Intel Core i5-7400 vs Intel Core i5-4590

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i5-7400 vs Intel Core i5-4590 and understand which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, rendering, machine learning, streaming. Here you can find all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software such as World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, WPrime, UserBenchmark, 3DMark, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, SuperPi, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, AIDA64, Furmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Prime95, 7zip, MATLAB, PassMark, Gears 5, Blender.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-4590 or Intel Core i5-7400.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-7400

51%

Core i5-4590

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-7400

51%

Core i5-4590

51%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. And it is clear that 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 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: Metro Exodus, NBA 2K20, Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Control, Monster Hunter World, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), League of Legends (LOL), Hitman 3, DOTA 2A, Ghostrunner, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.4	91.4
Valorant	103.9	103.9
Cyberpunk 2077	58.2	58.2
Apex Legends	97.6	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	77.9	77.9
Overwatch	84.1	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.7	71.7
DOOM Eternal	51.9	51.9
Warzone	81.0	81.0
Assassin's Creed	87.3	87.2
Valheim	86.2	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 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 i5-7400

49%

Core i5-4590

39%

To make a final resolution 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 i5-7400 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-4590 as it consumes less power: 65W vs. 84W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need 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 machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that 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 i5-7400	Intel Core i5-4590
Cinbench 15 Single-core	149	144
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	564	505
Cinbench 20 Single-core	345	319
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1266	1227
Cinbench 23 Single-core	820	1024
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2853	4088

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

	Intel Core i5-7400	Intel Core i5-4590
Single-Core	2131	2060
Multi-Core	5499	5285

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

	Intel Core i5-7400	Intel Core i5-4590
Single-Core	959	1005
Multi-Core	3349	3327

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

	Intel Core i5-7400	Intel Core i5-4590
Announcement date	January 01, 2017	April 01, 2014
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151	LGA1150
Core name	Kaby Lake	Haswell
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	7	4
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	3.7 MHz
Frequency	3 MHz	3.3 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	8 GT/s	5 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	22 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	84 W
Memory type	DDR4-2133/2400, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V	DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V
Max. Memory	64 Gb	32 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	6 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
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 i5-4590 is 9% better than Core i5-7400 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 i5-7400 is better: 15
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-4590 is better: 6
However, it should be realized that all the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i5-7400 and Intel Core i5-4590 before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i5-7400 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-4590 specs and review.