UserBenchmark: Intel Core i5-8400 vs i7-3960X

CPU
RANKINGS

TEST
YOUR CPU

ADD TO PC
BUILD

IntelBX80619I73960X

BUY • $265

IntelBX80684I58400

BUY • $131

BenchYourCPU

Real World Speed

Performance profile from 314,385 user samples

Benchmark your CPU here

2,165 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 89% Base clock 3.3 GHz
Worst Bench: 66% Base clock 3.3 GHz, turbo 0.85 GHz (avg)

Poor: 66% Great: 89%

SPEED RANK: 270^th / 1442

Gaming 78%

Battleship

Desktop 79%

Battleship

Workstation 67%

Battle cruiser

312,220 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 89% Base clock 2.8 GHz, turbo 3.8 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 61% Base clock 2.8 GHz, turbo 0.8 GHz (avg)

Poor: 61% Great: 89%

SPEED RANK: 212^th / 1442

Gaming 82%

Aircraft carrier

Desktop 83%

Aircraft carrier

Workstation 66%

Battle cruiser


Effective Speed Effective CPU Speed		77.7 %			81.8 %	Slightly faster effective speed. +5%


Memory Avg. Memory Latency	87.1 Pts	+3%	84.9 Pts
1-Core Avg. Single Core Speed	96.7 Pts		113 Pts	Faster single-core speed. +17%
2-Core Avg. Dual Core Speed	192 Pts		224 Pts	Faster dual-core speed. +17%
4-Core Avg. Quad Core Speed	369 Pts		434 Pts	Faster quad-core speed. +18%
8-Core Avg. Octa Core Speed	585 Pts	+4%	564 Pts


Memory OC Memory Latency	95.3 Pts	+1%	94.2 Pts
1-Core OC Single Core Speed	118 Pts		120 Pts	+2%
2-Core OC Dual Core Speed	233 Pts		237 Pts	+2%
4-Core OC Quad Core Speed	457 Pts		471 Pts	+3%
8-Core OC Octa Core Speed	715 Pts	Slightly faster OC octa-core speed. +9%	657 Pts

Market Share

Based on 67,819,944 CPUs tested

See market share leaders


Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	0 %	0.86 %	Insanely higher market share. +∞%
Value Value For Money	78.7 %	101 %	Better value. +28%
User Rating UBM User Rating	53 %	61 %	More popular. +15%
Price Price (score)	$265	$131	Much cheaper. +51%


Age Newest	152 Months		79 Months	Much more recent. +48%
TDP Thermal Design Power (TDP)	130 Watts		65 Watts	Much more energy efficient. +50%
Cores CPU Processing Cores	6 cores		6 cores
Threads CPU Processing Threads	12 threads	Hugely higher thread count. +100%	6 threads
Lithography Manufacturing process	32 nm		14 nm	Much newer manufacturing. +56%
Base Clock Base Clock Speed	3.3 GHz	Faster base frequency. +18%	2.8 GHz
Turbo Clock Turbo Clock Speed	3.9 GHz		4 GHz	+3%
64-Core OC Multi Core Speed	888 Pts	Much faster OC 64-core speed. +32%	675 Pts
64-Core Avg. Multi Core Speed	728 Pts	Faster 64-core speed. +24%	588 Pts


Series CPU Architecture	Sandy Bridge-E	Coffee Lake
Socket Motherboard Socket	FCLGA2011	FCLGA1151
Graphics Integrated Graphics	None	UHD 630
Launch Date Launch Date	Q4'11	Q4'17
Cache Cache	15 MB SmartCache	9 MB
Instruction Set Extensions Instruction Set Extensions	SSE4.2, AVX, AES	SSE4.1/4.2, AVX2
Lithography Lithography	32 nm	14 nm
Max Turbo Frequency Max Turbo Frequency	3.9 GHz	4.00 GHz
Bus Speed Bus Speed	5 GT/s DMI2	8 GT/s DMI3
Memory Types Memory Types	DDR3 1066/1333/1600	DDR4-2666
Memory Channels Max # of Memory Channels	4	2
Package Size Package Size	52.5mm x 45.0mm	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Hyper-Threading Tech Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ‡	Yes	No
PCI Express Revision PCI Express Revision	2.0	3.0
Max # of PCI Express Lanes Max # of PCI Express Lanes	40	16
	More specs »	More specs »

The fact that the near three year old Intel i7-3960X still tops the speed charts reflects just how little competition there is in the CPU market. Intel have dominated for so long that there is simply no economic incentive to push the speed boundaries at anywhere nearly the pace of improvement we saw in previous years. The i7-3960X has 6 cores and 12 threads which is two cores more than the vast majority of Intel's other top end processors. The extra two cores explain why the 3960X still performs so well compared to the majority of the 3960X's newer siblings. This processor will offer little more than a far cheaper i3 to regular desktop users but for server orientated workloads it is still one of the best processors available. ^{[Mar '14 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

The i5-8400 is a competitively priced hex-core processor from Intel’s 8th generation of Core processors (Coffee Lake). Along with the release of the unlocked i5-8600K, this is the first time that six-core processors have featured in the i5 line-up. Like the other Coffee Lake processors, the i5-8400 is based upon an improved version of Intel’s 14nm architecture which featured in both Skylake and Kaby Lake. Early benchmarks reveal that for average quad core usage (most games employ a maximum of four cores) the i5-8400 performs way above its pay grade. It achieves quad core mixed speeds close to Intel’s outgoing 2017 flagship the $300, quad-core, 8 thread i7-7700k, which to date has been a strong favourite for high-end gaming setups. On paper, the i5-8400 has a base clock of 2.8 GHz (Intel are significantly downplaying the performance of this SKU by giving it a relatively low nominal base clock), an all core boost of 3.8 GHz (this is the effective base clock figure that counts) and a single core boost of 4 GHz. This compares reasonably well to the i5-8600K which has a base clock of 3.6 GHz, all core boost of 4.1 GHz and a single core boost of 4.3 GHz. The i5-8400 also features 9MB of L3 cache and an energy-thrifty TDP of 65W. Priced at under $190, the i5-8400 offers fantastic value for money. Unfortunately, like the other Coffee Lake processors, the i5-8400 will require a new 300 series motherboard, and at the time of writing, the only available version is Intel’s high-end Z370 which isn't an ideal pairing for the i5-8400. The Z series motherboards are designed to cater for the unlocked and overclockable "K" SKUs. Cheaper 300 series motherboards will be available in 2018 at which time the 8400 will offer even better value for money. ^{[Oct '17 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

Systems with these CPUs

Top Builds that include these CPUs

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

MBD

Processor Rankings (Price vs Performance) May 2024 CPU Rankings

We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. ^[CPUPro]

Group Test Results

Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

How Fast Is Your CPU? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming

Desktop

ProGaming

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

USB

How it works

- Download and run UserBenchmark
- CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
- GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
- Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
- RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
- SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
- Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
- Identify the strongest components in your PC
- See speed test results from other users
- Compare your components to the current market leaders
- Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
- Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

Frequently Asked Questions

Processors FAQ

AMD vs Intel: Gaming performance 2012-2021

How does IPC compare between AMD's Ryzen and Intel's Kaby Lake?

What is multi core mixed speed?

What is multi core integer speed?

What is multi core floating point speed?

What is single core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core floating point speed?

What is quad core integer speed?

What is single core floating point speed?

What is single core integer speed?

What is the GeekBench single core score?

What is a CPU?

What is the effective CPU speed index?

What is overclocking?

What is thermal design power (TDP)?

ALL FAQs »

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $254	Nvidia RTX 4060 $300	Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $133	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $163	Nvidia RTX 4070 $539	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $31	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $37	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16

MORE DETAILS

MORE DETAILS

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Group Test Results

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Feedback