AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-8400

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-8400 and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, programming, machine learning, streaming. Here you can find all information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software such as MATLAB, Gears 5, Prime95, VeraCrypt, 3DMark, PCMark 10, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, WPrime, PassMark, Blender, RealBench, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, 7zip, AIDA64, Handbrake, UserBenchmark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-8400 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 i5-8400

52%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3450U

51%

Core i5-8400

53%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run 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 CPU comparisons were performed: League of Legends (LOL), DOTA 2A, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Half-Life: Alyx, Metro Exodus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Microsoft Flight Simulator, NBA 2K20, Ghostrunner, Control, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.9	93.5
Valorant	103.3	106.3
Cyberpunk 2077	57.9	59.5
Apex Legends	97.1	99.9
Call of Duty Warzone	77.5	79.7
Overwatch	83.7	86.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.3	73.3
DOOM Eternal	51.7	53.1
Warzone	80.6	82.9
Assassin's Creed	86.8	89.3
Valheim	85.7	88.2

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful 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 i5-8400

56%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 3450U is more energy efficient than the Core i5-8400 as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-8400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	128	161
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	675	954
Cinbench 20 Single-core	328	411
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1511	2291
Cinbench 23 Single-core	860	1023
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	4042	5457

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	2008	2442
Multi-Core	7359	9262

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

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	796	1106
Multi-Core	2857	5408

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-8400
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	October 01, 2017
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FP5	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Matisse	Coffee Lake
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	8
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	4 MHz
Frequency	2.1 MHz	2.8 MHz
Cores	4	6
Threads	8	6
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	2470 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	65 W
Memory type		DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	2400
Memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
L1 cache	384KB
L2 cache	2MB
L3 cache	4MB	9 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 i5-8400 is 24% better than Ryzen 5 3450U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i5-8400 has 2 more core than Ryzen 5 3450U. 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: 8
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-8400 is better: 30
However, it should be understood that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly 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 i5-8400 before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3450U specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-8400 specs and review.