Core i7-4790K vs Ryzen 5 2400

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i7-4790K scores 24 and the Ryzen 5 2400 scores 23.1, about 4% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i7-4790K has 4 cores and 8 threads, and the Ryzen 5 2400 has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 4.4 GHz and 3.4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i7-4790K uses the LGA1150 socket and the Ryzen 5 2400 uses AM4, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 88 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 i7-4790K can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Ryzen 5 2400 reaches the Arc A580. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i7-4790K if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Ryzen 5 2400 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.