Intel Core i5-8400H Review

Explore the Core i5-8400H! This Laptop processor is a highlight in Intel's mid-range range. Introduced in 2018, it has 4 cores and 8 threads. It operates at a base frequency of 2.5GHz, can hit up to 4.2GHz, and has a power consumption of 45W, ready to upgrade your gaming setup. The Core i5-8400H is designed on the Coffee Lake-H 14nm architecture and is a part of the respected Core i5 series.

And guess what? The Core i5-8400H is the ultimate successor to Intel's previous-gen gaming champion, the Core i5-7300HQ. The Core i5-7300HQ was based on the legendary Kaby Lake M and 14nm process, and it made its grand entrance into the gaming scene back in 2017. But now, it's time for the Core i5-8400H to take the throne and conquer the gaming world!

The best CPUs are the ones that slay frames at a price that won't make you ragequit. The Core i5-8400H totally wins this game.

The Core i5-8400H is the more expensive version of the Core i5-8300H, and it shows with its higher base and boost clock speeds: 2.5 GHz and 4.2 GHz, respectively. That's a nice boost in speed, but the real game changer is the higher power delivery (PPT). This lets the motherboard pump more juice (up to 142W) to the Core i5-8400H compared to the Core i5-8300H's limit of 45W. This extra power allows the Core i5-8400H to crank up the boost clocks even more aggressively, on both single and multiple cores. That means the performance gap between these two CPUs might be bigger than what the specs on paper suggest.

The high number of threads (over 7!) in the Intel Core i5-8400H makes it a monster for tasks that use all the cores at once (multi-threaded workloads), especially for the price. If you edit a lot of videos or work with giant spreadsheets, the Core i5-8400H will give you a noticeable performance boost.

The Intel Core i5-8400H is another impressive addition to Intel's 8 Gen of Core i5 processors. It boasts 4 cores and 8 threads, with a boost clock of up to 4.2 GHz. While the specs might not look super top-of-the-line on paper, the real-world performance you get for your $250 is fantastic.

Heads up! If you already have a Core i5-7300HQ, this new generation doesn't offer a huge jump in performance. You might be better off waiting a year to upgrade or spending more on a higher-end CPU.

One of the best things about the Intel Core i5-8400H is that it comes with a free CPU cooler! You can grab the Core i5-8400H for $250 without having to spend extra on cooling.

The Intel Core i5-8400H comes with a basic heatsink cooler, nothing fancy. But it gets the job done for this low-power CPU (TDP of 45W). You won't need a fancy aftermarket cooler unless you want to overclock it.

The gaming tests with an RTX 2080 Ti were surprising! The budget-friendly Intel Core i5-8400H (only 250)managedtooutperformthemoreexpensiveRyzen 5 3580U(286.26) in three games we tested. We know three games aren't everything, but it shows that even a 4 core CPU can still hold its own today. You can even play modern games and stream to Twitch on the Core i5-8400H (playable results, not amazing). As games get more demanding, a 4 core CPU might not be ideal, but the Core i5-8400H can hold its own for now in a pinch.

If you don't care too much about overclocking and max boost speeds, then the Intel Core i5-8300H is a good option for $250. It also has 4 cores and 8 threads, but with slightly lower clock speeds (2.3GHz base and 4GHz boost).

Can you game on Intel's Core i5 CPU? Absolutely! We got a solid 83% score in our gaming benchmarks.