Home > CPU Comparison > Core i5 12400F or Ryzen 5 5600X: what's better?

Intel Core i5 12400F vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

49 out of 100
Intel Core i5 12400F
VS
48 out of 100
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Intel Core i5 12400F
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

We compared two 6-core desktop CPUs: the 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 12400F against the 3.7 GHz AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (13)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
NanoReview Final Score
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
πŸ”Œ Usage Scenario:

Value for money (Beta)

Global average CPU prices are used by default! For better accuracy, enter your current prices and click β€œCalculate".
Currency
VS
66.9
(Good)
Value Index
48.0
(Average)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between 5600X and 12400F
Advantages of Intel Core i5 12400F
  • Around 25.6 GB/s (50%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • Newer - released 1 year and 3 months later
  • Newer PCI Express version – 5.0
Advantages of AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
  • Unlocked multiplier
  • Has 14 MB larger L3 cache size, helping fully utilize a high-end GPU in gaming
  • More modern manufacturing process – 7 versus 10 nanometers
  • 5% higher Turbo Boost frequency (4.6 GHz vs 4.4 GHz)

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
Core i5 12400F
vs
Ryzen 5 5600X

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Cinebench 2026 (Single) - 459
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) - 2477
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
File compression 789 MB/sec 954.5 MB/sec
Clang compilation 69.9 Klines/sec 66.2 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 221 pages/sec 169 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 263.7 Mpixels/sec 245 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 230 pages/sec 213.5 pages/sec
Background blur 49.5 images/sec 47.2 images/sec
Photo processing 77.9 images/sec 68.8 images/sec
Ray tracing 16.2 Mpixels/sec 16 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] – 1128 & 1003 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Core i5 12400F
19551
Ryzen 5 5600X +12%
21824
Integer math 60.1 GOps/sec 70.6 GOps/sec
Floating point math 46.9 GOps/sec 39.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 74M Primes/sec 135M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 23.2M Strings/sec 26.2M Strings/sec
Data encryption 11.7 GBytes/sec 15.7 GBytes/sec
Data compression 233.1 MBytes/sec 252.2 MBytes/sec
Physics 1257 Frames/sec 1307 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 15.9B Matrices/sec 17B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 17200 & 35079 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
Core i5 12400F +3%
161.36
Ryzen 5 5600X
156.48

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 9.8 PPW 9 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 145.8 PPW 140.5 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 300.8 PPW 335.8 PPW
Blender / Watt 2.48 PPW 2.41 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Intel Core i5 12400F
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-01-24 (Ecstatify)GeekBench2918 / 13277
πŸ“˜ 2025-08-17 (Olini)Cinebench 2024101 / 664
πŸ“˜ 2025-07-21 (Rolling Manatee)Cinebench 202495 / 640
πŸ“˜ 2025-05-12 (inoklike)Cinebench 202493 / 646
πŸ“˜ 2025-03-04 (RD)Cinebench 202488 / 620
Add View all (5)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-17 (dolip)Cinebench 2026459 / 2477
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-07 (Skull)Cinebench 202493 / 592
πŸ“˜ 2025-11-24 (Suhail Alharbi)GeekBench2174 / 9054
πŸ“˜ 2025-11-24 (Suhail Alharbi)Cinebench 202490 / 583
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-28 (rasmus8484)Cinebench 202497 / 667
Add View all (19)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Intel Core i5 12400F and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

General

Vendor Intel Amd
Released January 4, 2022 October 8, 2020
Type Desktop Desktop
Instruction Set x86-64 x86-64
Codename Alder Lake Zen 3 (Vermeer)
Model number i5-12400F -
Integrated GPU No No
Rival Equivalent - - Intel Core i5 11600K
Successor - Intel Core Ultra 5 225F - AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
Intel CPU rating (#162nd place)
AMD Ryzen CPU ranking (#124th place)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 6 6
P-Threads 12 12
Base Frequency (P) 2.5 GHz 3.7 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency (P) 4.4 GHz 4.6 GHz
Total
Total Cores 6 6
Total Threads 12 12
Bus Frequency 100 MHz 100 MHz
Multiplier 25x 37x
L1 Cache 80K (per core) 64K (per core)
L2 Cache 1280K (per core) 512K (per core)
L3 Cache 18MB (shared) 32MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No Yes

Package

Fabrication Process 10 nm 7 nm
TDP (PL1) 65 W 65 W
Max. Boost TDP (PL2) 117 W 88 W
Socket LGA-1700 AM4
Peak Temperature 100Β°C 95Β°C
Desktop CPU ranking (107th and 118th place)

Memory Support

Memory Types - DDR5-4800
- DDR4-3200		 - DDR4-3200
Max. Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Memory Channels 2 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s 51.2 GB/s
ECC Support No Yes

Misc

Official Site Intel Core i5 12400F official page AMD Ryzen 5 5600X official page
PCI Express Version 5.0 4.0
PCI Express Lanes 20 20

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
2479 (57.6%)
1827 (42.4%)
Total votes: 4306

Competitors

1. Intel Core i5 12400F vs Intel Core i5 13400F (3)
2. Intel Core i5 12400F vs Intel Core i3 12100F (1)
3. Intel Core i5 12400F vs AMD Ryzen 5 7500F
4. Intel Core i5 12400F vs Intel Core i3 14100F
5. Intel Core i5 12400F vs Intel Core i5 14400F
6. AMD Ryzen 5 5600X vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600
7. AMD Ryzen 5 5600X vs AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (5)
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X or Intel Core i5 12400F?
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Avatar
im not givin out my name April 28, 2022 at 05:35 PM
I hate how the 12400f cant OC without an expensive board, but the 12600k runs at the same temp as a 5600x with better performance so it's really fine.
+210 Reply
Avatar
Curious person October 30, 2022 at 08:41 PM
What does OC mean? Sorry, I am new to PCs.
+162 Reply
Avatar
Newb helper November 15, 2022 at 05:07 AM
Curious person, OC=Overclock It's when you raise the frequency the CPU (or GPU) operates at above stock settings.
+18 Reply
Avatar
Robert May 26, 2023 at 01:04 PM
Curious person, OC, or overclocking, is a method used to maximize the potential of your CPU. However, it does come with some drawbacks: 1. It can shorten the lifespan of your CPU. 2. It has the potential to damage the CPU. Given these risks, I generally advise against overclocking your CPU, as it could lead to damage in the long run.
+10 Reply
Avatar
tolfik January 4, 2024 at 02:32 PM
Robert, This is not actually accurate, assuming one has a basic grasp of overclocking CPUs and doesn't push the boundaries to dangerous degrees of voltage, current, and temperature. In fact, it's feasible to safely under-volt the AMD 5xxx series and actually improve performance without jeopardizing the long-term health of your CPU. I personally achieved this with a basic 120€ 550-PLUS ASUS motherboard and my AMD 5600 non-X CPU. Now, under load, all six cores can boost up to 4655 MHz from the stock 4450 MHz. Additionally, whether I am gaming or idling, my power usage remains roughly the same. I never exceed a 1.300v SOC voltage β€” an occurrence only seen when running at full 100% usage in Cinebench or Rendering, among others. In regular usage, such as gaming, I’ve seen improvements of approximately 5-8% in both single-core and multi-core performance without exposing the system to any long-term risks. It's surprisingly straightforward to do, but I took the time to test everything thoroughly to ensure stability, which I achieved successfully. In conclusion, it's quite easy to under-volt, particularly with AMD 5xxx series CPUs, and still see a significant performance boost while avoiding hazardous modifications. Keep in mind that manual overclocking can also be explored, but it requires a solid understanding of the process to avoid damaging your CPU prematurely.
+2 Reply
Avatar
Ayush Gorai February 6, 2024 at 10:07 AM
Curious person, The term "OC" refers to overclocking.
0 Reply
Avatar
SKWITCH_GAMING February 15, 2024 at 09:34 AM
Are you interested in heating and blasting your CPU by overclocking? :)
+2 Reply
Avatar
Tomas April 1, 2022 at 06:08 AM
I chose 5600x for 219 because I paired it with my hyper Evo 212. 12400f is 190 plus I would need a cooler for like 30-50.
+70 Reply
Avatar
Who08 June 9, 2022 at 05:46 AM
169$ you mean bozo Intel is not even trying to beat AMD, they just need to get their business settled and they will be better than AMD like old times.
+39 Reply
Avatar
SAM September 7, 2022 at 03:50 PM
Who08, AMD is good. because you don't have to upgrade your motherboard with each generation.
+68 Reply
Avatar
Ko Bo October 6, 2022 at 05:03 AM
SAM, Prove your evidence please.
+24 Reply
Avatar
Grodge October 15, 2022 at 04:13 AM
Ko Bo, Prove your evidence? For one, that makes no sense. You can provide proof or you can provide evidence but you can't prove your evidence. Secondly, they don't have to "prove" anything! It's self-explanatory. AMD hasn't changed its chipset from AM4 for the four whole generations of desktop processors. If you don't know that, you know absolutely nothing about computers and technology. If you didn't know what AM4 was, I don't think you know enough about computers to even pug one in.
+56 Reply
Avatar
Ko Bo November 1, 2022 at 08:19 PM
Grodge, False assumptions but okay.
+35 Reply
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