Intel i5 12400 6 Core

This Part is one of many New Parts for my first ever complete ground up build computer.All parts where selected for specific purpose for this build which will be my Media Centre PCfor my Home Theatre System once I get my gear set up.It's all new and running Windows 11 Professional as that's what I am generally use to, "Professional"that is. There is only one item I am still waiting on to arrive to complete this build which is a 3.5''front mounted Memory Card Reader Writer unit. Though I am considering an extra 120 Fan for thecase rear to add extra protection against over-heating, though unit is working great.This CPU was minimum specs I wanted for this build, and with the Motherboard, Choice!!!It's all working great.

Absolutely GREAT!

So I bought this to go in my first build. Initially wanted the 12600k, this one does what I need and more without breaking a sweat or getting hot. Using a Galahad 360 AIO my idle temps are 29c-32c under stress 55c talk about cool. I use it for gaming mainly. FS2020, ACC, BO3, GTAV, ATS, COD WWII, etc. All games are on max settings, except fs a few (2-3) settings aren’t on ultra but they are on high. Currently using a 1660 Super, upscaled to 1440p resolutions, doesn’t miss a beat. Said all of that to say this thing is a monster, usage is low, I know I’m gpu bottlenecked but I feel this thing could handle a 3090 easily. I would definitely buy again, and recommend you to buy one as well!Also do music production but haven’t installed any software as of now, If I’m ... MoreSo I bought this to go in my first build. Initially wanted the 12600k, this one does what I need and more without breaking a sweat or getting hot. Using a Galahad 360 AIO my idle temps are 29c-32c under stress 55c talk about cool. I use it for gaming mainly. FS2020, ACC, BO3, GTAV, ATS, COD WWII, etc. All games are on max settings, except fs a few (2-3) settings aren’t on ultra but they are on high. Currently using a 1660 Super, upscaled to 1440p resolutions, doesn’t miss a beat. Said all of that to say this thing is a monster, usage is low, I know I’m gpu bottlenecked but I feel this thing could handle a 3090 easily. I would definitely buy again, and recommend you to buy one as well!Also do music production but haven’t installed any software as of now, If I’m able to edit my review, I will come back and do that once I have. Had a 10th Gen I7 that did pretty good with it (heavy vst usage, low buffer settings 64-128ms), so I expect no less from this one.

Budget CPU that will do the job

Amazing CPU for the price, when I bought it was super cheap and even got the discount of 20 when buying a motherboard as well from Microcenter.Regarding performance, I use it just for gaming such as CSGO, Dota 2 or Escape from Tarkov and all the games have being performing great on a 1440p 165hz monitor(except tarkov). Of course I pair it with a RTX 3070 Ti and checked the temperatures and performance and there is not bottleneck .If you get the I5 I would definitely upgrade the Cooler. The stock cooler although it does the job, its is super laugh and the temps are high, when I changed the cooler to a Noctua the temperatures drop from 78c to 50c while playing for more that 2 hours.

Excellent CPU for High Mid-Range and Above

I finished building my first PC and after doing tons of research on the parts I wanted to use, I am super glad that I chose this CPU as my first. Temps always stay where they need to be and nearly everything is lightning-fast on my PC. I cannot speak on how well the stock cooler performs since I did not use it. I currently use an Arctic i35 cooler which is specifically designed for 12th Gen Intel and of course, that means mounting a bracket and adding thermal paste manually. Overall, the CPU performs above my expectations and based on what I have seen, Micro Center has the best price at $169.99 for this CPU. Other retailers have priced much higher. You might as well buy the CPU and your MB at Micro Center for the compatible $20 discount!

Excellent mid-range CPU

If your primary goal is playing games this is all the CPU you need, save your money for more GPU which is far more important. Because it is so power efficient you can also get by with stock cooling and a cheaper motherboard to allocate even more budget to your GPU. Get more cores and more threads if you do professional work or if you need more serious multitasking like streaming from the same PC you game on. The small subset of games that do perform better with more cores AND aren't GPU limited don't typically benefit as much from higher frame-rates. I'm using an NZXT H1 case which comes with a 140mm AIO, total overkill for this CPU. I can barely get the CPU over 105F during stress tests.

Fast processor with 6 cores and 12 threads...

I would recommend that if possible purchasers should find the slightly cheaper CPU by itself and buy another cooling device separately. The stock cooler you are paying extra for in this kit completely useless and will actually not be able to cool this CPU sufficiently with even moderate use. So plan on $30 to $125 more for another cooling device. You WILL need it! That being said, the CPU is great. I thought my old i7-4790 was pretty quick but this i5-12400 dances circles around it. If you want every feature available in this CPU and have a large build budget, pair it with a Z690 chipset motherboard. But since this CPU is not available to overclock, you can save yourself some money and get a little cheaper B660 chipset motherboard. But you'll lose a few more ... MoreI would recommend that if possible purchasers should find the slightly cheaper CPU by itself and buy another cooling device separately. The stock cooler you are paying extra for in this kit completely useless and will actually not be able to cool this CPU sufficiently with even moderate use. So plan on $30 to $125 more for another cooling device. You WILL need it! That being said, the CPU is great. I thought my old i7-4790 was pretty quick but this i5-12400 dances circles around it. If you want every feature available in this CPU and have a large build budget, pair it with a Z690 chipset motherboard. But since this CPU is not available to overclock, you can save yourself some money and get a little cheaper B660 chipset motherboard. But you'll lose a few more features than just overclocking. So read the MB specs and information thoroughly to know what you are giving up. Don't go down to the B610 chipset motherboards with this CPU as you lose far too many features. While this CPU is not as fast as it's big brothers the 12500/12600/12700/12900 series it is still a far cry faster than most anything you could get in the 10th or 11 gen CPU kits. Just keep it cool and it'll likely provide you enough power to not have to upgrade again for some time.

Outstanding CPU

Intel really delivered on this CPU -- I was in need of a new PC and debated building with the AMD5600X or similar, but when I saw this one on the horizon I waited a few weeks and I'm very glad I did! I received a 2060 as a hand-me-down basically and wanted to build a decent PC around it, aside from video card the build cost was about $700. I use my pc as an everyday system for web browsing and some gaming, no interest in overclocking or trying to max out the newest games or anything like that but still I've been extremely impressed. For a $200 CPU and a $140 motherboard this is a really great system. Everything is fast and smooth, no complaints whatsoever! Benchmark tests showed my system as top of the charts, I should be able to use this PC for 6-8 years. I'm using ... MoreIntel really delivered on this CPU -- I was in need of a new PC and debated building with the AMD5600X or similar, but when I saw this one on the horizon I waited a few weeks and I'm very glad I did! I received a 2060 as a hand-me-down basically and wanted to build a decent PC around it, aside from video card the build cost was about $700. I use my pc as an everyday system for web browsing and some gaming, no interest in overclocking or trying to max out the newest games or anything like that but still I've been extremely impressed. For a $200 CPU and a $140 motherboard this is a really great system. Everything is fast and smooth, no complaints whatsoever! Benchmark tests showed my system as top of the charts, I should be able to use this PC for 6-8 years. I'm using the stock cooler, temps are around 30-35C idle, 40-50C under normal loads, and 65-70 while gaming. I just played Halo Infinite for about 20 minutes on 1080p with Ultra settings and never surpassed 70*C. My build: Corsair 4000D Gigabyte B660M DS3H Intel I5-12400 EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 OLOy 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3600 WD Black SN750 NVMe M.2 500GB Seasonic Focus PX-750

Slightly overpriced

The Intel 12400F is a great value. However, the 12400 just barely misses the mark for value and gets into the realm of good budget hedge for anyone trying to have a decently fast computer with upgrade potential. The i3 is probably good enough for 90% of people, and for anyone already with an AMD 3000 series, an upgrade to a 5000 using the same motherboard is probably good enough.This is only for those who are building new computers and trying to hedge and have potential to reuse the motherboard for a 13th gen while also being good enough for most prosumer use. My GPU was getting too old, and because this computer didn't really need one at the moment, I decided to get the non-F version.The reason why this is bad value though, is because the F series commands so ... MoreThe Intel 12400F is a great value. However, the 12400 just barely misses the mark for value and gets into the realm of good budget hedge for anyone trying to have a decently fast computer with upgrade potential. The i3 is probably good enough for 90% of people, and for anyone already with an AMD 3000 series, an upgrade to a 5000 using the same motherboard is probably good enough.This is only for those who are building new computers and trying to hedge and have potential to reuse the motherboard for a 13th gen while also being good enough for most prosumer use. My GPU was getting too old, and because this computer didn't really need one at the moment, I decided to get the non-F version.The reason why this is bad value though, is because the F series commands so much more of a premium and because the cooler is useless. I spent literally 1.5 hours trying to get the cooler to fit on my motherboard, and the fastener just wouldn't work. And because the fastener is permanently attached, it is impossible to just use screws to salvage the cooler.Don't rely on the cooler. Thankfully, I had spare coolers, but I was really trying to use this one for this build.

The Better 5600X

The better 5600X. Performs same or better than the 5600X while being 'cheaper', as long as you don't get a ridiculously priced motherboard. Get a B660 motherboard under $200 and make sure DDR4 version and you have one of the best mid-range set-ups. DDR5 just too expensive.the MB i have is the B660M MSI PRO-A WIFI DDR4. based on reviews online, it's the best performing B660 under $200. IDK if Micro sells it, I had to get it at another retailer ($140). If you have the MSI, make sure in BIOS to select Tower/AIO cooling so it can uncap the TDP (goes up to 225W instead of being locked at 65W at default "Box Cooler"; under CBr23, having the TDP unlocked allowed it to go over it's stock TDP to 75W, giving small but nice bump in results)I put it into a 2nd gamer build ... MoreThe better 5600X. Performs same or better than the 5600X while being 'cheaper', as long as you don't get a ridiculously priced motherboard. Get a B660 motherboard under $200 and make sure DDR4 version and you have one of the best mid-range set-ups. DDR5 just too expensive.the MB i have is the B660M MSI PRO-A WIFI DDR4. based on reviews online, it's the best performing B660 under $200. IDK if Micro sells it, I had to get it at another retailer ($140). If you have the MSI, make sure in BIOS to select Tower/AIO cooling so it can uncap the TDP (goes up to 225W instead of being locked at 65W at default "Box Cooler"; under CBr23, having the TDP unlocked allowed it to go over it's stock TDP to 75W, giving small but nice bump in results)I put it into a 2nd gamer build with a 3070 at 1440P and it's cool and great!!

The Sweet Spot

When you drive on the street, would you be able to realize the power of a race car? For me, I would rather get something that gets the job done that can drive at slightly above the speed limit and never below the speed limit. Analogously, that would be this i5-12400. The price is economical. The CPU is efficient because it takes less watts and produces less heat than an i7. It is slightly faster than I need it to be (in AAA games, my FPS is bottlenecked by my RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and in esports titles I can get 165+ FPS). Most importantly, it is fast for enough to feel snappy because I hate it when something freezes even for a split second.