Core i5-6400 vs Ryzen 5 3500

General info

Comparing Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	834	1437
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	3.67	1.28
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	AMD Ryzen 5	Intel Core i5
Architecture codename	Zen 2 (2019−2020)	Skylake (2015−2016)
Release date	no data	2 July 2015 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$187
Current price	$150	$119 (0.6x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 5 3500 has 187% better value for money than i5-6400.

Technical specs

Ryzen 5 3500 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 cores	6 (Hexa-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	6	4
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.1 GHz	3.3 GHz
L1 cache	384 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	3 MB	256K (per core)
L3 cache	16 MB	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	7 nm, 12 nm	14 nm
Die size	no data	177 mm2
Maximum core temperature	no data	71 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	No

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 5 3500 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 configuration	1 (Uniprocessor)	1
Socket	Socket AM4	FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	no data	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	no data	-
TSX	no data	-
Idle States	no data	+
Thermal Monitoring	no data	+
SIPP	no data	-
Status	no data	Discontinued

Security technologies

Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	no data	-
EDB	no data	+
Secure Key	no data	+
MPX	no data	+
Identity Protection	no data	+
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® ME
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	+
VT-d	no data	+
VT-x	no data	+
EPT	no data	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-3200	DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size	128 GB	64 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.196 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	-	Intel HD Graphics 530
Max video memory	-	64 GB
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video	-	+
Clear Video HD	-	+
Graphics max frequency	-	950 MHz
InTru 3D	-	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	-	3
eDP	-	+
DisplayPort	-	+
HDMI	-	+
DVI	-	+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	-	+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	-	4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDP	-	4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	-	4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over VGA	-	N/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	-	12
OpenGL	-	4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400.

PCIe version	no data	3.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	16

Synthetic benchmark performance

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

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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.

Ryzen 5 3500 outperforms Core i5-6400 by 136% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	8.20	3.47
Physical cores	6	4
Threads	6	4
Chip lithography	7 nm	14 nm

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Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 5 3500 and Core i5-6400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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