Intel Core i5-9400 Is Finally Up for Pre-Order

The Intel Core i5-9400 processor, which was announced earlier this year as part of Intel's 9th-generation Coffee Lake Refresh, will arrive on computer hardware store shelves pretty soon. The mid-range Core i5 chip has just gone up for pre-order at online retailer B&H Photo Video.

The Intel Core i5-9400 is equipped with six cores, six threads (meaning no Intel Hyper-Threading) and 9MB of L3 cache. The processor is rated for a 65W TDP (thermal design power) and sports a 2.9GHz base clock and 4.1GHz turbo clock. And unlike the Core i5-9400F, the Core i5-9400 comes with integrated graphics, more specifically the Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU (integrated graphics processing unit).

On the memory front, the chip officially supports dual-channel DDR4 memory modules with speeds up to 2,666MHz. Thanks to the introduction of 32GB DDR4 memory modules, the Core i5-9400 can support up to 128GB of memory. 

The boxed version of the Core i5-9400, which includes the Intel stock heatsink, is available for pre-order at $212.50. However, this version carries the previous P0 stepping. As we recently covered, it's expected Intel will roll out fresh 9th-generation CPUs with the R0 stepping. According to Asus, the new processors are slated to launch in Q2. Chinese media XFastest points to a rumor that the R0 stepping parts could arrive as soon as May.

If you plan to pair the Core i5-9400 with an aftermarket CPU cooler, B&H Photo Video has you covered as well. Both the OEM versions with the P0 and R0 steppings cost $182 each, which fall in line with Intel's Recommended Customer Price. If you pick up the OEM version, you save as much as $30.50 of which you can invest in a more robust cooling solution, such as Cooler Master's Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition CPU cooler. Despite the difference in stepping, the pair of OEM processors share the same price tag. Therefore, it makes sense to purchase the chip with the R0 stepping, since it's newer.