Core i7-4950HQ vs Core i5-8400T

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

The Core i7-4950HQ uses the BGA1364 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-8400T uses LGA1151 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3L-1600 on the Core i7-4950HQ versus DDR4-2666 on the Core i5-8400T — 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: HM87,QM87 (Core i7-4950HQ) and H310,B360,H370,Q370,Z370,Z390 (Core i5-8400T).

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