Intel Core i3-8109U vs Intel Core i5-6400

Processor comparisons   20-01-2022
   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i3-8109U vs Intel Core i5-6400 and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, machine learning, rendering, video editing, streaming. Here is useful information from real video editing and streaming tests or many benchmarks. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like Cinebench 23 (20, 15), MATLAB, Gears 5, Blender, VeraCrypt, WPrime, GeekBench 6, 5.2, AIDA64, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, Handbrake, UserBenchmark, RealBench, PCMark 10, 7zip, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Prime95, SuperPi, Blender, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 3DMark, PassMark.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

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

After reading the results these 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 i3-8109U.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i3-8109U

51%

Core i5-6400

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-8109U

51%

Core i5-6400

51%

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 the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, just 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: Forza Horizon 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Half-Life: Alyx, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Metro Exodus, Battlefield V, Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.3	91.3
Valorant	102.6	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	57.5	58.1
Apex Legends	96.5	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	77.0	77.8
Overwatch	83.1	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.8	71.6
DOOM Eternal	51.3	51.9
Warzone	80.1	80.9
Assassin's Creed	86.2	87.1
Valheim	85.2	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 comparing 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. So 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 i3-8109U

119%

Core i5-6400

49%

To make a finishing resolution 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 i3-8109U is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6400 as it consumes less power: 28W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was 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, machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can 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

	Intel Core i3-8109U	Intel Core i5-6400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	149	140
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	392	497
Cinbench 20 Single-core	366	275
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	916	1061
Cinbench 23 Single-core	559	1001
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2171	3997

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

	Intel Core i3-8109U	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	2185	1957
Multi-Core	4342	5167

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

	Intel Core i3-8109U	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	1003	959
Multi-Core	2276	3221

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, 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 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 i3-8109U	Intel Core i5-6400
Announcement date	July 07, 2018	April 01, 2015
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FCBGA1528	LGA 1151
Core name	Coffee Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	8	6
Turbo Frequency	3.6 MHz	3.3 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	2.7 MHz
Cores	2	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	4 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	1900 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	28 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	4 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	Expansion Options

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i3-8109U is 9% better than Core i5-6400 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i5-6400 has 2 more core than Core i3-8109U. 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 i3-8109U is better: 10
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6400 is better: 23
Although it should be realized that all the number in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i3-8109U and Intel Core i5-6400 before deciding which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i3-8109U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i3-8109U specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6400 specs and review.