Apple M4 vs Intel Core i5-9400F

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Apple M4 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-9400F
Apple M4 Intel Core i5-9400F

CPU comparison

Apple M4 or Intel Core i5-9400F - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Apple M4 has 9 cores with 9 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.41 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Apple M4 was released in Q2/2024.

The Intel Core i5-9400F has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.10 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-9400F was released in Q1/2019.
Apple M series (25) Family Intel Core i5 (331)
Apple M4 (2) CPU group Intel Core i 9000 (34)
4 Generation 9
M4 Architecture Coffee Lake S Refresh
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
Apple M3 Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Core i5-10400F

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Apple M4 is a 9 core processor with a clock frequency of 0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz). The Intel Core i5-9400F has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.90 GHz (4.10 GHz).

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i5-9400F
9 Cores 6
9 Threads 6
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
0.70 GHz (4.41 GHz)
3x P-Core
A-Core 2.90 GHz (4.10 GHz)
0.74 GHz (2.85 GHz)
6x E-Core
B-Core --

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i5-9400F
Apple Neural Engine AI hardware --
16 Neural cores @ 38 TOPS AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Apple M4 (10 Core) GPU no iGPU
0.39 GHz GPU frequency --
1.40 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
3 nm Technology
2 Max. displays
160 Compute units --
1280 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
24 GB Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Apple M4 (10 Core) GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Apple M4 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-9400F can connect up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i5-9400F
LPDDR5X-7500 Memory DDR4-2666
8 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 42.7 GB/s
No ECC No
18.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 9.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 3.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Apple M4 has a TDP of 22 W, that of the Intel Core i5-9400F is 65 W.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i5-9400F
22 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
15 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Apple M4 has a 18.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i5-9400F cache has a total of 9.00 MB.

Apple M4 Characteristic Intel Core i5-9400F
3 nm Technology 14 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv9-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
-- Socket LGA 1151-2
Apple Virtualization Framework Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
macOS, iPadOS Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2024 Release date Q1/2019
-- Release price 157 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Apple M4 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (95 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-9400F to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.7 stars (14 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F (41%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Apple M4 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F (40%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
2491 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
1085 (44%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
3630 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
1346 (37%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
13060 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
5164 (40%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
1005 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
5341 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
4722 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
423 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
2407 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
74 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
9463 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
367.5 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
459 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 2.90 GHz
2550 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 4.41 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 4.10 GHz
177 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 3.90 GHz
987 (100%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Apple M4 Apple M4
9C 9T @ 0.70 GHz
38 (100%)
Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400F
6C 6T @ 2.90 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Apple M4 Intel Core i5-9400F
Apple iPad Pro 11 (2024) Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. AMD Ryzen 5 3600Intel Core i5-9400F AMD Ryzen 5 3600 vs Intel Core i5-9400F
2. Intel Core i5-9400FIntel Core i5-10400F Intel Core i5-9400F vs Intel Core i5-10400F
3. Intel Core i5-9400FIntel Core i3-9100F Intel Core i5-9400F vs Intel Core i3-9100F
4. Intel Core i5-9400FAMD Ryzen 5 3400G Intel Core i5-9400F vs AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
5. Intel Core i5-9400Intel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9400 vs Intel Core i5-9400F
6. Intel Core i5-9400FIntel Core i3-10100 Intel Core i5-9400F vs Intel Core i3-10100
7. Intel Core i5-9400FAMD Ryzen 5 2600 Intel Core i5-9400F vs AMD Ryzen 5 2600
8. Intel Core i5-9400FAMD Ryzen 5 1600 AF Intel Core i5-9400F vs AMD Ryzen 5 1600 AF
9. Intel Core i5-9500FIntel Core i5-9400F Intel Core i5-9500F vs Intel Core i5-9400F
10. Intel Core i5-9400FAMD Ryzen 3 3100 Intel Core i5-9400F vs AMD Ryzen 3 3100


back to index