Intel Core i3-8300 vs Intel Core i5-6400

Processor comparisons 20-01-2022

   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i3-8300 vs Intel Core i5-6400 and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, video editing, machine learning, streaming, programming. Here you can find useful information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it 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 MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), DaVinci Resolve Studio, Prime95, RealBench, WPrime, SuperPi, AIDA64, Handbrake, Furmark, PassMark, Blender, UserBenchmark, Gears 5, 3DMark, Blender.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6400 or Intel Core i3-8300.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i3-8300

51%

Core i5-6400

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-8300

52%

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 it is clear that 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 little game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: League of Legends (LOL), Ghostrunner, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 4, Hitman 3, Battlefield V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Metro Exodus, Control, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), NBA 2K20, Microsoft Flight Simulator, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), DOTA 2A, Horizon Zero Dawn.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.8	91.3
Valorant	104.4	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	58.4	58.1
Apex Legends	98.1	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	78.3	77.8
Overwatch	84.5	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.0	71.6
DOOM Eternal	52.2	51.9
Warzone	81.4	80.9
Assassin's Creed	87.7	87.1
Valheim	86.6	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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. 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 i3-8300

60%

Core i5-6400

49%

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 i3-8300 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6400 since it has less power consumption: 62W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. 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 streaming, video rendering or video editing, programming, machine learning, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor turns on all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum efficiency. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account 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. Because there are still many programs that 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 i3-8300	Intel Core i5-6400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	158	140
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	633	497
Cinbench 20 Single-core	409	275
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1499	1061
Cinbench 23 Single-core	807	1001
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3131	3997

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

	Intel Core i3-8300	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	2288	1957
Multi-Core	6264	5167

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

	Intel Core i3-8300	Intel Core i5-6400
Single-Core	1119	959
Multi-Core	3754	3221

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 later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Core i3-8300	Intel Core i5-6400
Announcement date	July 07, 2018	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151	LGA 1151
Core name	Coffee Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	8	6
Turbo Frequency		3.3 MHz
Frequency	3.7 MHz	2.7 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	4800 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	62 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	64 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	8 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	Yes	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 i3-8300 is 27% better than Core i5-6400 in terms of CPU frequency. 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 i3-8300 is better: 27
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6400 is better: 4
However, it should be understood that all the figures in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i3-8300 and Intel Core i5-6400 before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i3-8300 - all data

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

• Intel Core i3-8300 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6400 specs and review.