Review: Intel Core i5-9400

Conclusion

Intel has made meaningful performance strides with its mainstream LGA1151 9th Gen processors but bountiful gains are limited to the Core i9-9900K and 9900KF processors sporting eight cores and 16 threads.

The latest-generation Core i7 and Core i5 chips ultimately suffer from a lack of hyperthreading, limiting their performance in heavy-load tasks that rival AMD excels in with its Ryzen processors.

This core/thread choice is what hurts the i5-9400 processor, priced at around £180 and offering the same 6C6T design as 2017's i5-8400. It's not a bad chip, of course, yet the very minor spec. uptick over its direct predecessor leaves it wanting when the going gets tough.

Though still faster than AMD for light-load applications and lower-res gaming, it's really hard to ignore the sheer horsepower deficit that becomes absolutely relevant when spending the thick end of two hundred quid. And the decision to prohibit overclocking does it no favours, either.

Our takeaway is that this chip makes a lot more sense if priced at £140 or so. Any higher and it runs into the core-and-thread Ryzen ambush.

Bottom line: the Intel Core i5-9400 is a decent-enough chip in its own right, but as soon as you see what's available from the competition, it feels pricey and underpowered.

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TBC.

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