Intel's Raptor Lake non-K processors won't be out until 2023. However, Vietnamese retailer Nguyen Cong Computer (via momomo_us) already has some in stock, such as the Core i5-13400F and Core i5-13400. The retailer has reviewed the two aforementioned 65W chips, and mind you; these are retail units, so the results indicate the processors' final performance.
The Core i5-13400 comes with a 10-core, 16-thread configuration with six P-cores and four E-cores. The recipe will sound familiar because it's the same design as Intel's last-generation Core i5-12600K Alder Lake part, one of the best CPUs. The reason is that some of Intel's Raptor Lake chips will use rewarmed Alder Lake C0 or H0 dies. This strategy effectively allows Intel to recycle leftover Alder Lake silicon and bring its E-cores down to the latest Core i5 non-K SKUs, which previously lacked E-cores back on Alder Lake. The bad news is that these processors will have Golden Cove cores instead of the newer Raptor Cove cores. We haven't been able to confirm which Raptor Lake non-K chips carry the Alder Lake silicon, but by the looks of it, the Core i5-13400 is, in all likelihood, one of them.
The Core i5-13400 also retains the same L2 cache (9.5MB) and L3 cache (20MB) as the Core i5-12600K. In terms of clock speeds, the Core i5-13400 has a 4.1 GHz P-core base clock and a 3.3 GHz E-core boost clock. Therefore, the Raptor Lake chip flaunts an 11% higher P-core base clock and 18% higher E-core base clock than the Core i5-12600K. Naturally, the Core i5-13400 doesn't have a higher boost clock than the Core i5-12600K since the first is a 65W chip, whereas the latter is a 125W-class part. Nonetheless, the Core i5-13400 has a 4.6 GHz boost clock speed, which is not too shabby for a 65W processor.
The Core i5-13400F shares identical specifications as the Core i5-13400, albeit offering the same level of performance. The only difference is that the Core i5-13400F lacks the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 730 engine. Therefore, the Core i5-13400F comes with a slightly lower price tag than the Core i5-13400.
Intel Core i5-13400F, Core i5 -13400 Benchmarks
| Processor | Cinebench R23 Multi-Core | Cinebench R23 Single-Core | Blender (BMW27) | Adobe Premiere (Puget Systems) | Adobe Photoshop (Puget Systems) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i5-13400, Core i5-13400F | 15,255 | 1,767 | 155 | 1,166 | 870 |
| Core i5-12600K | 17,060 | 1,866 | 148 | 1,193 | 901 |
The Core i5-12600K scored 12% higher than the Core i5-13400 in Cinebench R23's single-core test and 6% higher in the multi-core test. In addition, the Alder Lake part was 5% faster than the Raptor Lake chip in Blender with the BMW27 scene. However, the Core i5-12600K's advantage over the Core i5-13400 wasn't significant in other real-world workloads. For example, the Core i5-12600K only outperformed the Core i5-13400 by 2% in Adobe Premiere. Furthermore, it delivered only 4% higher performance in Adobe Photoshop.
Overall, the Core i5-12600K was marginally better than the Core i5-13400 in many benchmarks except for the single-core test in Cinebench R23, where the Alder Lake chip posted a 12% difference. Nevertheless, the Core i5-13400 results were good, considering that it's a 65W processor competing against a 125W one. Note that the 65W is the Processor Base Power (PBP) value. Nguyen Cong Computer highlighted that the Core i5-13400 pulled up to 140W but believes that more optimized firmware will likely reduce the power consumption. For reference, the Core i5-12600K has a 150W Maximum Turbo Power (MTP) rating.
Although Nguyen Cong Computer has listed the Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F on its online store, the retailer didn't reveal the pricing. However, hardware detective momomo_us has found both chips at PC Canada. The Core i5-13400 sells for $239.37 (328.99 CAD), whereas the Core i5-13400F retails for $212.44 (291.99 CAD). Of course, computer hardware is a bit more expensive in Canada, so the actual price tags for the Core i5-13400 and Core i5-13400F will probably be lower in the U.S.
