It’s easy to lose yourself in the awesome processing power of current generation flagship processors like Ryzen 9 9950X3D, wishing they were more affordable. There’s no need to despair, though, as there are plenty of great-value options up for grabs if you look further afield. Enter Intel’s Core i5-13400.
Intel Core i5-13400
“A thoroughly fine processor primed for mainstream upgrades or fresh builds.” Read our review.
Over on Amazon US, you’ll find Core i5-13400 for $134.98. The cost of this CPU has steadily declined since its launch, now $86.02 (39%) below its launch price. It’s just a few pennies shy of its lowest ever price too, but you shouldn’t let that detract from the deal on offer now if you want my two cents.
Tarinder’s verdict on Core i5-13400F, “a thoroughly fine processor primed for mainstream upgrades or fresh builds”, rings true for Core i5-13400 too. The two CPUs are essentially the same save for the addition of integrated graphics on the latter model, allowing you to put your motherboard’s display outputs to work.
Drilling down into the technical makeup of Core i5-13400, it packs 6 Performance-cores and 4 Efficient-cores for 10 cores total alongside 16 threads. Its P-cores run at a base clock of 2.5GHz and can boost up to a maximum of 4.6GHz. Translating these raw specifications into real-world performance, the chip provides a pleasing package that contains just about everything you need from a CPU to a high standard.
Purchasing Core i5-13400 has value implications outside of the processor itself, namely concerning cooling and platform costs. Intel pairs this CPU with a stock air cooler that will keep the chip plenty cool under load, freeing you to spend your budget elsewhere. Of course, if you already have an LGA1700 compatible cooler then it’ll slot in without a fuss.
In terms of motherboards, Core i5-13400 is compatible with B/H/Z700 Series chipsets out of the box. You can pair it with B/H/Z600 Series models too following a BIOS update. As you browse the wide selection of boards, be sure to note whether your preferred choice supports DDR5 or DRR4 RAM.
