Core i7-10750H vs Core i5-8400

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i7-10750H scores 38 and the Core i5-8400 scores 36, about 6% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i7-10750H has 6 cores and 12 threads, and the Core i5-8400 has 6 cores and 6 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 5 GHz and 4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i7-10750H uses the BGA socket and the Core i5-8400 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 45 W for the first and 65 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

We do not have launch prices for both chips, so we cannot compare value.

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

At 1080p the Core i7-10750H can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 6750 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-8400 reaches the Arc B580. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i7-10750H if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i5-8400 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.