Intel Core i7-8700 vs Intel Core i5-12400F

The Intel Core i7-8700, based on Coffee Lake S and introduced in 2017/2018, targeted the mainstream desktop market.

It is manufactured using the 14 nm process and offers 6 cores and 12 threads. Its integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 enables basic display output. The maximum memory bandwidth is 43 GB/s, and it uses PCIe 3.0. The Intel Core i5-12400F, based on Alder Lake S and released in early 2022, aims at the current mainstream market, especially for gaming and demanding applications.

It is manufactured using the 10 nm process and also features 6 cores and 12 threads, which are designed as performance cores. This F-model does not have an integrated graphics unit. The maximum memory bandwidth is 77 GB/s, and it supports PCIe 5.0. In a direct performance comparison, the Intel Core i5-12400F shows a significant lead of over 40 percent in single-core performance compared to the Intel Core i7-8700.

In multi-core performance, this difference is even more pronounced, with the Intel Core i5-12400F surpassing its predecessor by over 60 percent. This higher performance per core and the more modern architecture of the Intel Core i5-12400F also lead to superior performance in gaming scenarios.

Regarding energy efficiency, both processors offer a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 65W. However, the Intel Core i5-12400F achieves its higher performance with comparable or better efficiency, thanks to its more advanced 10 nm manufacturing process. For value for money, the Intel Core i5-12400F currently offers significantly better performance than the older Intel Core i7-8700, which is mostly only available on the used market.