Intel Core i5-8400 vs Intel Core i7-6700

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 i5-8400 vs Intel Core i7-6700 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 i7-6700 or Intel Core i5-8400.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-8400

52%

Core i7-6700

52%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-8400

53%

Core i7-6700

52%

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 less popular games in which processors were compared: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Monster Hunter World, NBA 2K20, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Forza Horizon 4, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, Half-Life: Alyx.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	93.5	92.4
Valorant	106.3	105.0
Cyberpunk 2077	59.5	58.8
Apex Legends	99.9	98.7
Call of Duty Warzone	79.7	78.8
Overwatch	86.1	85.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.3	72.5
DOOM Eternal	53.1	52.5
Warzone	82.9	81.9
Assassin's Creed	89.3	88.2
Valheim	88.2	87.2

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. 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. 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 i5-8400

56%

Core i7-6700

56%

Software benchmarks

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, streaming, machine learning, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach 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 find out whether the software 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 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 i5-8400	Intel Core i7-6700
Cinbench 15 Single-core	161	171
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	954	816
Cinbench 20 Single-core	411	406
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2291	1774
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1023	1071
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	5457	4921

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

	Intel Core i5-8400	Intel Core i7-6700
Single-Core	2442	2325
Multi-Core	9262	8025

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

	Intel Core i5-8400	Intel Core i7-6700
Single-Core	1106	1095
Multi-Core	5408	4353

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. 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. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS 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 i5-8400	Intel Core i7-6700
Announcement date	October 01, 2017	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151-2	LGA 1151
Core name	Coffee Lake	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	8	6
Turbo Frequency	4 MHz	4 MHz
Frequency	2.8 MHz	3.4 MHz
Cores	6	4
Threads	6	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2470 millions	2800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	65 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	128 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	9 MB	8 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 i7-6700 is 17% better than Core i5-8400 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i5-8400 has 2 more core than Core i7-6700. 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 i5-8400 is better: 25
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-6700 is better: 5
However, it should be realized that all the number that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i5-8400 and Intel Core i7-6700 before making a choice which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i5-8400 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-6700 specs and review.