Core i5-12400F vs Core m3-7Y30

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Core m3-7Y30 offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-12400F has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 2.6 GHz on the Core m3-7Y30 — a 51.4% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 1 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Core m3-7Y30 uses Kaby Lake (2016−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Core m3-7Y30's 2,418 — a 155.9% lead for the Core i5-12400F. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 12,380 vs 645 (180.2% advantage for the Core i5-12400F). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 768, a 75.5% lead for the Core i5-12400F that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 1,481 (77.1% advantage for the Core m3-7Y30). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 4 MB on the Core m3-7Y30.

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core m3-7Y30 uses FCBGA1515 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-12400F versus LPDDR3-1866 / DDR3L-1600 on the Core m3-7Y30 — the Core i5-12400F supports 157.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i5-12400F supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 16 GB — 700% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 10 (Core m3-7Y30) — the Core i5-12400F offers 10 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and Kaby Lake-Y SoC (Core m3-7Y30).

Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) vs VT-x / VT-d / EPT (Core m3-7Y30). The Core m3-7Y30 includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 615), while the Core i5-12400F requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value, Core m3-7Y30 targets Ultra-portable. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600.

At launch, the Core i5-12400F was priced at $174, while the Core m3-7Y30 came in at $281. On launch pricing ($174 vs $281), Core i5-12400F was $107 cheaper. In terms of value on MSRP (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-12400F delivers 112.3 pts/$ vs 8.6 pts/$ for the Core m3-7Y30 — making the Core i5-12400F the 171.5% better value option.

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