Touted as the upcoming Ryzen 5 5600X killer, Intel's Core i5-12400F (via momomo_us) is available for puchase on eBay for $322.88. If you rather have the integrated graphics, the Core i5-12400 is also up for sale at $364.77.
With Alder Lake, Intel decided to push the K-series processors first, saving the more pocket-friendly SKUs for a later date. During the announcement, the chipmaker confirmed that it was shipping up to 28 more Alder Lake SKUs to OEMs for prebuilt systems that are slated to debut early 2022. Intel didn't commit to a specific date, but many believe that the non-K processors could arrive as early as January.
It would seem that a few of the unreleased Alder Lake chips may have gotten lost in the process. Affari Temporanei, an Italian retailer and also the eBay seller, has put the Core i5-12400 and Core i5-12400F processors up on eBay. The merchant marked the hybrid parts as OEM chips, but didn't confirm whether they're engineering samples (ES) or not.
Affari Temporanei also listed the Core i5-12400 and Core i5-12400F on its online shop with similar pricing to the eBay listings. Apparently, there's only one unit each. Interested consumers from the U.S. would probably want to purchase through eBay since that's the only plaform where Affari Temporanei offers worldwide shipping. Obviously, it's a big risk since these are alleged OEM chips so they don't come with standard warranties. Since the Core i5-12600K retails for $299.99, you are definitely paying a huge markup just to get the chips before everyone else.
Core i5-12400F, Core i5-12400 Specifications*
| Processor | Cores / Threads | Base Clock (GHz) | Boost Clock (GHz) | L3 Cache (MB) | PBP / MTP | Part Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5-12400 | 6P / 12 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 18 | 65W / ? | CM8071504555317 |
| Core i5-12400F | 6P / 12 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 18 | 65W / ? | CM8071504555318 |
*Specifications are unconfirmed.
The Core i5-12400F and Core i5-12400 made their first appearance at a Canadian retailer a few days ago. If the information is accurate, these are hexa-core chips without the small Gracemont cores. That means they sport six Golden Cove cores with Hyper-Threading. The processors could feature a boost clock up to 4.4 GHz. Affari Temporanei stated a 2.5 GHz clock speed, which is likely the base frequency.
There are two specifications that we can be certain of. Intel has already revealed the inner workings of Alder Lake so we know the Core i5 models come equipped with 18MB of L3 cache. The model names tell us that the Core i5-12400F and Core i5-12400 have a 65W PBP (Processor Base Power). However, the MTP (Maximum Turbo Power) rating is unknown. For comparison, the Core i5-12600K sports a 150W MTP so we can state with certainty that the Core i5-12400F and Core i5-12400 will have lower MTP values.
Both the Core i5-12400F and Core i5-12400 have boasted strong performance in preliminary benchmarks. We'll have to put them through their paces, but from what we've seen so far, they are poised to be the new budget gaming kings.
