Core i5-12400F vs Celeron G1620

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Celeron G1620 offers 2 cores / 2 threads — the Core i5-12400F has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 2.7 GHz on the Celeron G1620 — a 47.9% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 2.7 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Celeron G1620 uses Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Celeron G1620's 1,586 — a 170% lead for the Core i5-12400F. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 441, a 117.6% lead for the Core i5-12400F that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 760 (14.5% advantage for the Celeron G1620). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 2 MB (total) on the Celeron G1620.

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Celeron G1620 uses LGA1155 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-12400F versus DDR3-1333 on the Celeron G1620 — the Core i5-12400F supports 50% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i5-12400F 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. PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 16 (Celeron G1620) — the Core i5-12400F offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and H77,B75,Z77,H61,P67,Z68 (Celeron G1620).

Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) vs VT-x, EPT (Celeron G1620). The Celeron G1620 includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge GT1)), while the Core i5-12400F requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value, Celeron G1620 targets Desktop. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Celeron G1620 rivals Pentium G2030.

The Core i5-12400F launched at $174 MSRP, while the Celeron G1620 debuted at $52. At current prices ($110 vs $40), the Celeron G1620 is $70 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-12400F delivers 177.6 pts/$ vs 39.6 pts/$ for the Celeron G1620 — making the Core i5-12400F the 127% better value option.