Intel Core i5-4460 vs Intel Core i5-6500

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Perhaps you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the detailed tests Intel Core i5-4460 vs Intel Core i5-6500 and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning, video editing. Here you can find useful information from several benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as WPrime, Gears 5, Blender, Furmark, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, Dolphin Emulator, PCMark 10, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, Blender, PassMark, Handbrake, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Prime95, MATLAB, 3DMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, 7zip, GeekBench 6, 5.2.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6500 or Intel Core i5-4460.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-4460

51%

Core i5-6500

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-4460

51%

Core i5-6500

51%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.0	91.4
Valorant	103.4	103.9
Cyberpunk 2077	57.9	58.2
Apex Legends	97.2	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	77.6	77.9
Overwatch	83.8	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.4	71.7
DOOM Eternal	51.7	51.9
Warzone	80.7	81.0
Assassin's Creed	86.9	87.3
Valheim	85.8	86.2

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 tested computers not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K 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 i5-4460

34%

Core i5-6500

51%

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 i5-6500 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-4460 since it has less power consumption: 84W 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using 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 can use only one core to run, and all the benefit 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 i5-4460	Intel Core i5-6500
Cinbench 15 Single-core	132	153
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	477	565
Cinbench 20 Single-core	325	354
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1177	1299
Cinbench 23 Single-core	714	842
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2716	2928

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

	Intel Core i5-4460	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	1877	2149
Multi-Core	4794	5644

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

	Intel Core i5-4460	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	881	1004
Multi-Core	2955	3346

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. 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 savings are obvious! It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i5-4460	Intel Core i5-6500
Announcement date	April 01, 2014	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA1150	LGA 1151
Core name	Haswell	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	4	6
Turbo Frequency	3.4 MHz	3.6 MHz
Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.2 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	5 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	22 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1760 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	84 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	6 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. 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 i5-4460 is better: 1
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6500 is better: 29
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i5-4460 and Intel Core i5-6500 before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i5-4460 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6500 specs and review.