i5-12400F vs Athlon II X4 638

VS

Aggregate performance score

Athlon II X4 638
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
1.42
Core i5-12400F
2022
6 cores / 12 threads, 65 Watt
12.29
+765%

Core i5-12400F outperforms Athlon II X4 638 by a whopping 765% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking2210631
Place by popularitynot in top-1002
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data46.21
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency2.0717.89
Architecture codenameLlano (2011−2012)Alder Lake-S (2022)
Release date6 February 2012 (12 years ago)4 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$180

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads412
Base clock speed2.7 GHz2.5 GHz
Boost clock speed2.7 GHz4.4 GHz
L1 cache128 KB (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache1 MB (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache0 KB18 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size228 mm2163 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Number of transistors1,178 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+

Compatibility

Information on Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketFM1FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI-+
AVX-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F are enumerated here.

AMD-V++
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory sizeno data128 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data76.8 GB/s

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F.

PCIe versionno data5.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanesno data20

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Athlon II X4 638 1.42
i5-12400F 12.29
+765%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Athlon II X4 638 2250
i5-12400F 19520
+768%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.42 12.29
Recency 6 February 2012 4 January 2022
Physical cores 4 6
Threads 4 12

i5-12400F has a 765.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, and 50% more physical cores and 200% more threads.

The Core i5-12400F is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X4 638 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon II X4 638 and Core i5-12400F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


AMD Athlon II X4 638
Athlon II X4 638
Intel Core i5-12400F
Core i5-12400F

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.1 34 votes

Rate Athlon II X4 638 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.1 13979 votes

Rate Core i5-12400F on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Athlon II X4 638 or Core i5-12400F, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.