Core i5-6400 vs Core i5-6500

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i5-6400 and the Core i5-6500 are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i5-6400 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i5-6500 has 4 cores and 4 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.3 GHz and 3.6 GHz.

Platform, power and price

Both chips use the LGA1151 socket, so they fit the same motherboards. You can swap one for the other without changing the board.

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 i5-6400 cost $182 and the Core i5-6500 $192, which gives 11.5 and 10.9 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 i5-6400 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 5600 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-6500 reaches the Radeon RX 5600 XT. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i5-6400 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i5-6500 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.