Core i5-12400F vs Celeron G3930T

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Celeron G3930T 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 G3930T — 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 G3930T uses Kaby Lake (2016−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Celeron G3930T's 2,023 — a 162.5% lead for the Core i5-12400F. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,700 vs 704, a 82.9% lead for the Core i5-12400F that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 657 vs 1,350 (69.1% advantage for the Celeron G3930T). L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 2 MB (total) on the Celeron G3930T.

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Celeron G3930T uses LGA1151 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-12400F versus DDR4-2400 on the Celeron G3930T — the Core i5-12400F supports 22.2% 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 64 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 16 (Celeron G3930T) — 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 H110,B250,H270,Z270 (Celeron G3930T).

Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) vs VT-x, VT-d (Celeron G3930T). The Celeron G3930T includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 610), while the Core i5-12400F requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value, Celeron G3930T targets Desktop. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Celeron G3930T rivals Pentium G4560T.

The Core i5-12400F launched at $174 MSRP, while the Celeron G3930T debuted at $42. At current prices ($110 vs $39), the Celeron G3930T is $71 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-12400F delivers 177.6 pts/$ vs 51.9 pts/$ for the Celeron G3930T — making the Core i5-12400F the 109.6% better value option.