The $221 Intel Core i5-13400 comes armed with ten cores and 16 threads, however you can even purchase the chip as a graphics-less Core i5-13400F mannequin that delivers equivalent efficiency for $196, giving AMD’s Ryzen 7000 lineup stiff competitors — significantly within the mid-range tier the place AMD’s chips endure essentially the most from excessive platform pricing.
The Core i5-13400/F is a strong enchancment over the previous-gen 12400 mannequin that has lengthy dominated our greatest CPUs for gaming checklist resulting from its distinctive efficiency and enticing pricing. This new Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake chip delivers much more gaming efficiency than its predecessor, and Intel’s addition of e-cores to its 65W Core i5 processors, a primary, brings further threaded horsepower for productiveness and sport streaming, too.
Intel’s Raptor Lake processors have taken the lead in gaming, productiveness, and worth over AMD’s Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 processors, popping out on high in our CPU benchmark hierarchy. The rivalry stays heated, although: AMD lately launched three new ‘non-X’ processors, together with the $229 Ryzen 5 7600 that is the 13400’s closest competitor. Nevertheless, though the non-X chips are a greater worth than AMD’s X-series processors, they nonetheless produce other pricing issues.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Road/MSRP | Cores / Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5-13400 / 13400F | $221 – $196 (F) | 10 / 16 (6+4) | 2.5 / 4.6 | 1.8 / 3.3 | 29.5MB (9.5+20) | 65W /148W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Core i5-12400 / F | $185 – $167 (F) | 6 / 12 (6+0) | 4.4 / 2.5 | – | 25.5MB (7.5+18) | 65W / 117W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
Regardless of Ryzen’s spectacular efficiency, the chips have been suffering from excessive B-series motherboard pricing and Ryzen’s strict requirement for DDR5 reminiscence, each of which result in greater platform prices. In distinction, Intel’s motherboard ecosystem stays cheaper, and the Raptor Lake chips help both value-centric DDR4 or the pricier DDR5. As our exams present, it is best to solely purchase the latter for those who intend to splurge on a heavily-overclocked package — at inventory settings, an affordable DDR4 reminiscence package will provide you with roughly the identical gaming efficiency as a dear DDR5 package. Moreover, DDR5 overclocking features include eye-pricing markups that largely aren’t definitely worth the small uplift.
Like AMD, Intel additionally throws in a bundled cooler with its lower-end 65W chips to sweeten the deal, and though we usually advocate shopping for a greater cooler than the bundled fashions, the Core i5-13400 cooler is at the least serviceable for many customers.
AMD does have three new Ryzen 7000X3D processors coming this month with its disruptive 3D V-Cache tech that delivers explosive features in gaming efficiency, however these chips begin at $449, so they are not for the mid-range market. As such, the faceoff between the Core i5-13400 and the Ryzen 5 7600 will outline the ~$200 AMD vs Intel phase for the 12 months to come back. Let’s have a look at who wins the battle.
Intel Core i5-13400 and 13400F Specs and Pricing
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Road/MSRP | Cores / Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | $358 ($449) | 8 /16 | 3.4 / 4.5 | 104MB (8+96) | 105W | DDR4-3200 | |
| Ryzen 7 7700 | $329 | 8 / 16 | 3.8 / 5.3 | 40MB (8+32) | 65W / 88W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Core i5-13600K / KF | $329 (Ok) – $304 (KF) | 14 / 20 (6+8) | 3.5 / 5.1 | 2.6 / 3.9 | 44MB (20+24) | 125W / 181W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Core i5-12600K / KF | $250 (Ok) – $225 (KF) | 6 / 16 (6+4) | 3.7 / 4.9 | 2.8 / 3.6 | 29.5MB (9.5+20) | 125W / 150W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Ryzen 5 7600 | $229 | 6 / 12 | 3.8 / 5.1 | 38MB (6+32) | 65W / 88W | DDR5-5200 | |
| Core i5-13500 | $242 | 14 / 20 (6+8) | 2.5 / 4.8 | 1.8 / 3.5 | 29.5MB (9.5+20) | 65W /148W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Core i5-13400 / 13400F | $221 – $196 (F) | 10 / 16 (6+4) | 2.5 / 4.6 | 1.8 / 3.3 | 29.5MB (9.5+20) | 65W /148W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Core i5-12400 / F | $185 – $167 (F) | 6 / 12 (6+0) | 4.4 / 2.5 | – | 25.5MB (7.5+18) | 65W / 117W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | $169 | 6 / 12 | 3.7 / 4.6 | – | 35MB (3+32) | 65W | DDR4-3200 |
| Ryzen 5 5600 | $149 | 6 / 12 | 3.5 / 4.4 | – | 35MB (3+32) | 65W | DDR4-3200 |
| Core i3-13100 (F) | $134 – $139 (F) | 4 / 8 (4+0) | 3.4 / 4.5 | – | 17MB (5+12) | 60W / 89W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 |
The $221 Core i5-13400 comes with six efficiency cores (p-cores) and 4 effectivity cores (e-cores) etched onto the ‘Intel 7’ course of node, for a complete of 10 cores and 16 threads. The 13400 has a $22 markup over the previous-gen Core i5-12400’s $199 debut value, however now you get 4 e-cores as a substitute of zero. In impact, this makes the 13400 very similar to the $289 previous-gen Core i5-12600K, which additionally got here with six p-cores and 4 e-cores.
Maybe most significantly, you possibly can drop right down to the $196 Core i5-13400F and obtain the identical efficiency — you simply lose the 32-EU built-in UHD Graphics 770 engine, so you may want a discrete GPU.
The Core i5-13400’s p-cores have a 2.5 GHz base clock and increase as much as 4.6 GHz on two cores in latency-sensitive work. That is 200 MHz sooner than the previous-gen 12400 however 300 MHz slower than the 12600K. The e-cores kick in for background and multi-threaded duties with a 1.8 GHz base and three.3 GHz increase, a 300 MHz decrease increase than the 12600K. The 13400 has a 65W Processor Base Energy (PBP) and 148W Most Turbo Energy (MTP) ranking. As you may see in our energy testing, we did not see the chip exceed 110W in any of our testing, so the MTP ranking is greater than wanted.
Most different options, just like the supported DDR4-3200 and DDR5-5600 switch charges, 9.5 MB of L2, and 20 MB of L3 cache, are the identical because the previous-gen 12600K, and with good cause — Intel makes use of repurposed Alder Lake silicon for a number of the Core i5-13400 chips, simply because it did with the Core i5-12400 processors. The 2 varieties of dies include totally different core architectures, however are designed to supply the identical stage of efficiency.
As such, the Core i5-13400/F would not have the identical quantity of cache per core because the Raptor Lake Core i7 and i9 chips. As a substitute, every p-core has 1.25 MB of L2 cache, and the quad-core e-core cluster has solely 2MB of cache — the identical as Alder Lake. That stands in distinction to the higher-end Raptor fashions that include 2MB of L2 per p-core and 4MB of L2 for every e-core cluster.
The C0 die is identical silicon that Intel makes use of for the Alder Lake Core i5 processors, making the Core i5-13400 principally equivalent to the Core i5-12600K (our check topic is C0). In distinction, the B0 stepping die comes with the Raptor Cove chip structure, however has a cut-down cache configuration to match the Alder Lake silicon.
The Raptor Lake processors have a vastly improved voltage/frequency curve in comparison with Alder Lake, making them extra environment friendly, and a particular microcontroller unit (MCU) firmware that imparts caching and prefetching benefits (deep dive right here). Intel says it has tuned the 2 die to supply the identical stage of efficiency, however it’s but to be seen if a few of Raptor Lake’s finer-grained MCU tuning is current within the B0 stepping chips. We’re working to accumulate one to place it to the check.
As earlier than, the LGA 1700 chip is appropriate with 600-series motherboards, and since the chip has a locked multiplier (no overclocking), the B- and H-series motherboards take advantage of sense for this class of chip. Not like the previous-gen 65W Alder Lake processors, there isn’t any workaround for overclocking Raptor Lake’s execution cores, as Intel adjusted to stop a workaround from the motherboard makers.
You’re free to overclock the reminiscence on B-series motherboards, however remember that the System Agent (SA) voltage is locked, which limits DDR4 reminiscence overclocks within the Gear 1 setting (DDR5 nonetheless overclocks nicely).
Gaming Benchmarks on Intel Core i5-13400 and 13400F — The TLDR
- Intel Core i5-13400 DDR5 or DDR4: Corsair H115i 280mm water cooler, energy limits eliminated, Inventory DDR5-4800 in Gear 2 / DDR4-3600 in Gear 1
- Intel Core i5-13400 DDR4-3600 / DDR5-6800: Corsair H115i 280mm water cooler, energy limits eliminated, DDR4-3600 CL16, DDR5-6800 XMP 3.0
- AMD PBO Configs: Precision Enhance Overdrive (Motherboard), Scalar 10X, DDR5-6000 EXPO
You will discover the particulars of our overclock and check setup additional beneath. Right here we’ve got the geometric imply of our gaming exams at 1080p and 1440p, with every decision cut up into its personal chart. We’re testing with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 to cut back GPU-imposed bottlenecks as a lot as potential, and variations between check topics will shrink with lesser playing cards or greater resolutions and constancy. You will discover additional game-by-game breakdowns beneath.
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We’ve testing within the thermal and overclocking part that exhibits there may be little to no efficiency loss in gaming for those who use the 13400’s included inventory cooler, even with the ability limits enforced — we noticed no distinction with the field cooler in 1080p gaming, and the inventory cooler was 1.2% slower at 1440p (shut sufficient to name a tie). To take care of a stage enjoying discipline, we eliminated the ability limits and used our H115i cooler for these exams.
The 13400’s help for DDR4 reminiscence is vital on this value vary, because it nonetheless prices almost half as a lot as DDR5. Total we see a distinction of 1 fps between DRR4 and DDR5, with DDR4 popping out on high by a mere 0.6% — which means the 2 Core i5-13400 configs supply mainly the identical efficiency.
We did get ~3% extra efficiency from DDR5-6800 than we did with DDR4-3600, however the DDR5 package prices almost thrice as a lot because the DDR4 package ($144 extra). You possibly can step again to a DDR5-6000 package that ‘solely’ prices twice as a lot, however neither of these DDR5 choices makes a lot sense on this value vary.
The Core i5-13400 is 7% sooner than the previous-gen Core i5-12400, however regardless of the bodily similarities between the 13400 and the 12600K, the latter continues to be ~3% sooner on the energy of its greater clock charges. That is a fairly slim delta, although, contemplating the 13400’s decrease pricing and massive enhancements in productiveness functions.
The inventory $229 Ryzen 5 7600 is 7% sooner than the inventory $221 Core i5-13400 with DDR5/DDR4 within the 1080p exams. Overclocking the 7600 will increase the delta over the overclocked 13400 DDR5 system to 9%, and 12% over the overclocked DDR4 config. Nevertheless, the 7600 carries a ~$30 premium over the 13400F. Including within the greater motherboard and reminiscence prices related to the AM5 platform additionally takes a toll, as you possibly can see in our price evaluation within the conclusion.
The deltas in these charts will be slim, and enormous deltas in particular person sport titles, like with the 5800X3D, affect cumulative measurements. The competitors between AMD and Intel chips can fluctuate primarily based on the title (significantly with DDR4 vs DDR5) and the GPU you utilize. It is best to make an knowledgeable determination primarily based on the varieties of titles you steadily play, so be sure you take a look at the person exams beneath.
| Tom’s {Hardware} | 1080p Sport Benchmarks |
| $699 — Core i9-13900KS | 100% |
| $358 — Ryzen 7 5800X3D | 95.4% |
| $319 – Core i5-13600K | 90.9% |
| $349 — Ryzen 7 7700X | 88% |
| $249 – Ryzen 5 7600X / OC | 84.5% / 90.7% |
| $229 – Ryzen 5 7600 / OC | 80.5% / 87.9% |
| $250 – Core i5-12600K | 77.2% |
| $221 – Core i5-13400 DDR5 / DDR5-6800 | 74.9% / 80.6% |
| $221 – Core i5-13400 DDR4 / DDR4-3600 | 75.0% / 77.9% |
| $185 – Core i5-12400 | 69.6% |
Cyberpunk 2077 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
The Ryzen 5 7600 takes a robust lead in Cyberpunk 2077, whereas the Core i5-13400 trails throughout the board, even after overclocking the reminiscence.
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D continues to not present a lot efficiency uplift over the usual Zen 3 fashions, which is essential to recollect — not all video games profit from the 3D cache-stacking tech.
Far Cry 6 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Far Cry 6 may be very reminiscence latency-sensitive, and right here we are able to see that the DDR4 Core i5-13400 config in Gear 1 exceeds the DDR5 reminiscence, which runs within the higher-latency Gear 2 mode, regardless of DDR5’s throughput benefit. The DDR4 config even leads after stepping as much as the comparatively tame DDR4-3600 reminiscence overclock, beating the DDR5-6800 config.
In the meantime, the Ryzen 5 7600 edges previous the Core i5-13400 in inventory trim and takes a fair greater lead after overclocking.
F1 2021 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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F1 2021 finds the Ryzen chips once more taking substantial leads over the Core i5-13400, however that is not completely shocking given their greater pricing.
Hitman 3 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
Right here we are able to see the elevated throughput of DDR5 reminiscence having extra of an affect in Hitman 3. This title additionally makes good use of the e-cores, thus delivering a extra substantial lead over the previous-gen Core i5-12400.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2021 clearly advantages tremendously from L3 cache — the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is just unbelievable on this title. This massive benefit is wonderful however would not characterize the 5800X3D’s efficiency in most titles. It additionally illustrates how outliers could make the 5800X3D appear extra spectacular in cumulative measurements.
Again within the extra practical land for mid-range players, the Core i5-13400 does significantly better with DDR4 reminiscence than with DDR5, indicating that this title prefers decrease latency accesses over sheer bandwidth. The truth is, the Core i5-13400 with DDR4 is quicker than the Core i5-12600K, which is examined with DDR5 reminiscence.
Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Warhammer 3 on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Flipping over to the 1440p charts exhibits us that greater resolutions are sometimes the nice equalizer that ranges the enjoying discipline for chips with comparable lodging.
Watch Canines Legion on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Productiveness Benchmarks on Intel Core i5-13400 and 13400F — The TLDR:
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We will boil down productiveness utility efficiency into two broad classes: single- and multi-threaded. These slides present the geometric imply of efficiency in a number of of our most essential exams in every class, however be sure you have a look at the expanded outcomes beneath.
The Core i5-13400 with both DDR4 or DDR5 affords the identical efficiency in our cumulative metrics for single- and multi-threaded work, although there might be sure functions that may take higher benefit of DDR5’s elevated throughput. Conversely, some functions will want the decrease latency of DDR4.
All configurations of the Core i5-13400 match the Ryzen 5 7600 in single-threaded work, however overclocking the 7600 offers it a 4.5% lead. In the meantime, the Ryzen 5 7600X stretches its legs and leads by 8%, however that comes with a better price ticket.
Turning to multi-threaded productiveness functions, the 13400 with DDR4 and DDR5 is 5.5% sooner than the Ryzen 5 7600 at inventory settings and retains an analogous 5% lead after overclocking the 13400’s reminiscence and the Ryzen 5 7600. In the meantime, the Ryzen 5 7600X is 2.5% sooner than the Core i5-13400 in each inventory and overclocked configs.
The Core i5-13400’s e-cores ship a strong 16% increase in threaded work and a 4% increase in single-threaded duties over its predecessor, the Core i5-12400. Nevertheless, the 13400’s comparatively tame clock velocity enhancements make sure that it would not beat the 12600K, which leads by 7% in each single- and multi-threaded functions.
We noticed no decline in gaming efficiency or single-threaded apps with the 13400’s bundled cooler once we restricted the chip to the inventory 65W/148W energy limits, however we did see a distinction in multi-threaded functions — the chip was 5% slower with the ability limits and inventory cooler than it was with the H115i 280mm water cooler.
Nevertheless, eradicating the ability limits whereas nonetheless utilizing the boxed fan introduced the efficiency in threaded apps again as much as par with the watercooler. Naturally, there may very well be some lengthy, prolonged rigorous workloads that may present extra of a efficiency delta, however these will probably not have a significant affect on most customers. Test our detailed benchmarks within the thermal part for more information.
| Tom’s {Hardware} | Multi-Thread | Single-Thread |
| $699 — Core i9-13900KS | 100% | 100% |
| $319 – Core i5-13600K | 61.2% | 86.7% |
| $349 — Ryzen 7 7700X | 56.4% | 85.8% |
| $250 – Core i5-12600K | 45.9% | 83.1% |
| $249 – Ryzen 5 7600X / PBO | 44.1% / 44.6% | 84.1% / 84.1% |
| $221 – Core i5-13400 DDR4 / DDR4-3600 | 43.0% / 43.8% | 77.9% / 77.8% |
| $221 – Core i5-13400 DDR5 / DDR5-6800 | 42.9% / 43.0% | 77.5% / 77.5% |
| $365 — Ryzen 7 5800X3D | 41.7% | 65.9% |
| $229 – Ryzen 5 7600 / PBO | 40.8% / 41.6% | 78.5% / 81.4% |
| $185 – Core i5-12400 | 33.8% | 74.2% |
Rendering Benchmarks on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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The Raptor Lake Core i5-13400 rivals or beats AMD’s like-priced Ryzen 5 7600 in almost all single- and multi-threaded rendering functions, with the single-threaded Cinebench R23 benchmark being the lone exception.
Encoding Benchmarks on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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Most encoders are usually both closely threaded or virtually completely single-threaded — it takes an agile chip to grasp each disciplines. Handbrake, SVT-HEVC, and SVT-AV1 function our threaded encoders, whereas LAME, FLAC, and WebP are indicative of how the chips deal with lightly-threaded engines.
The Core i5-13400 navigates the threaded workloads nicely, however trails in lots of the lightly-threaded encoders. Once more, we’ve got to take pricing into consideration, because the Ryzen opponents carry greater value tags.
Adobe, Net Searching, Workplace, and Productiveness on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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The Ryzen processors dominate within the Adobe and Workplace functions throughout the board.
Compilation, Compression, AI Chess Engines, AVX-512 Efficiency on Intel Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F
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This choice of exams runs the gamut from the exceedingly branchy code within the LLVM compilation workload to the massively parallel molecular dynamics simulation code in NAMD to encryption and compression/decompression efficiency. Y-cruncher computes Pi with the AVX instruction set, making for an exceedingly demanding benchmark.
Intel Core i5-13400 and 13400F Thermals, Energy Consumption, and Enhance Clocks
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Our exams present that utilizing the field cooler would not meaningfully affect gaming efficiency, even for those who additionally lock the chip to the beneficial 65W/148W energy restrict. The entry labeled “Core i5-13400” within the above charts represents the chip topped with a Corsair H115i 280mm liquid cooler and all energy limits eliminated, whereas the “StockPL Field” setup measures efficiency with the bundled inventory “field” cooler and fully-enforced 65W/148W energy limits. We noticed no distinction with the field cooler in 1080p gaming, and the inventory cooler was 1.2% slower at 1440p (shut sufficient to name a tie).
We additionally measured the distinction in productiveness functions. Unsurprisingly, there is no distinction in single-threaded work, no matter configuration. Nevertheless, implementing the ability limits with the boxed cooler produces roughly 5% much less efficiency in multi-threaded work.
To find out the supply of the disparity, we re-ran the identical exams with the field cooler and no energy limits (listed as “Core i5-13400 NoPL Field”). Eradicating the ability limits whereas nonetheless utilizing the field fan introduced the efficiency in threaded apps again as much as par with the watercooler, displaying that the cooler has sufficient thermal headroom to run heavy threaded apps with out energy limits imposed. That is an fascinating end result, so we examined it additional.
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To take away thermals as a limitation, we at all times use the identical 280mm Corsair H115i AIO cooler for all our check programs. This time we used the identical three check configurations — the 280mm watercooler with out energy limits, the field fan with out energy limits (and its unique pre-applied TIM), and the field fan with energy limits — to measure efficiency in heavier work.
We ran Prime95 first, however remember that this stress check serves as an influence virus greater than an precise illustration of most threaded work; real-world apps merely don’t devour as a lot energy or generate as a lot warmth. The chart is a little bit of an eye fixed sore, however the takeaway is that though the field fan with out energy limits (Field NoPL) ran on the 100C restrict throughout the check with the chip throttling, it solely misplaced 100 MHz of frequency (2.5%) on the p-cores in comparison with the watercooled configuration. In the meantime, imposing the 65W/148W energy limits dropped clocks to three.4 GHz, a whopping 21% decline from the outcomes with the liquid cooler.
Prime95 is a stress check and never very indicative of regular use, so we then ran a looped collection of POV-Ray benchmarks to see efficiency over time with a extra practical workload. Right here we are able to see that the chip did not exceed 90C with the ability limits eliminated, and that clock charges between the watercooled and field cooler have been the identical. We then turned to much more commonplace productiveness functions.
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To reiterate the purpose with a broader choice of real-world benchmarks, we ran our commonplace collection of closely multi-threaded apps like y-cruncher, HandBrake, Cinebench, Blender, and POV-Ray.
The primary slide exhibits that the field cooler with no energy limits by no means exceeded 90C throughout these exams, displaying that it’s satisfactory to deal with prolonged real-world workloads. This check exhibits the chip delivering the identical 4.1 GHz all-core frequency because the 280mm AIO configuration. In the meantime, imposing energy limits is usually 500 MHz slower.
The inventory cooler is not silent, so you may have to simply accept the additional noise. Nevertheless, the takeaway is that the field cooler is nice sufficient to deal with the chip on the decrease 65W/148W energy limits and satisfactory for multi-threaded real-world workloads with the ability limits eliminated. Not that eradicating the ability limits is just too taxing — the Core i5-13400 peaked at 110W in our exams, which is much beneath the 148W official Most Turbo Energy.
Nevertheless, you would run into barely extra throttling for those who run a heavy extended-duration heavy workload for an hour or extra or have greater ambient temps (our exams have been at ~74F ambient). Nevertheless, the loss can be slight, and you’ll nonetheless come out forward over working the chip on the beneficial 65W energy limits.
We might advocate investing in a $20 tower air cooler to cut back the noise stage and guarantee 100% operation, but it surely is not a steadfast requirement for those who’re keen to simply accept the drawbacks.
Energy Consumption on Intel Core i5-13400
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The Core i5-13400’s energy consumption is surprisingly good, particularly provided that our check chip makes use of the Alder Lake C0 die. The Ryzen 5 7600 is extra energy environment friendly in our renders-per-day metric and consumes much less energy in each workload, however the deltas aren’t giant sufficient to be of concern for many customers. The Core i5-13400 may be very energy environment friendly in these workloads, largely because of the addition of 4 e-cores. That confers a generational enchancment in opposition to the Core i5-12400 in each efficiency and energy consumed.
Intel Core i5-13400 Overclocking and Check Setup
- Intel Core i5-13400 DDR5 or DDR4: Corsair H115i 280mm water cooler, energy limits eliminated, Inventory DDR5-4800 in Gear 2 / DDR4-3600 in Gear 1
- Intel Core i5-13400 DDR4-3600 / DDR5-6800: Corsair H115i 280mm water cooler, energy limits eliminated, DDR4-3600 CL16, DDR5-6800 XMP 3.0
- AMD PBO Configs: Precision Enhance Overdrive (Motherboard), Scalar 10X, DDR5-6000 EXPO
There is not an excessive amount of to say about overclocking — Intel would not permit overclocking the 13400’s CPU cores, and a workaround created by the motherboard distributors for the previous-gen chips doesn’t work with the brand new Raptor Lake fashions. That leaves us with lifting the ability limits, which we did as described within the thermal part, and overclocking reminiscence, which Intel permits on B-series motherboards.
We overclocked the DDR5 reminiscence to DDR5-6800 utilizing a single-click XMP 3.0 profile. With DDR4, we could not overclock past DDR4-3600 CL16 in Gear 1 (Gear 2 is sluggish) resulting from Intel’s locked System Agent (SA) voltage. It is a small achieve over the inventory DDR4-3200 switch fee.
We did obtain first rate efficiency features in gaming from this overclock, and an affordable DDR4-3600 CL package solely prices about $10 greater than a DDR4-3200 package. Our sources inform us the SA voltage might be unlocked within the Raptor Lake Refresh fashions, however you may be caught with comparatively low DDR4 overclocks for the 13400.
Microsoft lately suggested players to disable a number of safety features to spice up gaming efficiency. As such, we disabled safe boot, virtualization help, and fTPM/PTT for max efficiency. You will discover additional {hardware} particulars within the desk on the finish of the article.
The Mid-Vary Gaming Champ
The $221 Core i5-13400 and the graphics-less $196 Core i5-13400F construct on the gaming efficiency of the previous-gen mannequin that has lengthy been the go-to mid-range gaming chip, however the addition of 4 e-cores drastically improves efficiency in threaded productiveness workloads. The 13400’s help for DDR4 reminiscence offers it an unmatched worth proposition within the $200 value vary, making it the go-to chip for mid-range gaming PCs.
Under, we’ve got the geometric imply of our gaming check suite at 1080p and 1440p and a cumulative measure of efficiency in single- and multi-threaded functions. We performed our gaming exams with an Nvidia RTX 4090, so efficiency deltas will shrink with lesser playing cards and better decision and constancy settings.
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The $221 Core i5-13400 is 7% sooner than the previous-gen Core i5-12400, an honest generational enchancment. Nevertheless, its primary competitor comes within the type of the $229 Ryzen 5 7600, which is 7% sooner than the Core i5-13400 at inventory and overclocked settings in our 1080p exams. However the pricing between these two chips is not as shut because it seems.
The optimum low-cost construct would additionally use the $196 graphics-less Core i5-13400F — it would not have an iGPU however affords the identical efficiency as the traditional mannequin — to avoid wasting one other $25. You even have the choice to stay with cheaper DDR4 reminiscence with the Core i5-13400/F and get the identical gaming efficiency as DDR5, albeit at the price of some overclocking headroom with DDR5.
Nevertheless, the previous couple of % of gaming efficiency from DDR5 overclocking is ridiculously costly. With the Core i5-13400, we gained ~3% extra gaming efficiency from the DDR5-6800 package over the DDR4-3600 config, however the DDR5 package prices almost three occasions as a lot ($144 extra). Stepping again to a DDR5-6000 package that ‘solely’ prices twice as a lot because the DDR4 package would not make a lot sense on this value vary, both. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 profited extra from overclocking with a 6% achieve (a few of this comes from PBO, although), and since there isn’t any choice for DDR4, you may pay round 21% extra over the already-pricey DDR5-5200 package.
The Core i5-13400/F’s DDR4 choice mixed with the widely way more forgiving Intel motherboard pricing can save ~$135 in complete system prices in comparison with the Ryzen 5 7600.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Core i5-13400 DDR4 | Core i5-13400 DDR5 | Ryzen 5 7600 DDR5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chip | $196 Core i5-13400F, $221 13400 | $196 Core i5-13400F, $221 13400 | $229 Ryzen 5 7600 |
| 32 GB Reminiscence – Inventory | $65 | $110 | $115 |
| Appropriate Motherboards (Median beginning value) | B660 $120, B760 $130 | B760 $160, B660 $180 | B660 – $170 |
| Minimal Whole Price / Price per body | $381 / $2.50 | $466 / $3.06 | $514 / $3.13 |
We sometimes do not embrace cost-per-frame evaluation resulting from fickle part pricing, and together with a number of parts magnifies the pricing volatility. This would possibly not be relevant after a month or so (be sure you test present pricing), however the above desk offers us the wanted nuance for the Core i5-13400 vs Ryzen 5 7600 debate.
The DDR4-powered Core i5-13400F system is absolutely the lowest-cost answer at $381 in comparison with the 7600’s $514 — you may pay 35% extra for the Ryzen system and ~25% extra per body to get the ~7% enhance in 1080p gaming efficiency.
The $229 Ryzen 5 7600 is not price-competitive with the Core i5-13400 DDR4 system in any respect, however it’s extra enticing for those who already plan to shell out the additional money for DDR5. Nevertheless, there is a greater pricing bar for entry than with an Intel Core i5-13400 DDR5 system. The Ryzen system prices ~$50 (10%) greater than the DDR5-powered Core i5-13400F system, or ~4% extra per body once we think about efficiency. That is shut sufficient to make the Ryzen 5 7600 a strong selection for a DDR5 gaming system, offered you could have the additional $50 within the construct funds.
Thus, DDR5 builders may flip to different elements, just like the 7600’s efficiency in functions (it is 5% slower than the 13400 in threaded work), or the truth that the AM5 platform is supported till 2025+ whereas the Raptor Lake platforms solely have yet one more refresh gen within the playing cards. Intel’s CPU cores additionally aren’t overclockable (reminiscence is), whereas Ryzen is totally unlocked. Naturally, private choice additionally weighs in.
Each chips are evenly matched in single-threaded productiveness functions, however the Core i5-13400 with DDR4 and DDR5 is 5.5% sooner than the Ryzen 5 7600 in threaded workloads at each inventory and overclocked settings. Once more, DDR4 and DDR5 present comparable efficiency with the 13400 in productiveness apps, each at inventory and overclocked settings. DDR5 merely is not value it.
The 13400’s 4 e-cores present further horsepower that helps with streaming — applications like OBS are designed to take benefit — and the extra cores do not add an excessive amount of energy consumption. In case you’re on the lookout for a extra productivity-focused chip, the Core i5-13500 appears very compelling with eight complete e-cores; keep tuned for that assessment.
The Core i5-13400 does suck extra energy than the Ryzen 5 7600, however it’s cheap, which helps cut back warmth output. Each the 13400 and the 7600 include bundled ‘field’ coolers, and though it’s shocking, the Intel cooler is serviceable.
As at all times, we advocate upgrading to a $20 tower-style air cooler for this class of chip, but it surely is not a requirement. The Intel cooler is greater than satisfactory with the beneficial energy limits and may even deal with strenuous work with the ability limits totally eliminated. You possibly can run into throttling for those who run a heavy extended-duration heavy workload for an hour or extra, however you’ll nonetheless come out forward over working the chip on the beneficial 65/148W energy limits.
The Ryzen 5 7600 is a worthy various for those who plan on upgrading to DDR5, however you’ll have to abdomen the upper value of entry over Core i5-13400 programs that use each DDR4 and DDR5. That does not appear as cheap on this value vary.
With DDR5, the Core i5-13400 affords a lower cost of entry and better efficiency in threaded workloads. Though it’s 7% slower in gaming, it nonetheless has a aggressive price-to-performance ratio with the competing AMD chips — however you do not want DDR5 to unlock one of the best efficiency.
When paired with DDR4, the Core i5-13400 usually gives the identical efficiency as a DDR5 system however delivers a superior price-to-performance ratio in each gaming and productiveness functions. Add within the unmatched entry-level platform pricing, and the Core i5-13400 is one of the best bang in your buck within the ~$200 value vary, making it the mid-range gaming CPU chief.
| Intel Socket 1700 DDR5 (Z790) | Core i5-13600K, i5-13400, i5-12600K, i5-12400 |
| Motherboard | MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi |
| RAM | G.Ability Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800 – Inventory: DDR5-5600 | OC: XMP DDR5-6800 |
| Intel Socket 1700 DDR4 (Z790) | Core i5-13400 |
| Motherboard | MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi |
| RAM | 2x 8GB Trident Z Royal DDR4-3600 – Inventory: DDR4-3200 | OC: DDR4-3600 |
| AMD Socket AM5 (X670E) | Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 5 7600X |
| Motherboard | ASRock X670E Taichi |
| RAM | G.Ability Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 – Inventory: DDR5-5200 | OC/PBO: DDR5-6000 |
| AMD Socket AM4 (X570) | Ryzen 5 5600X, 5800X3D |
| Motherboard | MSI MEG X570 Godlike |
| RAM | 2x 8GB Trident Z Royal DDR4-3600 – Inventory: DDR4-3200 | OC/PBO: DDR4-3800 |
| All Programs | 2TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, Silverstone ST1100-TI, Open Benchtable, Arctic MX-4 TIM, Home windows 11 Professional |
| Gaming GPU | Asus RTX 4090 ROG Strix OC |
| Utility GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti FE |
| Cooling | Corsair H150i, Inventory Cooler |
| Overclocking word | All configurations with overclocked reminiscence even have tuned core frequencies and/or lifted energy limits. |
