Intel Core i5-13400F vs Core i5-13600KF: Which is the best Core i5 CPU in gaming?

The Intel Core i5-13400F and Core i5-13600KF are two of the most popular CPUs from Intel in the budget category. However, budget doesn't mean slow, not at all. In fact, these two processors are among the fastest in their respective price brackets. While the two CPUs sport the same Core i5 moniker, they have different specs, and their real-world performance varies a lot.

However, which is the best Core i5 CPU in gaming? Core i5-13400F or Core i5-13600KF? That's what we are going to find in this article with a detailed comparison of the two processors.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.

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Intel Core i5-13400F vs Core i5-13600KF

Both Intel Core i5-13400F and Core i5-13600KF CPUs are based on the same Raptor Lake architecture but have different core counts, cache, and other things. Let's compare the two processors in detail, starting with their specs.

Specifications

Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs (Image via Intel)

Here's the full spec list of the two CPUs:

Specifications	Intel Core i3-13400F	Intel Core i3-13600KF
Cores	10	14
Threads	16	20
Base frequency	2.5 GHz	3.5GHz
Max frequency	4.6 GHz	5.1 GHz
L2 cache	9.5 MB	20 MB
L3 cache	20 MB	24 MB
RAM support	DDR4-3200 DDR5-5600	DDR4-3200 DDR5-5600
Overclocking support	No	Yes
Thermal design power (TDP)	65W typical | 148W Max	125W typical | 181W Max
Manufacturing node	10nm	10nm
Socket	LGA 1700	LGA 1700
Price	$171.40	$234.99

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Synthetic benchmarks

Let's check how Intel Core i5-13400F and Core i5-13600KF perform in some of the popular benchmarks like Geekbench, Cinebench, and CPU-Z:

Benchmarks	Intel Core i5-13400F	Intel Core i5-13600KF
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)	1794	2021
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)	15890	24125
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	2375	2639
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	9712	16192
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)	674	829
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)	6282	9848

On average, the Intel Core i5-13600KF is 13.3% faster in single-core benchmarks, which will deliver a faster app and system performance. It is also a whopping 57.5% faster than the Core i5-13400F in multi-core tests, which will lead to a significantly faster performance in productivity.

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Gaming performance benchmarks

Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs (Image via Intel)

While there is a huge difference in synthetic benchmarks, will this translate to gaming performance? Let's find out with a proper gaming test. All the FPS numbers in the table below were provided by the "Benchmarks for Gamers" channel on YouTube.

Note: The test was done at 1080p resolution with high/ultra and ray tracing settings. The RTX 4090 GPU was used here to stress the CPUs.

Games	Intel Core i5-13400F	Intel Core i5-13600KF
Returnal	141 FPS	180 FPS
Hogwarts Legacy	55 FPS	73 FPS
Dead Space	139 FPS	172 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077	98 FPS	123 FPS
Spider-Man: Miles Morales	99 FPS	107 FPS
Microsoft Flight Simulator	61 FPS	72 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	172 FPS	199 FPS
COD Warzone	146 FPS	186 FPS

The performance lead of Intel Core i5-13600KF can also be seen on the gaming side. On average, it is 22% faster in games than the Core i5-13400F. In some games like Returnal and Dead Space, the performance lead of the Intel Core i5-13600KF is significant. But in games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the performance difference between the two CPUs is less noticeable.

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Price

The Intel Core i5-13400F currently costs $171.40, while the Core i5-13600KF costs $234.99. The price difference between the two CPUs is 36%, but the latter is 22% faster in gaming and 57.5% better in productivity.

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Which is the best Core i5 CPU in gaming

The Intel Core i5-13600KF is clearly the best Core i5 processor out of the two. It is faster than the Core i5-13400F in every sense of way, whether gaming, general app performance, system performance, or even productivity.