Intel Core i7-3770K vs Intel Core i5-7400

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i7-3770K vs Intel Core i5-7400 and understand which is better for games or simple use for video editing, machine learning, programming, streaming, rendering. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications such as UserBenchmark, VeraCrypt, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, AIDA64, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, Furmark, MATLAB, PCMark 10, PassMark, SuperPi, WPrime, Handbrake, 7zip.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-7400 or Intel Core i7-3770K.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i7-3770K

51%

Core i5-7400

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-3770K

52%

Core i5-7400

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	92.1	91.4
Valorant	104.7	103.9
Cyberpunk 2077	58.6	58.2
Apex Legends	98.4	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	78.5	77.9
Overwatch	84.8	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.2	71.7
DOOM Eternal	52.4	51.9
Warzone	81.7	81.0
Assassin's Creed	88.0	87.3
Valheim	86.9	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: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, 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 get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i7-3770K

42%

Core i5-7400

49%

To make a finishing resolution 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 i5-7400 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-3770K since it has less power consumption: 77W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has. You will learn 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. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, 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 i7-3770K	Intel Core i5-7400
Cinbench 15 Single-core	137	149
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	672	564
Cinbench 20 Single-core	286	345
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1391	1266
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1016	820
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3503	2853

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

	Intel Core i7-3770K	Intel Core i5-7400
Single-Core	2049	2131
Multi-Core	6445	5499

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

	Intel Core i7-3770K	Intel Core i5-7400
Single-Core	979	959
Multi-Core	4061	3349

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. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The savings are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i7-3770K	Intel Core i5-7400
Announcement date	April 01, 2012	January 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA1155	FCLGA1151
Core name	Ivy Bridge	Kaby Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	3	7
Turbo Frequency	3.9 MHz	3.5 MHz
Frequency	3.5 MHz	3 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	4
Bus rate	5 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	22 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	77 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR3 1333/1600	DDR4-2133/2400, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	8 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. Here Core i7-3770K is 14% 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 i7-3770K is better: 23
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-7400 is better: 9
Although 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. Better to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i7-3770K and Intel Core i5-7400 before making a choice which of the CPUs to buy for gaming.

• Intel Core i7-3770K specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-7400 specs and review.