Core i5-8600K vs Core i5-6400

Short answer: which is best?

Core i5-8600K is 57.1 % stronger than Core i5-6400. Core i5-8600K ranks #78 of 99 measured processors at WhatFPS (5,461 CPU score over 1 verified runs). Core i5-6400 ranks #95 of 99 measured processors at WhatFPS (3,476 CPU score over 1 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 2 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.

Measured comparison

MetricCore i5-8600KCore i5-6400
CPU score (the processor's own performance)5,4613,476
Best rig (GAMING — whole PC)2,9082,418
Integer (MT)3.2 Gop/s1.6 Gop/s
Single-thread (1T)0.47 Gop/s0.35 Gop/s
Draw calls/s (DX11)7,825,1714,875,346
Cores / threads6 / 64 / 4
L3 cache9 MB6 MB

What the numbers mean

The CPU score is the processor's own performance — that is what we rank on. GAMING is the whole rig's score in the best PC we measured the processor in, and leans heavily on the graphics card. A strong processor in a weak PC gets a low GAMING score without being worse. We show both and never mix them.

All numbers come from our benchmark suite: four hand-built 3D scenes written directly against the graphics APIs in Rust, the same load on every PC. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik

All measurements for Core i5-8600K · All measurements for Core i5-6400