Buy on Amazon
$35
In Stock
AvailabilityMSRP $133
Availability
MSRP $133
AvailabilityMSRP $199
Availability
MSRP $199
Key Differences
In short — Core i5-12400 outperforms the cheaper Core i3-540 on the selected game parameters. However, the worse performing Core i3-540 is a better bang for your buck. The better performing Core i5-12400 is 4380 days newer than the cheaper Core i3-540.
Advantages of Core i3-540
- Up to 73% cheaper than Core i5-12400 - $35.00 vs $129.99
- Up to 68% better value when playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt than Core i5-12400 - $0.23 vs $0.72 per FPS
Advantages of Core i5-12400
- Performs up to 17% better in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt than Core i3-540 - 180 vs 154 FPS
- Consumes up to 11% less energy than Intel Core i3-540 - 65 vs 73 Watts
- Can execute more multi-threaded tasks simultaneously than Intel Core i3-540 - 12 vs 4 threads
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra+
Intel Core i3 Processor i3-540 3.06GHz 4MB LGA1156 CPU BX80616I3540
Buy for $35 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 72 minutes ago
Intel Core i5-12400 Desktop Processor 18M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz
Buy for $129.99 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 82 minutes ago
Trending Games
With selected game settings
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra+
Core i3-540
Desktop • Jan 7th, 2010
Core i5-12400
Desktop • Jan 4th, 2022
Geekbench 5 Benchmarks
Core i3-540 | vs | Core i5-12400 |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 7th, 2010 | Release Date | Jan 4th, 2022 |
| Core i3 | Collection | Core i5 |
| Clarkdale | Codename | Alder Lake |
| Intel Socket 1156 | Socket | Intel Socket 1700 |
Desktop | Segment | Desktop |
| 2 | Cores | 6 |
| 4 | Threads | 12 |
3.1 GHz | Base Clock Speed | 2.5 GHz |
| Non-Turbo | Turbo Clock Speed | 4.4 GHz |
| 73 W | TDP | 65 W |
| 32 nm | Process Size | 10 nm |
| 23.0x | Multiplier | 25.0x |
| Intel HD | Integrated Graphics | UHD Graphics 730 |
| No | Overclockable | No |
PCs Using Core i3-540 or Core i5-12400
With selected game settings
68 FPS
$11.95/FPS
16 GB, 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$812.41
In Stock
51 FPS
$18.04/FPS
32 GB, 1 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD
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$919.99
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52 FPS
$17.81/FPS
16 GB, 512 GB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$926.35
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68 FPS
$13.44/FPS
16 GB, 512 GB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$913.69
In Stock
51 FPS
$19/FPS
16 GB, 512 GB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$969
In Stock
68 FPS
$17.63/FPS
16 GB, 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,199
In Stock
68 FPS
$19.69/FPS
32 GB, 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,339
In Stock
68 FPS
$26.46/FPS
64 GB, 4 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,799
In Stock
51 FPS
$28.22/FPS
64 GB, 2 TB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$1,439
In Stock
68 FPS
$19.69/FPS
32 GB, 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,339
In Stock
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