i5-9400F vs i7-5960X

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Aggregate performance score

Core i7-5960X
2014
8 cores / 16 threads, 140 Watt
8.03
+34.7%
Core i5-9400F
2019
6 cores / 6 threads, 65 Watt
5.96

Core i7-5960X outperforms Core i5-9400F by a substantial 35% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-5960X and Core i5-9400F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking9411108
Place by popularitynot in top-10024
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.839.43
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)Intel Core i5
Power efficiency5.438.68
Architecture codenameHaswell-E (2014)Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)
Release date1 September 2014 (10 years ago)8 January 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$999$182

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-9400F has 1036% better value for money than i7-5960X.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-5960X 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 cores8 (Octa-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads166
Base clock speed3 GHz2.9 GHz
Boost clock speed3.5 GHz4.1 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate0 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplierno data29
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache20 MB (shared)9 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm14 nm
Die size356 mm2149 mm2
Maximum core temperature67 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors2,600 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-5960X 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)
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)140 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-5960X and Core i5-9400F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
TSX+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data

Security technologies

Core i7-5960X 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 i7-5960X 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 i7-5960X and Core i5-9400F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4-2666
Maximum memory size64 GB128 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth68 GB/s42.671 GB/s

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-5960X and Core i5-9400F.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes4016

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.

i7-5960X 8.03
+34.7%
i5-9400F 5.96

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.

i7-5960X 12758
+34.8%
i5-9400F 9467

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.

i7-5960X 1316
i5-9400F 1403
+6.6%

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.

i7-5960X 7470
+52.2%
i5-9400F 4907

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.

i7-5960X 5193
i5-9400F 6490
+25%

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.

i7-5960X 33929
+7.6%
i5-9400F 31523

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.

i7-5960X 4.25
+59.1%
i5-9400F 6.76

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.

i7-5960X 15
+33.5%
i5-9400F 11

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-5960X 1387
+41%
i5-9400F 984

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.

i7-5960X 139
i5-9400F 173
+24.5%

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.

i7-5960X 1.53
i5-9400F 1.95
+27.5%

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.

i7-5960X 8.2
+57.7%
i5-9400F 5.2

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.

i7-5960X 7049
+21.7%
i5-9400F 5794

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.  

i7-5960X 82
+28.6%
i5-9400F 64

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.  

i7-5960X 191
i5-9400F 234
+22.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.03 5.96
Recency 1 September 2014 8 January 2019
Physical cores 8 6
Threads 16 6
Chip lithography 22 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 140 Watt 65 Watt

i7-5960X has a 34.7% higher aggregate performance score, and 33.3% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads.

i5-9400F, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 years, a 57.1% more advanced lithography process, and 115.4% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-5960X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-9400F in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-5960X and Core i5-9400F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-5960X
Core i7-5960X
Intel Core i5-9400F
Core i5-9400F

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Community ratings

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