Core i5-13400F vs EPYC 72F3

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 i5-13400F

2023

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 180W, a 115W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike EPYC 72F3.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 72F3 across 10 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (25,029 vs 27,252).
❌Launch MSRP is still $196 MSRP, while EPYC 72F3 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

EPYC 72F3

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +30.5% higher average FPS across 10 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌176.9% higher power demand at 180W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Core i5-13400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-13400F.

Core i5-13400F

2023

EPYC 72F3

2021

Why buy it

✅Draws 65W instead of 180W, a 115W reduction.
✅Newer platform on LGA1700 with DDR5 support instead of SP3 and DDR4.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike EPYC 72F3.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +30.5% higher average FPS across 10 shared CPU benchmark tests.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than EPYC 72F3 across 10 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (25,029 vs 27,252).
❌Launch MSRP is still $196 MSRP, while EPYC 72F3 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.

Trade-offs

❌176.9% higher power demand at 180W vs 65W.
❌Older platform position on SP3 with DDR4, while Core i5-13400F moves to LGA1700 and DDR5.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-13400F.

Quick Answers

So, is EPYC 72F3 better than Core i5-13400F?

Not in a simple one-size-fits-all way. EPYC 72F3 makes more sense for workstation-style multi-core throughput, while Core i5-13400F is the better mainstream desktop choice for gaming, platform cost, and day-to-day practicality.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, EPYC 72F3 is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 30.5% more average FPS across 10 shared CPU game tests. It also has a big cache advantage at 256 MB vs 20 MB.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, EPYC 72F3 is the better fit. You are getting 8.9% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads. It also carries the larger cache pool with 1180% larger total L3 cache (256 MB vs 20 MB).

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

EPYC 72F3 is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-13400F makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. EPYC 72F3 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $196 MSRP, and it gives you a 30.5% average FPS lead across 10 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-13400F is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (127.7 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Core i5-13400F is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2023 vs 2021) and a healthier platform with LGA1700 and DDR5 instead of SP3. 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 i5-13400F Benchmark Check

EPYC 72F3 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
1080p
low	171 FPS	231 FPS
medium	158 FPS	184 FPS
high	132 FPS	149 FPS
ultra	112 FPS	107 FPS
1440p
low	143 FPS	196 FPS
medium	123 FPS	151 FPS
high	99 FPS	117 FPS
ultra	84 FPS	86 FPS
4K
low	81 FPS	77 FPS
medium	74 FPS	63 FPS
high	59 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	46 FPS	40 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open EPYC 72F3

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
1080p
low	545 FPS	583 FPS
medium	464 FPS	510 FPS
high	389 FPS	412 FPS
ultra	356 FPS	360 FPS
1440p
low	458 FPS	489 FPS
medium	403 FPS	436 FPS
high	345 FPS	362 FPS
ultra	301 FPS	300 FPS
4K
low	280 FPS	304 FPS
medium	247 FPS	274 FPS
high	231 FPS	245 FPS
ultra	204 FPS	220 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open EPYC 72F3

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
1080p
low	530 FPS	681 FPS
medium	449 FPS	681 FPS
high	415 FPS	681 FPS
ultra	375 FPS	681 FPS
1440p
low	490 FPS	681 FPS
medium	422 FPS	597 FPS
high	382 FPS	534 FPS
ultra	343 FPS	466 FPS
4K
low	393 FPS	485 FPS
medium	331 FPS	387 FPS
high	296 FPS	343 FPS
ultra	246 FPS	277 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open EPYC 72F3

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
1080p
low	626 FPS	681 FPS
medium	626 FPS	681 FPS
high	626 FPS	681 FPS
ultra	626 FPS	681 FPS
1440p
low	626 FPS	681 FPS
medium	626 FPS	681 FPS
high	598 FPS	655 FPS
ultra	521 FPS	565 FPS
4K
low	535 FPS	643 FPS
medium	492 FPS	574 FPS
high	439 FPS	499 FPS
ultra	382 FPS	427 FPS

Open Core i5-13400F Open EPYC 72F3

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-13400F and EPYC 72F3

Core i5-13400F

The Core i5-13400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2023 (2 years ago). It is based on the Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) architecture. It features 10 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.6 GHz. L3 cache: 20 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, DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 25,029 points. Launch price was $196.

EPYC 72F3

The EPYC 72F3 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 15 March 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Milan (2021−2023) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.7 GHz, with boost up to 4.1 GHz. L3 cache: 256 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm+ process technology. Socket: SP3. Thermal design power (TDP): 180 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 27,252 points. Launch price was $2,468.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-13400F packs 10 cores / 16 threads, while the EPYC 72F3 offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Core i5-13400F has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.6 GHz on the Core i5-13400F versus 4.1 GHz on the EPYC 72F3 — a 11.5% clock advantage for the Core i5-13400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 3.7 GHz). The Core i5-13400F uses the Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the EPYC 72F3 uses Milan (2021−2023) (7 nm+). In PassMark, the Core i5-13400F scores 25,029 against the EPYC 72F3's 27,252 — a 8.5% lead for the EPYC 72F3. L3 cache: 20 MB (total) on the Core i5-13400F vs 256 MB (total) on the EPYC 72F3.

Feature	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
Cores / Threads	10 / 16+25%	8 / 16
Boost Clock	4.6 GHz+12%	4.1 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz	3.7 GHz+48%
L3 Cache	20 MB (total)	256 MB (total)+1180%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+150%	512 kB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm	7 nm+
Architecture	Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024)	Milan (2021−2023)
PassMark	25,029	27,252+9%
Cinebench R23 Multi	16,211	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,407	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	11,408	—

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Memory & Platform

The Core i5-13400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the EPYC 72F3 uses SP3 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-13400F	EPYC 72F3
Socket	LGA1700	SP3
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	192 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-13400F) / not specified (EPYC 72F3). Primary use case: Core i5-13400F targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-13400F rivals Ryzen 5 7600.