Intel Core i5-8600K vs Intel Core i5-8400

Processor comparisons 18-02-2022

   Let's say you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a decision by looking at the Intel Core i5-8600K vs Intel Core i5-8400 tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, streaming, video editing, programming, machine learning. Here is useful information from different benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests like World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Blender, WPrime, Handbrake, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, VeraCrypt, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, Blender, Furmark, RealBench, UserBenchmark, PCMark 10, 7zip, 3DMark, PassMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, AIDA64, Gears 5.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-8400 or Intel Core i5-8600K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-8600K

53%

Core i5-8400

52%

This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i5-8600K is 1% better than Core i5-8400. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-8600K

53%

Core i5-8400

53%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	93.9	93.5
Valorant	106.7	106.3
Cyberpunk 2077	59.7	59.5
Apex Legends	100.3	99.9
Call of Duty Warzone	80.0	79.7
Overwatch	86.4	86.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	73.6	73.3
DOOM Eternal	53.3	53.1
Warzone	83.2	82.9
Assassin's Creed	89.6	89.3
Valheim	88.5	88.2

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 amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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 i5-8600K

41%

Core i5-8400

56%

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 i5-8400 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-8600K as it consumes less power: 95W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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 want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software 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 work, and all the advantages 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 i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	183	161
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1040	954
Cinbench 20 Single-core	406	411
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2181	2291
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1318	1023
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	7339	5457

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

	Intel Core i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	2600	2442
Multi-Core	10237	9262

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

	Intel Core i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400
Single-Core	1191	1106
Multi-Core	5753	5408

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 later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, 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 i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400
Announcement date	October 12, 2017	October 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1151	FCLGA1151-2
Core name	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	8	8
Turbo Frequency	4.3 MHz	4 MHz
Frequency	3.6 MHz	2.8 MHz
Cores	6	6
Threads	6	6
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	2470 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	95 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	9 MB	9 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 i5-8600K is 22% better than Core i5-8400 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 i5-8600K is better: 22
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-8400 is better: 5
However, it should be realized that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i5-8600K and Intel Core i5-8400 before deciding which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i5-8600K - all data

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

• Intel Core i5-8600K specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-8400 specs and review.