Buy on Amazon
$90
In Stock
AvailabilityMSRP in USD: $133
Availability
MSRP in USD: $133
Availability
Availability
Key Differences
In short, we have a clear winner — Core i5-9400F outperforms the cheaper Core i3-540 on the selected game parameters, and is also a better bang for your buck! The better performing Core i5-9400F is 3288 days newer than the cheaper Core i3-540.
Advantages of Intel Core i3-540
- Up to 20% cheaper than Core i5-9400F - $90.0 vs $112.0
- Works without a dedicated GPU, while Intel Core i5-9400F doesn't have integrated graphics
Advantages of Intel Core i5-9400F
- Performs up to 35% better in Starfield than Core i3-540 - 58 vs 43 FPS
- Up to 8% better value when playing Starfield than Core i3-540 - $1.93 vs $2.09 per FPS
- Consumes up to 11% less energy than Intel Core i3-540 - 65 vs 73 Watts
- Can execute more multi-threaded tasks simultaneously than Intel Core i3-540 - 6 vs 4 threads
Starfield
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra
Core i3-540
Desktop • Jan 7th, 2010
FPS
43
74.13793103448276%
Value, $/FPS
$2.09/FPS
92.34449760765551%
Price, $
$90
100%
Intel Core i3 Processor i3-540 3.06GHz 4MB LGA1156 CPU BX80616I3540
Buy for $90 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 354101 minutes ago
Core i5-9400F
Desktop • Jan 8th, 2019
FPS
58
100%
Value, $/FPS
$1.93/FPS
100%
Price, $
$112
80%
FPS and Value Winner
Intel® Core™ i5-9400F Desktop Processor 6 Cores 4.1 GHz Turbo Without Graphics
Buy for $112 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 354102 minutes ago
TOP 5 Games
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra
Core i3-540
Desktop • Jan 7th, 2010
Core i5-9400F
Desktop • Jan 8th, 2019
Geekbench 5 Benchmarks
Intel Core i3-540 | vs | Intel Core i5-9400F |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 7th, 2010 | Release Date | Jan 8th, 2019 |
| Core i3 | Collection | Core i5 |
| Clarkdale | Codename | Coffee Lake |
| Intel Socket 1156 | Socket | Intel Socket 1151 |
Desktop | Segment | Desktop |
| 2 | Cores | 6 |
| 4 | Threads | 6 |
3.1 GHz | Base Clock Speed | 2.9 GHz |
| Non-Turbo | Turbo Clock Speed | 4.1 GHz |
| 73 W | TDP | 65 W |
| 32 nm | Process Size | 14 nm |
| 23.0x | Multiplier | 29.0x |
Intel HD | Integrated Graphics | None |
| No | Overclockable | No |
Builds Using Core i3-540 or Core i5-9400F
Starfield, 1920 x 1080, Ultra
1 FPS
$1126.99/FPS
GeForce GTX 1660
Core i5-9400F
8 GB, 120 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,126.99
In Stock
1 FPS
$1169.99/FPS
GeForce GTX 1660
Core i5-9400F
8 GB, 240 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$1,169.99
In Stock
1 FPS
$699/FPS
GeForce GTX 1650
Core i5-9400F
8 GB, 512 GB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$699
In Stock
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