Intel Core i3-10320 vs Intel Core i5-10400

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice by looking at the Intel Core i3-10320 vs Intel Core i5-10400 tests and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, rendering, machine learning, video editing, streaming. Here is all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests like VeraCrypt, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB, PassMark, Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, SuperPi, 7zip, Prime95, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, UserBenchmark, AIDA64, 3DMark, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Blender, Blender, Furmark.
   And how good the processors are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-10400 or Intel Core i3-10320.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i3-10320

53%

Core i5-10400

53%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-10320

53%

Core i5-10400

53%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. 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. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a small game result, just 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: Metro Exodus, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Battlefield V, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Ghostrunner, Monster Hunter World, Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, NBA 2K20, Horizon Zero Dawn, Control, Half-Life: Alyx, League of Legends (LOL).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	93.6	94.8
Valorant	106.3	107.7
Cyberpunk 2077	59.6	60.3
Apex Legends	100.0	101.2
Call of Duty Warzone	79.8	80.8
Overwatch	86.1	87.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.4	74.3
DOOM Eternal	53.2	53.9
Warzone	83.0	84.0
Assassin's Creed	89.3	90.5
Valheim	88.3	89.4

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, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, 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

Core i3-10320

67%

Core i5-10400

63%

To make a finishing decision 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 Core i3-10320 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-10400 since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially 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

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor turns on 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 make sure that the software 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 turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i3-10320	Intel Core i5-10400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	206	190
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1080	1341
Cinbench 20 Single-core	477	450
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2444	3197
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1295	1110
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	5028	7610

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

	Intel Core i3-10320	Intel Core i5-10400
Single-Core	2819	2626
Multi-Core	10062	12503

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

	Intel Core i3-10320	Intel Core i5-10400
Single-Core	1307	1245
Multi-Core	5477	6654

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. The economy are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i3-10320	Intel Core i5-10400
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2020
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1200	FCLGA1200
Core name	Comet Lake	Comet Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	10
Turbo Frequency	4.6 MHz	4.3 MHz
Frequency	3.8 MHz	2.9 MHz
Cores	4	6
Threads	8	12
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2600 millions	4800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	8 MB	12 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 i3-10320 is 23% better than Core i5-10400 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i5-10400 has 2 more core than Core i3-10320. 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 i3-10320 is better: 9
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-10400 is better: 19
However, it should be realized that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i3-10320 and Intel Core i5-10400 before deciding which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i3-10320 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-10400 specs and review.