Intel Core i5-6400 vs Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-6400 CPU1 vs CPU2 Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
Intel Core i5-6400 Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i5-6400 and the Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i5-6400 4 core processor released in Q3/2015 with the Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) which has 11 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2023.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Apple M series (25)
Intel Core i 6000 (24) CPU group Apple M3 (6)
6 Generation 3
Skylake S Architecture M3
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Apple M2 Pro (10-CPU 16-GPU)
Intel Core i5-7400 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-6400 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.70 GHz (3.30 GHz). The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) clocks with 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz), has 11 CPU cores and can calculate 11 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i5-6400 Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
4 Cores 11
4 Threads 11
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.70 GHz (3.30 GHz) A-Core 0.70 GHz (4.06 GHz)
5x P-Core
-- B-Core 0.74 GHz (2.75 GHz)
6x E-Core

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

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. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i5-6400 Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
-- AI hardware Apple Neural Engine
-- AI specifications 16 Neural cores @ 35 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Intel HD Graphics 530 GPU Apple M3 Pro (14 Core)
0.35 GHz GPU frequency 0.39 GHz
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.40 GHz
9 GPU Generation --
14 nm Technology 3 nm
3 Max. displays 3
24 Compute units 224
192 Shader 1792
No Hardware Raytracing Yes
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory 36 GB
12 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.

Intel HD Graphics 530 GPU Apple M3 Pro (14 Core)
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 64 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i5-6400, while the Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) supports a maximum of 36 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i5-6400 Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
DDR4-2133, DDR3-1600 Memory LPDDR5-6400
64 GB Max. Memory 36 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 153.6 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 36.00 MB
6.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i5-6400 has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP of the Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) is 35 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i5-6400 Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-6400 has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 14 nm. The cache of Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) is at 36.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 3 nm.

Intel Core i5-6400 Characteristic Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
14 nm Technology 3 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
LGA 1151 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems macOS, iPadOS
Q3/2015 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-6400 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (4 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.9 stars (223 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-6400 (36%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-6400 (21%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) (100%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
841 (36%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
2305 (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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
2706 (20%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
13255 (100%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1134 (36%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
3125 (100%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
3086 (22%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
13755 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
Intel HD Graphics 530 @ 1.15 GHz
442 (9%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
Apple M3 Pro (14 Core) @ 1.40 GHz
4970 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
139 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
847 (100%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
1889 (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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
13289 (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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
275 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
1061 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
5177 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
730 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
359 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
1360 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 0.70 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
140 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 4.06 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
497 (100%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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).
Intel Core i5-6400 Intel Core i5-6400
4C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU) Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
11C 11T @ 0.70 GHz
35 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-6400 Apple M3 Pro (11-CPU 14-GPU)
Unknown Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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