Intel Core i3-1005G1 vs Intel Core i5-6400

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i3-1005G1 vs Intel Core i5-6400 and understand which is better for games or normal use for rendering, programming, machine learning, streaming, video editing. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as WPrime, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, PCMark 10, 3DMark, VeraCrypt, SuperPi, AIDA64, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, Furmark, 7zip, RealBench, Blender, Blender, Prime95, Handbrake, Gears 5, UserBenchmark, Dolphin Emulator.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6400 or Intel Core i3-1005G1.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i3-1005G1

51%

Core i5-6400

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-1005G1

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.5	91.3
Valorant	102.9	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	57.6	58.1
Apex Legends	96.7	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	77.1	77.8
Overwatch	83.3	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.0	71.6
DOOM Eternal	51.4	51.9
Warzone	80.2	80.9
Assassin's Creed	86.4	87.1
Valheim	85.4	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

Core i3-1005G1

266%

Core i5-6400

49%

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 i3-1005G1 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6400 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 calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video editing or video rendering, programming, 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 includes all cores and threads 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 make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i3-1005G1	Intel Core i5-6400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	158	140
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	409	497
Cinbench 20 Single-core	402	275
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	949	1061
Cinbench 23 Single-core	675	1001
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2621	3997

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

	Intel Core i3-1005G1	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	2281	1957
Multi-Core	5244	5167

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

	Intel Core i3-1005G1	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	1197	959
Multi-Core	2465	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 in your computer. 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, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i3-1005G1	Intel Core i5-6400
Announcement date	April 01, 2019	April 01, 2015
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FCBGA1526	LGA 1151
Core name	Ice Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	6
Turbo Frequency	3.4 MHz	3.3 MHz
Frequency	1.2 MHz	2.7 MHz
Cores	2	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	4 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	10 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2600 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-3200, LPDDR4-3733	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	64 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	58.3 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	4 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-6400 is 55% better than Core i3-1005G1 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i5-6400 has 2 more core than Core i3-1005G1. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-1005G1 is better: 12
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6400 is better: 20
All the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i3-1005G1 and Intel Core i5-6400 before making a selection which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i3-1005G1 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6400 specs and review.