AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-6400

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   For example you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-6400 tests and see which is better for games or simple use for streaming, machine learning, rendering, programming, video editing. Here you can find all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications like RealBench, Handbrake, PassMark, PCMark 10, 3DMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Gears 5, Blender, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, VeraCrypt, Prime95, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Furmark, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, 7zip, AIDA64.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

Borderlands 3
Fortnite
Overwatch
Last Man Standing
Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare
Halo Infinite
DOOM: Eternal
Grand Theft Auto V
Rainbow Six Siege
Valheim
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Watch Dogs Legion
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Valorant
Death Stranding
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fallout 76
Apex Legends
Cyberpunk 2077

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3450U.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 5 3450U

52%

Core i5-6400

51%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 5 3450U is 1% better than Core i5-6400. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3450U

51%

Core i5-6400

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Forza Horizon 4, DOTA 2A, Metro Exodus, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Half-Life: Alyx, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, Control, Microsoft Flight Simulator, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL), Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.9	91.3
Valorant	103.3	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	57.9	58.1
Apex Legends	97.1	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	77.5	77.8
Overwatch	83.7	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.3	71.6
DOOM Eternal	51.7	51.9
Warzone	80.6	80.9
Assassin's Creed	86.8	87.1
Valheim	85.7	86.1

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 5 3450U

176%

Core i5-6400

49%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 3450U is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6400 since it has less power consumption: 15W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	128	140
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	675	497
Cinbench 20 Single-core	328	275
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1511	1061
Cinbench 23 Single-core	860	1001
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	4042	3997

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	2008	1957
Multi-Core	7359	5167

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	796	959
Multi-Core	2857	3221

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6400
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2015
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FP5	LGA 1151
Core name	Matisse	Skylake
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	6
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	3.3 MHz
Frequency	2.1 MHz	2.7 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	4
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	65 W
Memory type		DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory		64 Gb
Memory Frequency	2400
Memory bandwidth		34.1 GB/s
L1 cache	384KB
L2 cache	2MB
L3 cache	4MB	6 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	YM3450C4T4MFG

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-6400 is 22% better than Ryzen 5 3450U in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3450U is better: 15
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6400 is better: 22
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 5 3450U and Intel Core i5-6400 before making a selection which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3450U specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6400 specs and review.