News Intel Core i5-11400 Review: Unseating Ryzen's Budget Gaming Dominance

[watzupken]

There's no denying that Intel's i5 11400 and 11500 are good value processors, especially one that AMD has no response to. I feel AMD have altogether given up on being the budget option now that they are selling out every single Ryzen chip they can get out from TSMC.

I actually bought a 11500 with the intention of using it in an ITX rig. However I ran into an issue where I am not able to find a good value B560 ITX board. Most if not all that I found costs more than the processor, which kind of negates the savings from the CPU. In the end, I returned the CPU. In short, one should not look at the cost of the CPU in silo.

 

[Why_Me]

There's no denying that Intel's i5 11400 and 11500 are good value processors, especially one that AMD has no response to. I feel AMD have altogether given up on being the budget option now that they are selling out every single Ryzen chip they can get out from TSMC.

I actually bought a 11500 with the intention of using it in an ITX rig. However I ran into an issue where I am not able to find a good value B560 ITX board. Most if not all that I found costs more than the processor, which kind of negates the savings from the CPU. In the end, I returned the CPU. In short, one should not look at the cost of the CPU in silo.

Not a B560 board but worth having a look at imo.

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144400

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H510I-PRO-WIFI

 

[yankeeDDL]

I'm not sure I agree with the praises. The 11400 is marginally faster than a 2-year old CPU that consumes half the power.
It does not seem such a great deal to me.

 

[InvalidError]

By that time wont the 5600G negate the performance crown if it comes in at the sub 200 price (pre covid) lol? It supposedly will hit retail in the next two months.

AMD's IGP will be 2-3X more powerful than Intel's and the CPU side will be almost on par with the $300 5600X so unless AMD slashes prices to keep things proportional, the 5600G will likely be a $300+ part.

With the APUs being smaller dies than GPUs and most of the profits going straight to AMD instead of AIBs and other parts vendors with GPUs, it is actually quite puzzling that AMD isn't pushing APUs like mad at a time where it could clean "budget" buyers' banks with $350 5600Gs.

I actually bought a 11500 with the intention of using it in an ITX rig. However I ran into an issue where I am not able to find a good value B560 ITX board. Most if not all that I found costs more than the processor, which kind of negates the savings from the CPU.

Parts choices and prices at launch are often all over the place, that's the early adopter tax at work. If you aren't in a hurry, wait for inventory and prices to settle - and pray that component shortages won't make prices settle upwards.

Not a B560 board but worth having a look at imo.

The Asus B560 TUF looks decent, the cheaper stuff is quite horrid. Yes, the launch-month lower-end selection leaves much to be desired.

I'm not sure I agree with the praises. The 11400 is marginally faster than a 2-year old CPU that consumes half the power.

The 11400 all-stock/2933MTs beats the 3600X+PBO+(unclear what the PBO mclk was, either 3200 or 3600 MTs) by 10+% in most benchmarks and ties much of the rest while consuming 30% less power despite its process and RAM speed handicaps. I'd call that truly impressive.

Being able to unlock the power limit and run circles around the boosted 3600X at the expense of power efficiency is a bonus.

 

[Why_Me]

I'm not sure I agree with the praises. The 11400 is marginally faster than a 2-year old CPU that consumes half the power.
It does not seem such a great deal to me.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i5_11400f_processor_review,23.html

Intel Core i5-11400F Review: The New Value Champ

The Core i5-11400F coupled with a B560 motherboard make for an interesting build configuration, as it's significantly cheaper than the Core i5-11600K/Z590 and less than the cost...

www.techspot.com

 

[-Fran-]

H410? Your a generation off in MB chipsets. The 10400F beats the 3600 eight out of ten games. The 11400F annihilates it.

Intel i5 11400F <--- $175

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157994 <--- $135

or ...

https://www.provantage.com/msi-b560mbaz~7MSTB127.htm <--- $141

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RR-212S-20PK-R1-Contact-Silencio/dp/B07H25DYM3/ < --- $39

You were already corrected, so I won't repeat it, but for a "true" budget (lowest price you can get), then the 11400 siblings are tricky to build around. At that point, you have to just question if it's really worth it to go so cheap with Intel.

Cheers!

 

[ginthegit]

What happens in the future is just that .. the future. Presently the 11400F/11400 is the budget king.

Did you see the Benchmarks. Intel ruling in Mostly Synthetics. Nice... The King!

Games generally show the Ryzen (actual proper benchmarks) Knocking out better stats.

 

[Soaptrail]

This is an interesting topic, I have to say. I recently built an HTPC around the 5600X, only because of how power efficient it is and the absurd amount of performance it brings to the table at that power point. I wouldn't say it's a "cheap" thing/platform to build around, but it is definitely something you may want to seriously consider if price is not an objection. I'm not using AIO or Liquid anything and I have to say it beats my 3800XT in almost everything with half the cooling capability (case, airflow and cooler). It's bonkers:

• CM Elite 361
• beQuiet! Rock TF 2
• 2x80mm beQuiet! fans
• 1x120mm Noctua fan

In any case (pun not intended), this is not to say the 11400(F) doesn't have a place in the world or in any build, but an "SFF" or even HTPC build... I'm not sure... I'd be willing to seriously question it, specially when the 5600X can run under 50W if you want it to without losing much of its peak performance. Unless you want it (edit: the Intel parts) to thermal throttle or you have liquid cooling for it, but then again why use it instead of something better from Intel or AMD? That's kind of where I'm coming from, since if you're going to be using this CPU with a "budget" mentality, you'll have to also consider everything else budget. That being said, there are some good coolers at around ~$40 that would do a way better job than the Intel stock one, but that still makes it too darn close to the much cooler options from AMD, so...



Ah, I knew I missed something. Thanks for mentioning it, Paul.

Regards!

This touches on my biggest complaint to this review, that liquid cooling numbers on the charts are nice but in a realistic budget scenario it should be replaced at appended with a decent budget fan cooler. You can use an AIO on the 114000 but I suspect a decent and affordable cooler will be a much more common choice.

But I am also biased as someone who does not have any plans to go AIO or liquid cooling I always want to see a more middle of the road option in reviews. But i get that reviews want to show the best possible scenario. Maybe Tom's could do one fairly straight forward game and add more cooling options that people use.

 

[InvalidError]

But I am also biased as someone who does not have any plans to go AIO or liquid cooling I always want to see a more middle of the road option in reviews.

I'm not a fan of liquid cooling either. The lower-end models often perform worse than a tower-style HSF costing half as much and many AiO CLCs especially at the lower end require periodic replacement every 2-4 years between failures while custom loops require periodic maintenance the frequency of which depends heavily on what is in it and is too expensive for a budget build. A simple lump of copper heat pipes and aluminum like a 212+/EVO/X will last 20+ years without any maintenance beyond the occasional dusting.

It wouldn't be reasonable to demand CPU tests for every possible power limit but one test around half-way between 65W nominal and 140W peak like 95-100W to show how much performance gets left behind for saving 40-45W and being able to use budget-friendly thermal solutions would have been nice.

 

[jgraham11]

Please read (or perhaps look at the charts) before commenting. The locked power configuration with the stock cooler is in every single chart. It is literally labeled "Core i5-11400 Stock Cooler."

Thank you Paul for responding to my comment. It would appear you didn't understand my comment: The defaults for many motherboards (MSI, Gigabyte, etc) are to ignor power limits so if you bought this processor thinking "hey this is a good one", you would be running your 65watt processor at double that. Using the stock cooler, as someone would do if it came with it. This would result in almost always thermal throttling. This shortens the life of chips and is the default behaviour for most motherboards. Interesting you didn't show the out of the box results in the Gaming and Productivity results...

In my mind this is a major issue that was only touched on in your article.

 

[Soaptrail]

I'm not a fan of liquid cooling either. The lower-end models often perform worse than a tower-style HSF costing half as much and many AiO CLCs especially at the lower end require periodic replacement every 2-4 years between failures while custom loops require periodic maintenance the frequency of which depends heavily on what is in it and is too expensive for a budget build. A simple lump of copper heat pipes and aluminum like a 212+/EVO/X will last 20+ years without any maintenance beyond the occasional dusting.

It wouldn't be reasonable to demand CPU tests for every possible power limit but one test around half-way between 65W nominal and 140W peak like 95-100W to show how much performance gets left behind for saving 40-45W and being able to use budget-friendly thermal solutions would have been nice.

Agreed, which is why they should do one graph which includes a "mainstream" cooler. It seems every reviewer uses AIO CPU cooling or the crappy stock cooler.

 

[spongiemaster]

This touches on my biggest complaint to this review, that liquid cooling numbers on the charts are nice but in a realistic budget scenario it should be replaced at appended with a decent budget fan cooler. You can use an AIO on the 114000 but I suspect a decent and affordable cooler will be a much more common choice.

A liquid AIO is overkill for a 6 core 65W CPU, and won't bring any performance to the table vs a decent air cooler.

 

[spongiemaster]

Agreed, which is why they should do one graph which includes a "mainstream" cooler. It seems every reviewer uses AIO CPU cooling or the crappy stock cooler.

For consistency. It allows sites to compare previous results. No one is going to run an 11900k with a $35 HSF. For a CPU like the 11400, there isn't going to be any real difference between an AIO and a $35 HSF at stock settings so sites aren't going to waste the time benchmarking that.

 

[salgado18]

Agreed, which is why they should do one graph which includes a "mainstream" cooler. It seems every reviewer uses AIO CPU cooling or the crappy stock cooler.

They use an AIO to remove the entire thermal issue. A mid-range cooler would improve somewhat, but could leave some performance untouched, and no way to know how much. The AIO is how you show how fast it can go if thermals weren't an issue. Everything else will depend on the cooler, but you already know it should be between those two results.

 

[InvalidError]

For a CPU like the 11400, there isn't going to be any real difference between an AIO and a $35 HSF at stock settings so sites aren't going to waste the time benchmarking that.

The point is that nobody building a budget rig around a 11400 with the intent of turning power limits off will be using a $100+ AiO to handle that 140W. If you are going to tout a CPU as a "great budget performer", you should back that declaration with at least somewhat budget-conscious hardware choices.

As others have pointed out, the 11400's "budget" creds go out of the window when you use premium everything else to push the CPU beyond what budget-friendly components that an actually budget-conscious builder would want to use can comfortably handle.

 

[spongiemaster]

The point is that nobody building a budget rig around a 11400 with the intent of turning power limits off will be using a $100+ AiO to handle that 140W. If you are going to tout a CPU as a "great budget performer", you should back that declaration with at least somewhat budget-conscious hardware choices.

As others have pointed out, the 11400's "budget" creds go out of the window when you use premium everything else to push the CPU beyond what budget-friendly components that an actually budget-conscious builder would want to use can comfortably handle.

I totally get that. My point is, it doesn't matter. If they used a decent HSF, the performance would be the same for this CPU. You don't need an $85 dollar tower cooler to keep a 65W CPU from throttling. So, if it makes you feel better, replace the AIO labels in the performance charts with HSF, and move on.

 

[InvalidError]

You don't need an $85 dollar tower cooler to keep a 65W CPU from throttling.

With power limits off, the 11400 becomes a 140W CPU.

 

[spongiemaster]

With power limits off, the 11400 becomes a 140W CPU.

Sure, but THG, and other sites, are recommending the CPU at its stock 65W configuration. As they said, it's a bonus that you can remove the 65W limit and see even more performance, but it isn't necessary to realize the value of this CPU. You're still not going to see any noteworthy performance difference between a decent HSF and an AIO at 140W.

 

[Phaaze88]

Interesting comments here that leave me 2nd guessing this cpu as a clear 'budget winner'.

 

[Why_Me]

Interesting comments here that leave me 2nd guessing this cpu as a clear 'budget winner'.

For a 'budget build' (keeping the power limits turned on) ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254134258990
ANTEC A40 PRO 92MM CPU AIR COOLER $24.90

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119385
ASUS PRIME B560M-A $109.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157978
ASRock B560M PRO4 $112.99


If you want to run that cpu 24/7 with the power limiter turned off and still come in well under the cost of a Z590 board + i5 11600K/11600KF + cpu cooler ...

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Design-Towers-Cooler-SCFM-2000/dp/B07QMK5R45
Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Heatsink $59.99

https://www.provantage.com/msi-b560mbaz~7MSTB127.htm
MSI Mag B560M Bazooka $141.42

 

[Phaaze88]

@Why_Me
Why would you post a bunch of parts, with nothing being compared to them?
Also, that elitehubs store is India only.

For a 'budget build' (keeping the power limits turned on) ...

https://elitehubs.com/antec-a40-pro/
ANTEC A40 PRO 92MM CPU AIR COOLER $24.62

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119385
ASUS PRIME B560M-A $109.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157978
ASRock B560M PRO4 $112.99

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($183.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $319.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:40 EDT-0400

If you want to run that cpu 24/7 with the power limiter turned off and still come in well under the price of a Z590 board + i5 11600K/11600KF + cpu cooler ...

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Design-Towers-Cooler-SCFM-2000/dp/B07QMK5R45
Scythe Fuma 2 CPU Heatsink $59.99

https://www.provantage.com/msi-b560mbaz~7MSTB127.htm
MSI Mag B560M Bazooka $141.42

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($183.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $386.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:48 EDT-0400



PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $285.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:47 EDT-0400

Undercut by their own 10th gen(still available for purchase) by 35USD(significant amount for low budget-oriented builders) or more...
The performance gap is trivial too; people aren't going to pair this with a 3090, so the gap between cpus is just going to decrease... Some titles actually perform worse on RL too.

 

[Why_Me]

@Why_Me
Why would you post a bunch of parts, with nothing being compared to them?
Also, that elitehubs store is India only.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($183.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $319.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:40 EDT-0400



PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($183.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $386.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:48 EDT-0400



PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 64.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $285.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-05-03 14:47 EDT-0400

Undercut by their own 10th gen(still available for purchase) by 35USD(significant amount for low budget-oriented builders) or more...
The performance gap is trivial too; people aren't going to pair this with a 3090, so the gap between cpus is just going to decrease... Some titles actually perform worse on RL too.

The point of my post is that you can accomplish a budget build with the 11400/11400F and/or a higher end build (power limits turned off) without breaking the bank. As far as people pairing those cpu's up with high end cards such as the 3070/3080 .. you'd be surprised how many people are doing that atm in order to keep the cost down so they can fit those cards in their budget. Cards such as those are meant for 1440P and at that resolution games become more gpu dependent.

 

[Nordic23]

Intel's Core i5-11400 takes the mainstream gaming segment by storm with the best blend of price and performance on the market.

Intel Core i5-11400 Review: Unseating Ryzen's Budget Gaming Dominance : Read more

You have a slight mistake in your specifications for the Intel i5 11400 processor. You report is has UHD 750 graphics. This is not true, the graphics on this model CPU are the existing UHD 730 graphics. So far, only the 11500 and the 11600k have the newer updated graphics known as UHD 750. The change between the two is not much however, the 750 has HDMI 2.0 while the 730 has HDMI 1.4 standards.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/processors/core/i5.html

 

[rtoaht]

The review is good generally but the author pounds on the “value” aspect while only paying lip service to the added cost of a decent cooler (he’s using a water cooler). Doesn’t the $50 for the decent cooler kinda moot the value especially when you factor in the considerably higher power draw? The author needs to quantify that issue not just say it in passing - one more chart in a sea of other charts wouldn’t hurt except it would take the “sting” out of the article title.

I also encourage readers to go back about a decade and read the same type of AMD vs intel reviews and pay attention to the power draw portion of the reviews and the tone/importance placed on them. Now, it’s “well...ok...yeah intel draws a lot more power BUT...” and more of an apologist piece.

It comes with a cooler. It still beats AMD in performance per dollar with the included cooler. Also keep in mind AMD doesn't come with an integrated GPU while this one does. If you really don't need that, you can save even more money by opting for the i5-11400F.

 

[InvalidError]

Undercut by their own 10th gen(still available for purchase) by 35USD(significant amount for low budget-oriented builders) or more...

Give prices a couple of weeks to settle and for the early adopter premium to fade.

And even then, having a 10th-gen CPU won't give you a functional CPU-hosted NVMe x4 slot for your primary SSD or a 4.0x16 slot to minimize any possible PCIe bottlenecking for many years to come, especially at the lower end where 4-6GB GPUs will become increasingly reliant on system memory to offset their memory deficit. Those two things alone can be enough to justify the extra $30 for people who keep their PCs for a long time.

Edit: BTW, having an unusable slot on a 400/500 platform due to 10th-gen's lack of extra PCIe lanes for the primary NVMe slot would annoy the heck out of me even if I had no intention of ever using it.

So far, only the 11500 and the 11600k have the newer updated graphics known as UHD 750. The change between the two is not much however, the 750 has HDMI 2.0 while the 730 has HDMI 1.4 standards.

All of the 11th-gen i5-i9 are merely different bins of the same die and have the exact same display output capabilities when you pull them up in the comparator view. The only major difference between UHD730 and UHD750 is that the UHD730 has 25% fewer EUs: 24 vs 32. The UHD750 also has a 100MHz stock clock advantage.