Intel BX80684I58400 8th Gen Core i5-8400 Processor
Please note that my mini-review is based on the limited in store testing, I am still waiting for my CPU to arrive so I can confirm the findings.
To sum up, i5-8400 is currently the most affordable way to get a six core Intel build. It works out at $30 per core, which is even less than a cost per core of previous generation Kaby Lake CPUs.
The downsides are - the multiplier overclocking is disabled and the base clock is pretty low, the TDP is limited to 65W.
In practice what this means is a lot of benchmarks that can take advantage of 6 cores will look better than a 4-core CPU, but in single threaded tasks or some games, faster clocked cores can still give better responsiveness.
The i5 8400 offers more than good enough performance for most tasks and uses very little power in idle and is still limited to around 65Watts under load. In my view this makes it a very good CPU choice for a main productivity/gaming machine that is powered on 24/7 or most of the day.
The 6 cores future-proof the computer in case one suddenly wants to try their talents and a video game streamer or something similar.
Paired with 370 chipset it also opens up a possibility of an upgrade, if someone really finds this CPU to be too limiting.
Overall, I find this particular CPU to be of very good value currently and also offering enough performance for the majority of computing tasks - hence 5 stars.
| Processor | 2.8 GHz core_i5 |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 2800 MHz |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
