Intel Core i5-12400F

[W1zzard]

The Intel Core i5-12400F comes at an extremely attractive price point, yet offers performance comparable to AMD's Ryzen 5 5600X. While Intel introduced a Hybrid core design with Alder Lake, the 12400F is a P-core only design, which helps avoid potential compatibility issues with E-cores.

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[zmeul]

wait a god damn minute

you test the 12400F and you put as a negative that it doesn't have an iGPU
that's why the 12400 (non F) exists, if you need the iGPU you buy the non F version

 

[W1zzard]

you test the 12400F and you put as a negative that it doesn't have an iGPU
that's why the 12400 (non F) exists, if you need the iGPU you buy the non F version

Not everybody knows that "F" means "no iGPU". I want you to think about these +- points

 

[Deleted member 202104]

*** Ok everybody - I get it - it was meant as a rhetorical 'huh'. ***



Huh?

 

[Bruno_O]

@weekendgeek

haha yeah, it's less efficient than a 5600X - uses more energy and has less performance
but on the good side, it doesn't get as hot

the only advantage of the 12400F is really the better price, which is negated a bit here in NZ where B660 boards are at least 100$ more expensive than a B550, so in the end the AMD combo (5600X + B550) is about 100$ NZD more expensive than the Intel combo (12400F + B660)
AMD needs to cut 60-80 USD from the 5600X to remain competitive

 

[jonup]

Huh?

View attachment 233031

Energy efficiency is much improved over previous gens and comparable to Zen3 though not quite as good. Where is the confusion?
Presence of E-cores does create some issues with certain apps. It has been pointed out in other AL reviews/test on this website. That being said E-cores do provide meaningful benefits in general. So the two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[dragontamer5788]

Huh?

View attachment 233031

Based on what I saw, it seems like single-thread is very energy efficient, while multi-thread is less-energy efficient compared to Zen3.

 

[WhoDecidedThat]

Huh?

View attachment 233031

Energy efficiency is worse than Zen 3 but not by a significant margin. Hence it is simultaneously comparable and worse than Zen 3. I do think the energy efficiency point should either be removed altogether from the pros and cons. Or it should be put only in the cons section as - Power efficiency is slightly worse than Zen 3.

Writing about energy efficiency in both pros and cons is confusing to those who are not as knowledgeable, I agree.​

No E cores means it can run Windows 10 just fine and not face compatibility issues. The absence of E cores does lead to lower performance compared to 12600K.

The entry regarding E cores can be clarified in the cons section as - No E Cores (results in lower multi-core performance compared to more expensive Alder Lake chips)​

These cons are more the things to be careful of if buying a 12400F rather than being its negative points/pitfalls. W1zzard has written the cons in a way to set the correct expectations since the pros are so damn good.

 

[cellar door]

You can overclock locked alder lake with blck all the way up to 160 if you have a z690 board with an external clock generator and bios supporting this.

Of course that makes the value proposition pretty bad but apparently there are already two b660 boards that support this. der8aur has videos on this.

 

[Space Lynx]

@weekendgeek

haha yeah, it's less efficient than a 5600X - uses more energy and has less performance
but on the good side, it doesn't get as hot

the only advantage of the 12400F is really the better price, which is negated a bit here in NZ where B660 boards are at least 100$ more expensive than a B550, so in the end the AMD combo (5600X + B550) is about 100$ NZD more expensive than the Intel combo (12400F + B660)
AMD needs to cut 60-80 USD from the 5600X to remain competitive

I see, I think I know what the review means now.

Energy efficiency is much improved over previous gens and comparable to Zen3 though not quite as good. Where is the confusion?
Presence of E-cores does create some issues with certain apps. It has been pointed out in other AL reviews/test on this website. That being said E-cores do provide meaningful benefits in general. So the two are not mutually exclusive.

i think i understand now. me brain no works sometimes

 

[WhoDecidedThat]

You can overclock locked alder lake with blck all the way up to 160 if you have a z690 board with an external clock generator and bios supporting this.

Of course that makes the value proposition pretty bad but apparently there are already two b660 boards that support this. der8aur has videos on this.

The video links are -

 

[Dux]

I hope one day intel releases a graphics card that's on performance level of RTX 3060, but with like 50-60% of its price. Most gamers buy mid range cards anyways.

 

[mechtech]

One bonus of having your own foundry, you don't have to pay a XX% markup from someone else. Hopefully AMD can compete on dollars, but as they rely on TSMC for their chips, I really wonder how much $$ they have to play with on price?

As for no integrated graphics, I don't know I'd buy a cpu without one anymore and or going forward due to prices and supplies of vid cards.

 

[GURU7OF9]

You have stated several times the Ryzen 5600x does not come with a HSF.
It most definately does come with a HSF.
It is useable but only average with heavy work loads like prime 95 getting into the 80s C.
It is only the other Zen 3s that do not come with a HSF but the 5600x definately does!
Good article but !

 

[Meanhx]

Where I live, the difference in price between the 12400 and the 5600x is about the same as the difference in price between a decent B550 and the cheapest decent B660. If you go with the 12400f, the Intel combo is slightly cheaper (maybe 10-20€). So while the 12400f is a win when it comes to the price/performance of the CPU, I still need to see more cheap and decent B660 motherboards in my region to make it the clear winner.

 

[Taraquin]

Good review, very similar to my findings when i compared my 5600X vs my 12400F. The 5600X does come with a cooler, wraith stealth. It`s not very good, but does the job okayish.

 

[Ruszli]

While I understand the initial reasoning for moving the testing suite to Win 11, I just don't think it makes sense given how the adoption turned out to be. Beyond that, there's also the scheduling issues that can and do affect the performance of the high-end Alderlake SKUs in real world scenarios.

All of that aside, quality review as usual! AMD better wake up and cut some prices to respond to the new "valueking".

 

[TristanX]

PLS add page with clock frequencies depending on numer of threads

 

[Jism]

You can overclock locked alder lake with blck all the way up to 160 if you have a z690 board with an external clock generator and bios supporting this.

Of course that makes the value proposition pretty bad but apparently there are already two b660 boards that support this. der8aur has videos on this.

You know thats a 600$ / euro board right?

 

[mama]

Thanks. Useful comparison.

 

[bug]

I see you've kept around the results where K CPU were erroneously running on the E-cores. I know it's time consuming to fix that, but it makes 12400F appear faster than it actually is.

 

[Xuper]

with B660 , Can you OC this CPU?

 

[damric]

Well if they can get the base clock overclocking on the middle budget boards then Intel might interest me again.

 

[Mussels]

The one intel chip i'd consider (Since it's not a 240W monster)
aaaand it's slower than a 5600x in gaming

-.-

And yet everywhere you look people rant and rave that 12th gen is the gaming king, because the top chips, the volcano room heaters edge ahead slightly

The only thing going for it, is the CPU itself is quite cheap - which can be negated almost instantly by the requirement of a Z series board and DDR5 to get the full performance, where the 5600x can run on B450 (and even x370, with some boards)

 

[dicobalt]

with B660 , Can you OC this CPU?

Only if you buy a $400 motherboard for your $200 CPUas der8auer impressively demonstrates here there are massive gains to be had with the 12400:

Intel's H670 and B660 boards are way too expensive. For budget buyers switching to Intel hoping to save money, anything gained from the cheaper cpu price is lost paying for the board and remember those budget CPUs don't have E cores.