Ryzen 7 9700X vs Core i5-6400
Short answer: which is best?
Ryzen 7 9700X is 251.6 % stronger than Core i5-6400. Ryzen 7 9700X ranks #11 of 99 measured processors at WhatFPS (12,221 CPU score over 12 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 13 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | Ryzen 7 9700X | Core i5-6400 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU score (the processor's own performance) | 12,221 | 3,476 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 14,156 | 2,418 |
| Integer (MT) | 8.5 Gop/s | 1.6 Gop/s |
| Single-thread (1T) | 0.89 Gop/s | 0.35 Gop/s |
| Draw calls/s (DX11) | 15,786,475 | 4,875,346 |
| Cores / threads | 8 / 16 | 4 / 4 |
| L3 cache | 32 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 Ryzen 7 9700X · All measurements for Core i5-6400