01
Preface
At present, when assembling an entry-level desktop, there are two very popular processor options: the Core i5-12400F and the Ryzen 5 7500F.
Each of these two solutions has its pros and cons. The Core i5-12400F can still be paired with DDR4 memory, and the motherboard is also cheaper, resulting in a lower overall build cost. On the other hand, the Ryzen 5 7500F offers slightly higher absolute performance and has greater potential for future upgrades.
This article will compare the gaming performance of the Core i5-12400F and the Ryzen 5 7500F to assess how big the actual difference in gaming performance is between the two, for the reference of interested readers.
02
Specifications Comparison
The Core i5-12400F was released on January 4, 2022, using a 10nm process. It has 6 performance cores and no efficiency cores, for a total of 12 threads. Its base frequency is 2.5 GHz and it can boost up to 4.4 GHz. It features 7.5MB of L2 cache, 18MB of smart cache, a power consumption of 65W, and a suggested retail price of $184.00 to $194.00 USD. Currently, the OEM version is priced at around 600 RMB on the market.
The Ryzen 5 7500F was released on July 22, 2023, using TSMC’s 5nm process. It has 6 cores and 12 threads, with 384KB of L1 cache, 6MB of L2 cache, and 32MB of L3 cache. Its base frequency is 3.7 GHz and it can boost up to 5.0 GHz. Power consumption is 65W, and the suggested retail price is $179 USD. Currently, the boxed version is selling for around 900 RMB.
03
Test Platform Configuration
The main configurations are as follows:
The Core i5-12400F is paired with an ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming motherboard, while the Ryzen 5 7500F is paired with a GIGABYTE X670E AORUS MASTER motherboard. All other components are identical.
Memory is 32GB DDR5-6000, the graphics card is a GeForce RTX 4090, and the storage consists of two Samsung 970 1TB drives. The operating system is Windows 11.
One additional note: some may wonder why an entry-level processor is paired with a GeForce RTX 4090. The purpose is to eliminate any GPU bottleneck and ensure that the processor is pushed to its limit. This setup ensures the CPU is always the limiting factor rather than the GPU.
For example, if you pair the Core i5-12400F and Ryzen 5 7500F with a GeForce RTX 4060, both processors could easily utilize 99% of the GPU’s performance, making it hard to highlight the performance differences between the two CPUs.
04
Game Testing (Ryzen 7500F vs i5 12400F)
The following tests cover seven games, all using 1080P resolution. In the comparison images, the left side represents the Core i5-12400F platform and the right side represents the Ryzen 5 7500F platform.
Game 1: Ghostwire: Tokyo
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 124
- 1% Low: 106
- Frame Time: 8.1ms
- CPU Usage: 47%
- Power: 38W
- Temp: 45°C
- RAM: 10.8GB
- GPU Usage: 71%
- VRAM: 7.0GB
- GPU Power: 230W
- GPU Temp: 51°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 147
- 1% Low: 115
- Frame Time: 6.4ms
- CPU Usage: 46%
- Power: 51W
- Temp: 56°C
- RAM: 11.7GB
- GPU Usage: 81%
- VRAM: 6.0GB
- GPU Power: 260W
- GPU Temp: 54°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 23 FPS (~19%), 1% low is 9 FPS higher, frame time ~2ms lower.
Game 2: Cyberpunk 2077
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 79
- 1% Low: 57
- Frame Time: 12.5ms
- CPU Usage: 79%
- Power: 49W
- Temp: 45°C
- RAM: 10.9GB
- GPU Usage: 49%
- VRAM: 8.4GB
- GPU Power: 182W
- GPU Temp: 43°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 94
- 1% Low: 64
- Frame Time: 9.7ms
- CPU Usage: 79%
- Power: 70W
- Temp: 61°C
- RAM: 10.6GB
- GPU Usage: 54%
- VRAM: 8.7GB
- GPU Power: 201W
- GPU Temp: 49°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 15 FPS (~19%), 1% low is 7 FPS higher, frame time ~3ms lower.
Game 3: Red Dead Redemption 2
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 141
- 1% Low: 111
- Frame Time: 5.5ms
- CPU Usage: 81%
- Power: 49W
- Temp: 45°C
- RAM: 13.1GB
- GPU Usage: 63%
- VRAM: 5.7GB
- GPU Power: 219W
- GPU Temp: 48°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 154
- 1% Low: 120
- Frame Time: 5.9ms
- CPU Usage: 83%
- Power: 68W
- Temp: 59°C
- RAM: 14.0GB
- GPU Usage: 67%
- VRAM: 5.5GB
- GPU Power: 240W
- GPU Temp: 49°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 13 FPS (~9%), 1% low is 9 FPS higher, frame time nearly equal.
Game 4: Horizon Forbidden West
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 129
- 1% Low: 97
- Frame Time: 7.0ms
- CPU Usage: 76%
- Power: 51W
- Temp: 47°C
- RAM: 10.7GB
- GPU Usage: 70%
- VRAM: 9.3GB
- GPU Power: 200W
- GPU Temp: 45°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 145
- 1% Low: 109
- Frame Time: 5.9ms
- CPU Usage: 77%
- Power: 70W
- Temp: 60°C
- RAM: 13.4GB
- GPU Usage: 79%
- VRAM: 8.5GB
- GPU Power: 222W
- GPU Temp: 49°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 16 FPS (~12%), 1% low is 12 FPS higher, frame time ~1ms lower.
Game 5: The Witcher 3
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 91
- 1% Low: 69
- Frame Time: 11.6ms
- CPU Usage: 57%
- Power: 43W
- Temp: 44°C
- RAM: 12.4GB
- GPU Usage: 70%
- VRAM: 6.8GB
- GPU Power: 222W
- GPU Temp: 44°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 97
- 1% Low: 74
- Frame Time: 10.3ms
- CPU Usage: 63%
- Power: 59W
- Temp: 56°C
- RAM: 12.6GB
- GPU Usage: 72%
- VRAM: 6.9GB
- GPU Power: 227W
- GPU Temp: 48°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 6 FPS (~7%), 1% low is 5 FPS higher, frame time ~1ms lower.
Game 6: Hogwarts Legacy
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 62
- 1% Low: 38
- Frame Time: 15.8ms
- CPU Usage: 37%
- Power: 37W
- Temp: 44°C
- RAM: 22.1GB
- GPU Usage: 44%
- VRAM: 11.4GB
- GPU Power: 195W
- GPU Temp: 48°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 67
- 1% Low: 41
- Frame Time: 14.7ms
- CPU Usage: 37%
- Power: 47W
- Temp: 56°C
- RAM: 21.9GB
- GPU Usage: 49%
- VRAM: 11.3GB
- GPU Power: 203W
- GPU Temp: 50°C
Ryzen 5 7500F leads by 5 FPS (~8%), 1% low is 3 FPS higher, frame time roughly equal.
Game 7: Starfield
Core i5-12400F:
- Avg FPS: 79
- 1% Low: 47
- Frame Time: 12.3ms
- CPU Usage: 86%
- Power: 50W
- Temp: 46°C
- RAM: 13.1GB
- GPU Usage: 47%
- VRAM: 6.5GB
- GPU Power: 169W
- GPU Temp: 44°C
Ryzen 5 7500F:
- Avg FPS: 79
- 1% Low: 58
- Frame Time: 11.9ms
- CPU Usage: 82%
- Power: 72W
- Temp: 62°C
- RAM: 12.8GB
- GPU Usage: 54%
- VRAM: 6.2GB
- GPU Power: 184W
- GPU Temp: 49°C
Average FPS is equal, but Ryzen 5 7500F has 11 FPS higher 1% low and slightly better frame time. Performance is nearly identical.
05
Comparison Conclusion
From the above tests, it is clear that the Ryzen 5 7500F platform is generally able to extract more performance from the GeForce RTX 4090 than the Core i5-12400F platform, resulting in overall stronger performance. The advantages of a larger L3 cache and higher bandwidth are evident.
Based on the data and calculations, under 1080P resolution, the Ryzen 5 7500F delivers approximately 12% higher gaming performance compared to the Core i5-12400F. This is the final conclusion of this article, for reference only.
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