Intel Core i5-6400 vs Core i7-2600K

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Combined performance score

i7-2600K
3.57
+1.1%

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 1% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking14111419
Place by popularitynot in top-10093
Value for money1.141.60
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)Intel Core i5
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Skylake (2015−2016)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years old)2 July 2015 (8 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$317$187
Current price$144 (0.5x MSRP)$100 (0.5x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-6400 has 40% better value for money than i7-2600K.

Technical specs

Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads84
Base clock speed3.4 GHz2.7 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz3.3 GHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die size216 mm2177 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °C71 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors1,160 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplierYesNo

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketLGA1155FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology+2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
TSXno data-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access+no data
SIPPno data-
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data
StatusDiscontinuedDiscontinued

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT--
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
MPXno data+
Identity Protection++
SGXno dataYes with Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 are enumerated here.

AMD-Vno data+
VT-d-+
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size32 GB64 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/s34.1 GB/s
ECC memory support--

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 3000Intel HD Graphics 530
Max video memoryno data64 GB
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHz950 MHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported23
eDPno data+
DisplayPortno data+
HDMIno data+
DVIno data+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over VGAno dataN/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes1616

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i7-2600K 3.57
+1.1%
i5-6400 3.53

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 1% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i7-2600K 5485
+1.3%
i5-6400 5417

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 1% in Passmark.

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-2600K 666
i5-6400 1111
+66.8%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 67% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-2600K 2313
i5-6400 3025
+30.8%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 31% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

i7-2600K 4809
i5-6400 5088
+5.8%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 6% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i7-2600K 18608
+1.7%
i5-6400 18297

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 2% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

i7-2600K 10.5
i5-6400 10.48
+0.2%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

i7-2600K 7
+14.2%
i5-6400 6

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 14% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-2600K 614
+20.3%
i5-6400 510

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 20% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-2600K 129
i5-6400 134
+3.9%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 4% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

i7-2600K 1.51
i5-6400 1.51

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-2600K 3.3
+22.2%
i5-6400 2.7

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 22% in TrueCrypt AES.

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-2600K 145
i5-6400 150
+3.5%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 4% in x264 encoding pass 1.

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-2600K 37
+7.7%
i5-6400 34

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core i5-6400 by 8% in x264 encoding pass 2.

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

Benchmark coverage: 4%

i7-2600K 5020
i5-6400 5420
+8%

Core i5-6400 outperforms Core i7-2600K by 8% in 3DMark Fire Strike Physics.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 3.57 3.53
Integrated graphics card 0.66 2.58
Recency 9 January 2011 2 July 2015
Threads 8 4
Cost $317 $187
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

We couldn't decide between Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and Core i5-6400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
Intel Core i5-6400
Core i5-6400

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Questions and comments

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