12400, i5-12400F, i5-12500, and i5-12600 (non-K) have a different core-configuration from the i5-12600K and i5-12600KF. With “Alder Lake,” Intel introduced its Hybrid CPU core architecture to the desktop segment. For the i5-12600K/KF, this meant four “Gracemont” Efficiency cores (or E-cores) besides the six “Golden Cove” Performance cores (or P-cores), along with 20 MB of L3 cache. It turns out that only the i5-12600K/KF feature E-cores in the 12th Gen Core i5 desktop series, while the other SKUs simply lack them.