Core i5-12400F vs Xeon Gold 6346

Core i5-12400F

6 Cores12 Thrd65 WWMax: 4.4 GHz2022

Xeon Gold 6346

16 Cores32 Thrd205 WWMax: 3.6 GHz2021

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i5-12400F

6 / 12

19,532

0.0%

37,739

+93.2%

About PassMark

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.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core i5-12400F

#15

Core i3-8300T

MSRP: $138|Avg: $25

121%

#16

Core Ultra 5 225F

MSRP: $231|Avg: $150

118%

#17

Core Ultra 7 265K

MSRP: $309|Avg: $285

116%

#18

Ryzen 9 3900

MSRP: $499|Avg: $150

115%

#19

Ryzen 5 3600X

MSRP: $249|Avg: $90

113%

#20

Core i7-14700KF

MSRP: $384|Avg: $260

113%

#21

Core i7-14700K

MSRP: $409|Avg: $270

109%

#22

Ryzen 5 4500

MSRP: $129|Avg: $85

106%

#23

Ryzen 5 5600

MSRP: $199|Avg: $115

106%

#24

Celeron G5925

MSRP: $62|Avg: $15

105%

#25

Ryzen 5 7500F

MSRP: $179|Avg: $145

104%

#26

Core Ultra 5 245

MSRP: $319|Avg: $220

103%

#27

Ryzen 7 2700

MSRP: $299|Avg: $86

102%

#28

Core Ultra 7 265KF

MSRP: $379|Avg: $323

102%

#29

Core Ultra 7 265F

MSRP: $369|Avg: $276

100%

#30

Core i5-12400F

MSRP: $174|Avg: $110

100%

#31

Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G

MSRP: $130|Avg: $80

99%

#32

Ryzen 7 2700X

MSRP: $329|Avg: $100

98%

#33

Core i3-10100F

MSRP: $88|Avg: $50

98%

#34

Ryzen 5 7400F

MSRP: $150|Avg: $147

98%

#35

Ryzen 5 9600X

MSRP: $279|Avg: $178

95%

#36

Ryzen 7 3800X

MSRP: $399|Avg: $140

93%

#37

Ryzen 3 5300G

MSRP: $130|Avg: $80

92%

#38

Ryzen 9 7900X

MSRP: $549|Avg: $316

91%

#39

Ryzen 5 5600X

MSRP: $299|Avg: $135

91%

#40

Core i5-14600KF

MSRP: $304|Avg: $239

91%

#41

Ryzen 7 5800

MSRP: $349|Avg: $160

91%

#42

Core i3-14100F

MSRP: $109|Avg: $96

90%

#43

Ryzen 7 3700X

MSRP: $329|Avg: $140

90%

#44

Ryzen 5 7600X

MSRP: $299|Avg: $178

90%

#45

Ryzen 3 3100

MSRP: $99|Avg: $75

90%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon Gold 6346

#418

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9995WX

MSRP: $11699|Avg: $11699

108%

#419

Xeon 6736P

MSRP: $3351|Avg: $3351

107%

#420

EPYC 9655P

MSRP: $10811|Avg: $7958

107%

#421

EPYC 9554P

MSRP: $7104|Avg: $3052

106%

#423

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX

MSRP: $6499|Avg: $3444

105%

#424

Xeon W-2155

MSRP: $1440|Avg: $150

104%

#425

Xeon Gold 6348

MSRP: $3583|Avg: $2097

104%

#425

Xeon 6740E

MSRP: $5265|Avg: $3949

104%

#427

EPYC 7702P

MSRP: $4425|Avg: N/A

103%

#428

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX

MSRP: $9999|Avg: $9879.97

103%

#429

EPYC 7552

MSRP: $4025|Avg: $1650

102%

#431

Xeon Platinum 8360Y

MSRP: $5383|Avg: N/A

102%

#432

Xeon W-3245

MSRP: $2199|Avg: $1200

101%

#433

Xeon Gold 6346

MSRP: $2708|Avg: $2195

100%

#434

Xeon W-3225

MSRP: $1319|Avg: $850

99%

#435

Xeon Gold 6354

MSRP: $2878|Avg: $2898

98%

#436

Xeon Gold 5218T

MSRP: $1572|Avg: $1349

98%

#437

Xeon 6960P

MSRP: $9625|Avg: $9625

97%

#438

EPYC 9555

MSRP: $9826|Avg: $7973

97%

#439

Xeon Gold 6338

MSRP: $2990|Avg: $1604

96%

#440

Xeon Gold 6538N

MSRP: $3351|Avg: $170

96%

#441

EPYC 7F52

MSRP: $3100|Avg: $1826

96%

#442

EPYC 7542

MSRP: $3400|Avg: $899

96%

#443

EPYC 9655

MSRP: $11852|Avg: $11852

94%

#444

Xeon 6781P

MSRP: $8960|Avg: $8960

94%

#445

Xeon Gold 6338N

MSRP: $3200|Avg: $3200

94%

#446

Xeon Gold 5117

MSRP: $1286|Avg: $300

94%

#447

EPYC 73F3

MSRP: $3521|Avg: $2100

94%

#448

EPYC 9384X

MSRP: $5529|Avg: $4157

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($2,195) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon Gold 6346 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Gold 6346
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	✅ More affordable ($110)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,195)
Longevity	✨ Modern (Alder Lake-S (2022) / Intel 7 nm)	✨ Modern (Ice Lake-SP (2021) / 10 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i5-12400F ($110), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($2,085 less, 95% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Gold 6346
Cost Efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+933%)	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	✅ More affordable ($110)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,195)

Performance Check

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 i5-12400F Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 6346 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12400F and Xeon Gold 6346

Core i5-12400F

The Core i5-12400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 18 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: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,532 points. Launch price was $180.

Xeon Gold 6346

The Xeon Gold 6346 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Ice Lake-SP (2021) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 3.1 GHz, with boost up to 3.6 GHz. L3 cache: 36 MB (total). L2 cache: 1 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4189. Thermal design power (TDP): 205 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 37,739 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i5-12400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon Gold 6346 offers 16 cores / 32 threads — the Xeon Gold 6346 has 10 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i5-12400F versus 3.6 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6346 — a 20% clock advantage for the Core i5-12400F (base: 2.5 GHz vs 3.1 GHz). The Core i5-12400F uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6346 uses Ice Lake-SP (2021) (10 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12400F scores 19,532 against the Xeon Gold 6346's 37,739 — a 63.6% lead for the Xeon Gold 6346. L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12400F vs 36 MB (total) on the Xeon Gold 6346.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Gold 6346
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	16 / 32+167%
Boost Clock	4.4 GHz+22%	3.6 GHz
Base Clock	2.5 GHz	3.1 GHz+24%
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)	36 MB (total)+100%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+25%	1 MB (per core)
Process	Intel 7 nm-30%	10 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Ice Lake-SP (2021)
PassMark	19,532	37,739+93%
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,380	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,700	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	657	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12400F uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon Gold 6346 uses LGA4189 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-12400F versus 3200 on the Xeon Gold 6346 — the Xeon Gold 6346 supports 199.4% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon Gold 6346 supports up to 6144 of RAM compared to 128 GB — 191.8% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i5-12400F) vs 8 (Xeon Gold 6346). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-12400F) vs 64 (Xeon Gold 6346) — the Xeon Gold 6346 offers 44 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H610,B660,H670,Z690,B760,H770,Z790 (Core i5-12400F) and C621A (Xeon Gold 6346).

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Gold 6346
Socket	LGA1700	LGA4189
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0+33%
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	3200+63900%
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+2184433%	6144
RAM Channels	2	8+300%
ECC Support	❌	✅
PCIe Lanes	20	64+220%

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-12400F) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon Gold 6346). Primary use case: Core i5-12400F targets Gaming Performance/Value. Direct competitor: Core i5-12400F rivals Ryzen 5 5600; Xeon Gold 6346 rivals EPYC 73F3.

Feature	Core i5-12400F	Xeon Gold 6346
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	—	None
Unlocked	—	No
AVX-512	—	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d, EPT	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	Gaming Performance/Value	—

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i5-12400F launched at $174 MSRP, while the Xeon Gold 6346 debuted at $2708. At current prices ($110 vs $2195), the Core i5-12400F is $2085 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-12400F delivers 177.6 pts/$ vs 17.2 pts/$ for the Xeon Gold 6346 — making the Core i5-12400F the 164.7% better value option.