AMD Ryzen 7 1700 vs Intel Core i5-8400

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 vs Intel Core i5-8400 tests and see which is better for games or normal use for video editing, rendering, streaming, machine learning, programming. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or various benchmarks. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests like DaVinci Resolve Studio, PCMark 10, Prime95, RealBench, Blender, 3DMark, WPrime, Furmark, AIDA64, PassMark, Handbrake, VeraCrypt, Dolphin Emulator, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), GeekBench 6, 5.2, UserBenchmark, 7zip, Gears 5, Blender, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 7 1700.

Summary benchmark results

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

Ryzen 7 1700

54%

Core i5-8400

52%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 7 1700 is 3% better than Core i5-8400. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 7 1700

54%

Core i5-8400

53%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, 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 little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghostrunner, Metro Exodus, Control, Battlefield V, League of Legends (LOL), Hitman 3, DOTA 2A, NBA 2K20, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Monster Hunter World, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.3	93.5
Valorant	108.3	106.3
Cyberpunk 2077	60.6	59.5
Apex Legends	101.8	99.9
Call of Duty Warzone	81.2	79.7
Overwatch	87.7	86.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	74.7	73.3
DOOM Eternal	54.1	53.1
Warzone	84.5	82.9
Assassin's Creed	91.0	89.3
Valheim	89.9	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. 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 7 1700

49%

Core i5-8400

56%

To make a final decision 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 Core i5-8400 is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 7 1700 since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to 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

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its 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 find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, 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 7 1700	Intel Core i5-8400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	151	161
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1403	954
Cinbench 20 Single-core	331	411
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3189	2291
Cinbench 23 Single-core	954	1023
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	8065	5457

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

	AMD Ryzen 7 1700	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	1968	2442
Multi-Core	14629	9262

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

	AMD Ryzen 7 1700	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	972	1106
Multi-Core	7152	5408

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. 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. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 7 1700	Intel Core i5-8400
Announcement date	March 02, 2017	October 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM4	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Summit Ridge	Coffee Lake
Architecture	Zen	x86
Generation	1	8
Turbo Frequency	3.7 MHz	4 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	2.8 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	6
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	3200 millions	2470 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	2667
Memory bandwidth		41.6 GB/s
L1 cache	768KB
L2 cache	4MB
L3 cache	16MB	9 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	YD1700BBM88AE YD1700BBAEBOX YD1700BBAEMPK

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 7 1700 is 6% better than Core i5-8400 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 7 1700 has 2 more core than Core i5-8400. 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 7 1700 is better: 23
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-8400 is better: 12
However, it should be understood that the summary data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought AMD Ryzen 7 1700 and Intel Core i5-8400 before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• AMD Ryzen 7 1700 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-8400 specs and review.