All our game testing is done at 1080p to highlight the potential differences between processor generations, and as you can see there is a definite performance delta between the three Alder Lake CPUs we've benchmarked. While we're talking testing, let's talk about performance. (Image credit: Future) How does the Core i5 12400 perform? Games favour latency over raw memory frequency, and that has been highlighted in all our memory testing lately. A factor in gaming performance? Hell, no.Ī good, low-latency DDR4 kit will still hand any current DDR5 module its ass thanks to super lax timings on even the most expensive, most speedy of kits housing the new memory technology. And I'm confident pricing of these boards will continue to drop, too.īut DDR5, she is the shiny new thing, no?

You also get PCIe 4.0 support from the chipset, too, for those speedy new SSDs. The B660 chipset is here, and if you go for a DDR4 memory supporting version it is very affordable indeed. The LGA 1700 is real chonk, but is also finally now available on motherboards outside of the hyper-expensive hyper-reality of the swathe of Z690 DDR5 boards we've seen since the 12th Gen launch last year. It requires a new chipset and socket, a really big new socket. It does bear saying the Core i5 12400 does still represent a full platform upgrade for anyone picking this new processor. You're not necessarily restricted to Windows 11 to get the most out of this CPU either. The Core i5 12400 isn't really made for multithreading, so those six powerful P-Cores are more than enough for a dedicated budget gaming chip, but it also means you don't have to reckon with Intel's Thread Director and hope that the OS is apportioning work to the right cores every time, though Alder Lake's compatibility issues have supposedly been ironed out now. So yeah, the P-Cores are present and correct, but the fact it's missing those E-Cores may actually be a bit of a boon at this end of the market, rather than a glaring omission. It also offers a healthy instructions per clock (IPC) enhancement over the Cypress Cove bastardised backport architecture that came with Rocket Lake last year. Price: $209 (opens in new tab) | £198 (opens in new tab)

Memory support (up to): DDR5 4800MT/s, DDR4 3200MT/s

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