Core i5-9400F vs Core i3-9100F
Short answer: which is best?
Core i5-9400F is 30.4 % stronger than Core i3-9100F. Core i5-9400F ranks #59 of 69 measured processors at WhatFPS (5,082 CPU score over 1 verified runs). Core i3-9100F ranks #66 of 69 measured processors at WhatFPS (3,896 CPU score over 2 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 3 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | Core i5-9400F | Core i3-9100F |
|---|---|---|
| CPU score (the processor's own performance) | 5,082 | 3,896 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 4,848 | 2,890 |
| Integer (MT) | 2.1 Gop/s | 1.5 Gop/s |
| Single-thread (1T) | 0.46 Gop/s | 0.43 Gop/s |
| Draw calls/s (DX11) | 7,013,036 | 6,334,804 |
| Cores / threads | 6 / 6 | 4 / 4 |
| L3 cache | 9 MB | 6 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 i5-9400F · All measurements for Core i3-9100F