Intel Core i5-6400 vs Intel Core i5-6600T vs Intel Core i5-6500T

Intel Core i5-6400

The Intel Core i5-6400 is a desktop class quad-core CPU. The additional 4 threads are not available to the CPU as it is missing the HyperThreading support. The i5-6400 is based on Skylake architecture and clocks within the 2.7 GHz to 3.3 GHz range. 

Intel Core i5-6600T

The Intel Core i5-6600T is a frugal quad-core desktop processor based on the Skylake architecture, which was announced in August 2015. The CPU, which is manufactured in a 14 nm process, runs at 2.7-3.5 GHz and does not support Hyperthreading (only 4 threads simultaneously).

Architecture

Intel uses Skylake to replace both Broadwell as well as Haswell and therefore uses one core design for all TDP classes between 4.5-45 Watts. Several improvements of the Skylake architecture include bigger Out-to-Order-Buffer, optimizations for pre-fetching as well as bigger gains by Hyperthreading. However, the changes are small for a "Tock" – a new micro architecture – in general, so the per-MHz performance is only between 5-10 % (compared to Haswell) or less than 5 % higher (compared to Broadwell), respectively.

Performance

The performance should be similar to the old Core i5-2500K desktop processor (but at a much lower TDP) as well as the mobile Core i5-6440HQ (100 MHz lower base clock and GPU Turbo clock, 10 Watts higher TDP).

Graphics

Graphics are handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 530 with 24 EUs (Execution Units), which is clocked at 350 - 1150 MHz. Compared to the HD Graphics 4600 (Haswell, 20 EUs), the performance is increased by around 25 percent. The overall GPU performance is still low-end, so modern games can, if at all, only be played smoothly with low settings.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 35 Watts, so it can also be used in notebooks (although bigger ones).

Intel Core i5-6500T

The Intel Core i5-6500T is a frugal quad-core desktop processor based on the Skylake architecture, which was announced in August 2015. The CPU, which is manufactured in a 14 nm process, runs at 2.5-3.1 GHz and does not support Hyperthreading (only 4 threads simultaneously).

Architecture

Intel uses Skylake to replace both Broadwell as well as Haswell and therefore uses one core design for all TDP classes between 4.5-45 Watts. Several improvements of the Skylake architecture include bigger Out-to-Order-Buffer, optimizations for pre-fetching as well as bigger gains by Hyperthreading. However, the changes are small for a "Tock" – a new micro architecture – in general, so the per-MHz performance is only between 5-10 % (compared to Haswell) or less than 5 % higher (compared to Broadwell), respectively.

Performance

The performance is a bit better compared to the old Sandy Bridge Core i5-2400 (3.1-3.4 GHz, no Hyperthreading either).

Graphics

Graphics are handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 530 with 24 EUs (Execution Units), which is clocked at 350 - 1100 MHz. Compared to the HD Graphics 4600 (Haswell, 20 EUs), the performance is increased by around 25 percent. The overall GPU performance is still low-end, so modern games can, if at all, only be played smoothly with low settings.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 35 Watts, so it can also be used in notebooks (although bigger ones).