i5-9400F vs i7-2600K

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600K
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.46
Core i5-9400F
2019
6 cores / 6 threads, 65 Watt
5.96
+72.3%

Core i5-9400F outperforms Core i7-2600K by an impressive 72% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15391094
Place by popularitynot in top-10025
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.409.09
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)Intel Core i5
Power efficiency3.458.68
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years ago)8 January 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$317$182

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-9400F has 2173% better value for money than i7-2600K.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F 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)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads86
Base clock speed3.4 GHz2.9 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz4.1 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate5 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplierno data29
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)9 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die size216 mm2149 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors1,160 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketLGA1155FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F. 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++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology+2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F are enumerated here.

VT-d-+
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4-2666
Maximum memory size32 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/s42.671 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 3000no data
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F.

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 3.46
i5-9400F 5.96
+72.3%

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.

i7-2600K 5492
i5-9400F 9470
+72.4%

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.

i7-2600K 667
i5-9400F 1403
+110%

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.

i7-2600K 2295
i5-9400F 4896
+113%

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.

i7-2600K 4809
i5-9400F 6490
+35%

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.

i7-2600K 18608
i5-9400F 31523
+69.4%

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.

i7-2600K 10.5
i5-9400F 6.76
+55.3%

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.

i7-2600K 7
i5-9400F 11
+66.7%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-2600K 614
i5-9400F 984
+60.4%

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.

i7-2600K 129
i5-9400F 173
+34.1%

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.

i7-2600K 1.51
i5-9400F 1.95
+29.1%

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.

i7-2600K 3.3
i5-9400F 5.2
+57.6%

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.  

i7-2600K 37
i5-9400F 64
+75.3%

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.  

i7-2600K 145
i5-9400F 234
+61.4%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i7-2600K 3486
i5-9400F 5794
+66.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.46 5.96
Recency 9 January 2011 8 January 2019
Physical cores 4 6
Threads 8 6
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

i7-2600K has 33.3% more threads.

i5-9400F, on the other hand, has a 72.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, 50% more physical cores, a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-9400F is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-2600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and Core i5-9400F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
Intel Core i5-9400F
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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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