At this stage, if you want to assemble a cost-effective Intel platform PC, the Core i5-12400F is the best choice in terms of value for money, with no real competition.
However, some people might have an obsession with the latest tech: since the 14th generation Core processors are already out, why buy the 12th generation now? They believe that when buying a processor, you should go for the new one rather than the old one, leading to a dilemma between the Core i5-12400F and the Core i5-14400F.
This article will compare the gaming performance of the Core i5-12400F and the Core i5-14400F to evaluate how significant the performance gap is between these two processors, providing a reference for interested friends.
01
Parameter Comparison between i5 12400F and i5 14400F
The Core i5-12400F uses a 10nm process, has 6 big cores, no small cores, with a total of 12 threads. Its base frequency is 2.5 GHz, and its maximum turbo frequency is 4.4 GHz. It has 7.5MB of L2 cache and 18MB of smart cache, with a power consumption of 65W. Its suggested retail price ranges from $184.00 to $194.00.
The Core i5-14400F, released on January 8, 2024, also uses a 10nm process. It has 6 big cores and 4 small cores, with a total of 10 cores and 16 threads. It features 9.5MB of L2 cache and 20MB of smart cache. Its base frequency is 2.5 GHz, and its maximum turbo frequency is 4.7 GHz. The power consumption is 65W, and the suggested retail price is $196.
02
Test Platform Configuration
The main configuration is as follows:
The motherboard is an ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming, with 32GB of DDR5 6000MHz memory, a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, two Samsung 970EVO SSDs, and the operating system is Windows 11.
03
Game Performance Tests
We will test seven games, all using the highest quality settings at 1080P. In the following images, the left side represents the Core i5-12400F platform, and the right side represents the Core i5-14400F platform.
① The first game is “Cyberpunk 2077”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 75
- Minimum FPS: 56
- Frame Time: 13.0ms
- CPU Usage: 86%
- Power Consumption: 52W
- Temperature: 46°C
- Memory Usage: 11.0GB
- GPU Usage: 46%
- VRAM Usage: 8.3GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 176W
- GPU Temperature: 42°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 93
- Minimum FPS: 68
- Frame Time: 11.1ms
- CPU Usage: 71%
- Power Consumption: 60W
- Temperature: 48°C
- Memory Usage: 10.3GB
- GPU Usage: 57%
- VRAM Usage: 8.3GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 191W
- GPU Temperature: 47°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 15% lower CPU usage, 0.7GB lower memory usage, 11% higher GPU usage, and equal VRAM usage compared to the Core i5-12400F platform. The Core i5-14400F also has 18 more average FPS, 12 more minimum FPS, 2ms lower frame time, 8W higher power consumption, and 2°C higher temperature.
② The second game is “Red Dead Redemption 2”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 152
- Minimum FPS: 115
- Frame Time: 7.7ms
- CPU Usage: 81%
- Power Consumption: 49W
- Temperature: 45°C
- Memory Usage: 13.0GB
- GPU Usage: 68%
- VRAM Usage: 5.6GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 240W
- GPU Temperature: 48°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 153
- Minimum FPS: 111
- Frame Time: 6.4ms
- CPU Usage: 67%
- Power Consumption: 57W
- Temperature: 46°C
- Memory Usage: 12.0GB
- GPU Usage: 69%
- VRAM Usage: 5.3GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 235W
- GPU Temperature: 48°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 14% lower CPU usage, 1GB lower memory usage, 1% higher GPU usage, and 0.3GB lower VRAM usage. The average and minimum FPS are nearly equal, but the Core i5-14400F has 1.3ms lower frame time. Overall, it’s a tie, with the Core i5-14400F having 8W higher power consumption and 1°C higher temperature.
③ The third game is “Ghostwire: Tokyo”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 143
- Minimum FPS: 113
- Frame Time: 7.3ms
- CPU Usage: 35%
- Power Consumption: 36W
- Temperature: 44°C
- Memory Usage: 10.8GB
- GPU Usage: 79%
- VRAM Usage: 6.7GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 251W
- GPU Temperature: 52°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 147
- Minimum FPS: 125
- Frame Time: 6.7ms
- CPU Usage: 27%
- Power Consumption: 43W
- Temperature: 43°C
- Memory Usage: 11.2GB
- GPU Usage: 82%
- VRAM Usage: 5.7GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 259W
- GPU Temperature: 52°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 8% lower CPU usage, 0.4GB higher memory usage, 3% higher GPU usage, and 1.0GB lower VRAM usage. The Core i5-14400F also has 4 more average FPS, 12 more minimum FPS, nearly equal frame time, 7W higher power consumption, and 1°C lower temperature.
④ The fourth game is “The Witcher 3”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 101
- Minimum FPS: 74
- Frame Time: 9.6ms
- CPU Usage: 56%
- Power Consumption: 43W
- Temperature: 44°C
- Memory Usage: 12.2GB
- GPU Usage: 75%
- VRAM Usage: 6.4GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 235W
- GPU Temperature: 44°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 101
- Minimum FPS: 77
- Frame Time: 9.5ms
- CPU Usage: 48%
- Power Consumption: 50W
- Temperature: 45°C
- Memory Usage: 11.9GB
- GPU Usage: 78%
- VRAM Usage: 6.4GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 247W
- GPU Temperature: 46°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 8% lower CPU usage, 0.3GB lower memory usage, 3% higher GPU usage, and equal VRAM usage compared to the Core i5-12400F platform. The average FPS is the same, but the Core i5-14400F has 3 more minimum FPS, and the frame time is nearly equal. Overall, it’s a tie, with the Core i5-14400F having 7W higher power consumption and 1°C higher temperature.
⑤ The fifth game is “Horizon Forbidden West”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 136
- Minimum FPS: 95
- Frame Time: 6.7ms
- CPU Usage: 80%
- Power Consumption: 52W
- Temperature: 48°C
- Memory Usage: 10.5GB
- GPU Usage: 71%
- VRAM Usage: 8.8GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 210W
- GPU Temperature: 45°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 148
- Minimum FPS: 105
- Frame Time: 7.8ms
- CPU Usage: 79%
- Power Consumption: 63W
- Temperature: 49°C
- Memory Usage: 10.9GB
- GPU Usage: 77%
- VRAM Usage: 8.0GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 223W
- GPU Temperature: 49°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 1% lower CPU usage, 0.4GB higher memory usage, 6% higher GPU usage, and 0.8GB lower VRAM usage compared to the Core i5-12400F platform. The Core i5-14400F has 12 more average FPS, 10 more minimum FPS, nearly equal frame time, and is slightly ahead overall with 11W higher power consumption and 1°C higher temperature.
⑥ The sixth game is “Hogwarts Legacy”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 63
- Minimum FPS: 50
- Frame Time: 15.6ms
- CPU Usage: 44%
- Power Consumption: 39W
- Temperature: 46°C
- Memory Usage: 21.6GB
- GPU Usage: 45%
- VRAM Usage: 10.7GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 180W
- GPU Temperature: 48°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 68
- Minimum FPS: 55
- Frame Time: 14.1ms
- CPU Usage: 29%
- Power Consumption: 44W
- Temperature: 43°C
- Memory Usage: 21.1GB
- GPU Usage: 49%
- VRAM Usage: 10.4GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 187W
- GPU Temperature: 46°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 15% lower CPU usage, 0.5GB lower memory usage, 4% higher GPU usage, and 0.3GB lower VRAM usage compared to the Core i5-12400F platform. The Core i5-14400F has 5 more average FPS, 5 more minimum FPS, 1.5ms lower frame time, 5W higher power consumption, and 3°C lower temperature.
⑦ The seventh game is “Starfield”.
Core i5-12400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 96
- Minimum FPS: 81
- Frame Time: 9.9ms
- CPU Usage: 80%
- Power Consumption: 50W
- Temperature: 46°C
- Memory Usage: 13.0GB
- GPU Usage: 61%
- VRAM Usage: 6.2GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 214W
- GPU Temperature: 46°C
Core i5-14400F Platform:
- Average FPS: 107
- Minimum FPS: 90
- Frame Time: 9.0ms
- CPU Usage: 79%
- Power Consumption: 63W
- Temperature: 48°C
- Memory Usage: 13.3GB
- GPU Usage: 65%
- VRAM Usage: 6.1GB
- GPU Power Consumption: 230W
- GPU Temperature: 49°C
In this game, the Core i5-14400F platform has 1% lower CPU usage, 0.3GB higher memory usage, 4% higher GPU usage, and 0.1GB lower VRAM usage compared to the Core i5-12400F platform. The Core i5-14400F has 11 more average FPS, 9 more minimum FPS, nearly equal frame time, 13W higher power consumption, and 2°C higher temperature. The comparison results are quite clear.
04
Comparison Conclusion
The results are clear. Although the 14th generation Core processors are widely regarded as incremental updates, the Core i5-14400F’s advantages over the Core i5-12400F are significant, exceeding previous expectations.
Despite their similar overall gaming performance in most games, the Core i5-14400F consistently shows lower CPU usage and higher GPU utilization compared to the Core i5-12400F, with only slightly higher power consumption and temperature.
The Core i5-14400F’s single-core performance is about 10% higher, and its multi-core performance is about 25% higher than the Core i5-12400F. This difference is noticeable but not enormous; objectively, the Core i5-14400F offers clearly better performance.
So, how should one choose at this stage? If you’re seeking the best value for money, go with the Core i5-12400F without hesitation. Currently, the Core i5-14400F is priced around 1399 yuan, approximately 500 yuan more than the Core i5-12400F at 899 yuan. The value for money isn’t quite there yet. It would only be worth considering if the price difference were less than 300 yuan.
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