Last Friday we informed you about the full list of Intel Core 12 processors, especially those in the lower ranges, and among them the successor to what we believe to be the best processor in terms of performance versus price ratio: the i5- 11400F. Well, the first samples of the i5-12400F ES have already appeared on the net. Are there any surprises?
It is not necessary to have an Intel Core i9 or an AMD Ryzen 9 to have a good PC and thus be able to play games, a good option for the most modest pockets was the i5-11400F which for less than $ 200 offers performance for enough dollars spent for the tightest budget PC gamer.
What makes this CPU different from the rest of Gen 12?
The first thing we need to see is that while the overall architecture is the same (Alder Lake-S) it’s not really a heterogeneous CPU, since Intel has taken E-Cores out of the equation and literally. It’s not a deactivation of that part of the chip with an inability to reactivate, it’s that they’re literally not there and it’s a smaller chip, since the rest of the components have been rearranged.
The packaging and socket used are the same as the rest of the range, but as these are technical samples and not final versions of the chip to be mass produced, the versions of the i5-12400F which are that appeared on eBay will not work on the Base Z690 currently on the market.
Remember that these i5-12400F ES are not intended for use in a classic PC, but rather processors that Intel sends to its technological partners to test their operation with their motherboards, RAM memories, etc.
Specifications I5-12400F ES
Keep in mind that these specs are from the engineering sample and because things will be fine tuned in the final version, where there are things like clock speeds that can vary. For example, we have versions of the i5-12400F ES with a 4 GHz Boost and another between them. 4.4 GHz.
In the CPU-X specs you can observe subtle changes, the cache configuration is 1.25MB per core, it is private for each of them and the L3 which makes LLC is 18 MB
What is our opinion? We know these are the specs on the left that match the final design of the i5-12400. How do we know? Due to the fact that another published documentation indicates this 4.4 GHz of Boost. The other reason is that each CPU has its associated identification code which is generally given in versions already designed for marketing or very close to it in time.
Its release date? Everything points to the first quarter of 2022, in any case we hope that it will follow the path of its predecessor, which has very pleasantly surprised us by what it offers at the price at which it is sold.
