Core i3-10300 vs Core i5-9400F

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i3-10300 and the Core i5-9400F are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i3-10300 has 4 cores and 8 threads, and the Core i5-9400F has 6 cores and 6 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-9400F help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 4.4 GHz and 4.1 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-10300 uses the LGA1200 socket and the Core i5-9400F uses LGA1151, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 65 W for the first and 65 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i3-10300 cost $143 and the Core i5-9400F $182, which gives 25.2 and 19.8 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i3-10300 can feed a card up to the Arc B580 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-9400F reaches the Arc B580. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-10300 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i5-9400F if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.