PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +69.2% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of FP6 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 5 4600U.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 4600U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.

Ryzen 5 4600U

2020

Why buy it

✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,043 vs 19,532).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 18 MB).
❌Older platform position on FP6 with DDR4, while Core i5-12400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Ryzen 5 4600U

2020

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +69.2% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of FP6 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 5 4600U.

Why buy it

✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 4600U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,043 vs 19,532).
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 18 MB).
❌Older platform position on FP6 with DDR4, while Core i5-12400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Core i5-12400F better than Ryzen 5 4600U?

Yes. Core i5-12400F is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 69.2% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data, 49.8% better PassMark, and the stronger long-term platform, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Core i5-12400F is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 69.2% more average FPS across 4 shared CPU game tests.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Core i5-12400F is the better fit. You are getting 49.8% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Core i5-12400F is the smarter buy today. Core i5-12400F is at an unclear MSRP at $174 MSRP versus unclear MSRP, and it gives you a 69.2% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. It is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (112.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), so the better CPU is not just faster, it is also the cleaner value play on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Core i5-12400F is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2022 vs 2020), a healthier platform with LGA1700 and DDR5 instead of FP6, 125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB), and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 6/12. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i5-12400F Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 4600U Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
1080p
low	183 FPS	171 FPS
medium	168 FPS	140 FPS
high	139 FPS	111 FPS
ultra	119 FPS	89 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	146 FPS
medium	132 FPS	118 FPS
high	106 FPS	92 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	73 FPS
4K
low	87 FPS	69 FPS
medium	81 FPS	60 FPS
high	64 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	37 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen 5 4600U

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
1080p
low	471 FPS	137 FPS
medium	397 FPS	118 FPS
high	341 FPS	107 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	84 FPS
1440p
low	407 FPS	117 FPS
medium	351 FPS	102 FPS
high	309 FPS	95 FPS
ultra	265 FPS	77 FPS
4K
low	282 FPS	100 FPS
medium	248 FPS	90 FPS
high	229 FPS	82 FPS
ultra	196 FPS	63 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen 5 4600U

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
1080p
low	488 FPS	326 FPS
medium	488 FPS	326 FPS
high	488 FPS	326 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	326 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	326 FPS
medium	488 FPS	326 FPS
high	485 FPS	326 FPS
ultra	434 FPS	326 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	326 FPS
medium	389 FPS	326 FPS
high	337 FPS	297 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	238 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen 5 4600U

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
1080p
low	488 FPS	326 FPS
medium	488 FPS	326 FPS
high	488 FPS	326 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	326 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	326 FPS
medium	488 FPS	326 FPS
high	488 FPS	326 FPS
ultra	473 FPS	326 FPS
4K
low	488 FPS	326 FPS
medium	450 FPS	326 FPS
high	391 FPS	326 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	282 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen 5 4600U

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Ryzen 5 4600U

Core i5-12400F

The Core i5-12400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 18 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,532 points. Launch price was $180.

Ryzen 5 4600U

The Ryzen 5 4600U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.1 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 13,043 points. Launch price was $149.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Core i5-12400F and Ryzen 5 4600U share an identical 6-core/12-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 4 GHz on the Ryzen 5 4600U — a 9.5% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Ryzen 5 4600U uses Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Ryzen 5 4600U's 13,043 — a 39.8% lead for the Core i5-12400F. L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 8 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 4600U.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz+10%	4 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+19%	2.1 GHz
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)+125%	8 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+150%	512 kB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm	7 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021)
PassMark	19,532+50%	13,043
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 5 4600U uses FP6 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen 5 4600U
Socket	LGA1700	FP6
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) / not specified (Ryzen 5 4600U). Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600.