Intel Core i5-8400H vs Intel Core i5-14401E vs Intel Core i5-9400H

Intel Core i5-8400H

The Intel Core i5-8400H is a high-end processor for laptops with four cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture and will be announced early 2018. The processor clocks at between 2.5 and 4.2 GHz (4.1 with 4 cores) and can execute up to eight threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process.

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now six cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

The Intel Core i5-8400H should perform similar as the older Core i7-7920HQ (3.1 - 4.1 GHz). The faster Coffee Lake CPUs, like the Core i7-8750H offers two additional cores and is therefore up to 50% faster in multithreaded benchmarks. Still, the performance of the i5-8400H should be sufficient for even demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a slightly higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz (rumored). The architecture is identical to that of the Intel HD Graphics 630. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i5 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions. Using cTDP-down, the CPU can also be configured to 35 Watt resulting in a reduced performance.

Intel Core i5-14401E

The Intel Core i5-14401E is a peculiar Raptor Lake family desktop processor (SoC) that has 6 performance cores but 0 efficient cores. It's the lack of E-cores that makes 14X01 chips special.

The product has decently sized level 2 and 3 caches at 12 MB and 24 MB, respectively. Its CPU cores run at up to 4.7 GHz. The UHD 730 serves as the integrated graphics solution. There is no 'proper' NPU here.

The i5 chip is manufactured using the Intel 7 process which is fairly old, as of mid 2025. Its base TDP sits at 65 W by default which is the standard value for desktop CPUs.

The i5-14401TE has slightly lower CPU clock speeds and wattage but is otherwise identical to the i5-14401E.

Performance

While we have not tested a single 14X01 processor as of May 2025, we do know that a single 4.6 GHz Raptor Cove core, like that of an i5-13450HX is good for 102 Cinebench 2024 points and 246 Cinebench R15 points. (The 14401E can run at up to 4.7 GHz, to remind you.) If we multiply the values by 6, we get a reasonably fair projection that sees the 14401E being just a little ahead of newer but not particularly powerful chips like Intel's Ultra 5 228V (Lunar Lake product family) and older chips of the more powerful kind, like AMD's Ryzen 7 5800H (Cezanne family, Zen 3 architecture). While not particularly impressive, this is most certainly sufficient for any tasks and applications one could run in 2025, top games included.

Intel Core i5-9400H

The Intel Core i5-9400H is a high-end processor for laptops with four cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture (2019 refresh, CFL-HR). The processor clocks at between 2.5 and 4.3 GHz (4.1 with 4 cores) and can execute up to eight threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process. Compared to the predecessor, the Core i5-8400H from 2018, the 9300H is only clocked slightly higher (+100 MHz CPU Turbo, +50 MHz GPU).

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now six cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

The Intel Core i5-9400H should perform similar as the older Core i7-7920HQ (3.1 - 4.1 GHz). The faster Coffee Lake CPUs, like the Core i7-9750H offers two additional cores and is therefore up to 50% faster in multithreaded benchmarks. Still, the performance of the i5-9400H should be sufficient for even demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a slightly higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz. The architecture is identical to that of the Intel HD Graphics 630. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i5 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions. Using cTDP-down, the CPU can also be configured to 35 Watt resulting in a reduced performance.

Beware, the CPU was not yet released at the time of writing and the information is based on leaks and early price list information (e.g. by Intel or on Baidu).