Best value CPU
Best Price to performance ratio : Intel i5-10400F / i5-11400F
Let’s face it, Intel i5-10400F does not make one dreams. However, it’s settled in throughout the year for three reasons:
- It has been regularly available.
- Its price has been stable.
- The competition has disappeared from this price segment.
While AMD kept its range alive by maintaining the Ryzen 5 2600, Ryzen 5 3600 and even the Ryzen 5 1600AF on the market, Team Red have decided to “pull the plug” on these references (meaning they are no longer available, or hardly available). However, an interesting alternative was offered with the Ryzen 3100 and 3300X… Both these CPUs were noticeable by their lack of availability among vendors. In these circumstances, we have seen more and more configurations based on i5-10400F or 11400F on the market.
When you see the “F” at the end of the model, it indicates that this line of CPUs do not have integrated graphics (more precisely, the intergrated graphic chip was disabled during the binning process). If you find an i5-10400 or i5-11400 “non-F” at the same price, they will offer the same kind of performance.
Intel 10400F / 11400F : A few things to consider
While the i5-10400F (or 11400F) is a wise choice in these times of scarcity and increasing prices, we must not forget that it also has some drawbacks :
- First, we are dealing with an almost architecture, if not dead. As a consequence, you will not be able to upgrade later on as Intel’s platform have changed radically with the arrival of the twelfth generation. If you don’t want to put your hands under the hood anymore, it won’t be a problem. However, if you want to make your setup scalable with time, the CPU / Motherboard / Ram platform won’t be future-proof.
- Secondly, Don’t get the wrong motherboard. A 10400F does not “require” a super advanced board to achieve its full potential. More often than not, a H410/H510 will do the trick just fine.
- Finally, you should not neglect the cooling solution. Indeed, without being too harsh, we must say that the aircooler supplied with these i5s is pretty light and rather noisy.
