Core i5-8400T vs Core i7-4950HQ

The Core i5-8400T packs 6 cores / 6 threads, while the Core i7-4950HQ offers 4 cores / 8 threads — the Core i5-8400T has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.3 GHz on the Core i5-8400T versus 3.6 GHz on the Core i7-4950HQ — a 8.7% clock advantage for the Core i7-4950HQ (base: 1.7 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Core i5-8400T uses the Coffee Lake (2017−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i7-4950HQ uses Crystalwell (2013−2014) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-8400T scores 7,426 against the Core i7-4950HQ's 7,405 — a 0.3% lead for the Core i5-8400T. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 3,737 vs 3,317 (11.9% advantage for the Core i5-8400T). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,092 vs 842, a 25.9% lead for the Core i5-8400T that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 3,816 vs 3,317 (14% advantage for the Core i5-8400T). L3 cache: 9 MB (total) on the Core i5-8400T vs 8 MB (total) on the Core i7-4950HQ.

The Core i5-8400T uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i7-4950HQ uses BGA1364 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-2666 on the Core i5-8400T versus DDR3L-1600 on the Core i7-4950HQ — the Core i5-8400T supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i5-8400T supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: H310,B360,H370,Q370,Z370,Z390 (Core i5-8400T) and HM87,QM87 (Core i7-4950HQ).

Both support Yes virtualization. Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 630 (Core i5-8400T) and Iris Pro Graphics 5200 (Core i7-4950HQ) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU.