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: +3.9% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen AI 7 350.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,532 vs 24,897).
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Ryzen AI 7 350 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌132.1% higher power demand at 65W vs 28W.

Ryzen AI 7 350

2025

Why buy it

✅+27.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 28W instead of 65W, a 37W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 18 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Core i5-12400F

2022

Ryzen AI 7 350

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +3.9% higher average FPS across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen AI 7 350.

Why buy it

✅+27.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 28W instead of 65W, a 37W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,532 vs 24,897).
❌Launch MSRP is still $174 MSRP, while Ryzen AI 7 350 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌132.1% higher power demand at 65W vs 28W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12400F across 4 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 18 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen AI 7 350 better than Core i5-12400F?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Core i5-12400F is ahead with a 3.9% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen AI 7 350 pulls ahead with 27.5% better PassMark. Core i5-12400F also has the bigger cache pool with 125% larger total L3 cache (18 MB vs 8 MB).

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen AI 7 350 is the better fit. You are getting 27.5% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

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

Ryzen AI 7 350 is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-12400F makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen AI 7 350 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $174 MSRP, and it gives you 27.5% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i5-12400F is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 3.9% average FPS lead across 4 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-12400F is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (112.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Ryzen AI 7 350 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2022) and more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 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 AI 7 350 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
1080p
low	183 FPS	245 FPS
medium	168 FPS	228 FPS
high	139 FPS	194 FPS
ultra	119 FPS	167 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	215 FPS
medium	132 FPS	181 FPS
high	106 FPS	149 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	132 FPS
4K
low	87 FPS	149 FPS
medium	81 FPS	126 FPS
high	64 FPS	98 FPS
ultra	49 FPS	85 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen AI 7 350

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
1080p
low	471 FPS	212 FPS
medium	397 FPS	183 FPS
high	341 FPS	166 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	147 FPS
1440p
low	407 FPS	190 FPS
medium	351 FPS	170 FPS
high	309 FPS	154 FPS
ultra	265 FPS	131 FPS
4K
low	282 FPS	143 FPS
medium	248 FPS	132 FPS
high	229 FPS	126 FPS
ultra	196 FPS	107 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen AI 7 350

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
1080p
low	488 FPS	622 FPS
medium	488 FPS	595 FPS
high	488 FPS	512 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	408 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	622 FPS
medium	488 FPS	506 FPS
high	485 FPS	435 FPS
ultra	434 FPS	353 FPS
4K
low	442 FPS	436 FPS
medium	389 FPS	368 FPS
high	337 FPS	322 FPS
ultra	274 FPS	261 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen AI 7 350

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
1080p
low	488 FPS	622 FPS
medium	488 FPS	622 FPS
high	488 FPS	622 FPS
ultra	488 FPS	622 FPS
1440p
low	488 FPS	622 FPS
medium	488 FPS	622 FPS
high	488 FPS	588 FPS
ultra	473 FPS	506 FPS
4K
low	488 FPS	530 FPS
medium	450 FPS	478 FPS
high	391 FPS	425 FPS
ultra	330 FPS	369 FPS

Open Core i5-12400F Open Ryzen AI 7 350

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Ryzen AI 7 350

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 AI 7 350

The Ryzen AI 7 350 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2025 (less than a year ago). It is based on the Krackan Point (2025) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB. L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FP8. Thermal design power (TDP): 28 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 24,897 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen AI 7 350 offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen AI 7 350 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 5 GHz on the Ryzen AI 7 350 — a 12.8% clock advantage for the Ryzen AI 7 350 (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Ryzen AI 7 350 uses Krackan Point (2025) (4 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Ryzen AI 7 350's 24,897 — a 24.2% lead for the Ryzen AI 7 350. L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 8 MB on the Ryzen AI 7 350.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz	5 GHz+14%
Base Clock	2.5 GHz+25%	2 GHz
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)+125%	8 MB
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+25%	1 MB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm	4 nm-43%
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Krackan Point (2025)
PassMark	19,532	24,897+27%
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	—

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Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen AI 7 350 uses FP8 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Ryzen AI 7 350
Socket	LGA1700	FP8
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) / not specified (Ryzen AI 7 350). Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600.