• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

i5 12400 or Ryzen 5 5600?

Soldato
Joined
29 Aug 2010
Posts
8,233
Location
Cornwall
So my SFF PC seems to have died (turn it on and it doesn't post, GPU fans spin up, then spin down, then spin up, then spin down, etc.).

I'm coming from a Ryzen 3 1400 paired with an old 1070. It's only used for light occasional gaming and media duties.

So looking to replace it and thinking about either the i5 12600 or Ryzen 5 5600. Which is my best bet?
Also it's in a Silverstone ML08 case so there is not much CPU cooler clearance (147mm if memory serves). So I need something that doesn't run very hot. I don't think the stock Ryzen cooler will fit, not sure if the 12400 cooler will (does it even come with one?) and is it any good?

Would I be better off considering the Ryzen 5 5500 or i3 12100? Would they be upgrades from a Ryzen 3 1400 (@3.5GHz)?

Thanks.
 
I wouldn’t bother with a 5500, it’s essentially the same performance as a 3600.

12100 is obviously only a 4 core part but quite capable. 12400 is a good step up to 6 cores and would probably be what I would get.

Depends how much power you need though, are you playing games on this or just streaming video?
 
Also it's in a Silverstone ML08 case so there is not much CPU cooler clearance (147mm if memory serves).
58mm height
will fit a wraith stealth, but not a wraith prism
will also fit a stock intel cooler

Would I be better off considering the Ryzen 5 5500 or i3 12100? Would they be upgrades from a Ryzen 3 1400 (@3.5GHz)?
do you have any spare components to diagnose the fault?
if able to diagnose the fault then this will be the cheapest option ofc
 
5600 and 12400 are very similar performance, so it comes down to features and preference really. Such as the i5 has an iGPU if that might be of any use to you (ie media encoding/decoding).
 
58mm height
will fit a wraith stealth, but not a wraith prism
will also fit a stock intel cooler


do you have any spare components to diagnose the fault?
if able to diagnose the fault then this will be the cheapest option ofc
Why did I put 147mm, I must've been thinking 47mm, but would've still been wrong. I tried the Stealth cooler with the 1400 but it wasn't up to much. I've been using the Prism (I think) heatsink with a Cryorig C7 fan fitted instead of the default.

No, don't have any spare parts I could use other than a spare GPU and some RAM, both of which I tried. So thinking it has to be CPU, mobo or at a push PSU but it seems things are still getting power.
 
5600 and 12400 are very similar performance, so it comes down to features and preference really. Such as the i5 has an iGPU if that might be of any use to you (ie media encoding/decoding).
I'd probably use the 1070 if I wanted to boost encoding, although I don't believe GPUs give as good a results as CPUs.
Since it's in such a small case OCing isn't really a concern but undervolting might be nice to keep temps down. Also from that point of view if the Intel default cooler fits and is decent then that might be tempting.

Either way finding decent inexpensive mITX boards isn't easy, so that may also play a factor.
 
I'd probably use the 1070 if I wanted to boost encoding, although I don't believe GPUs give as good a results as CPUs.
Since it's in such a small case OCing isn't really a concern but undervolting might be nice to keep temps down. Also from that point of view if the Intel default cooler fits and is decent then that might be tempting.

Either way finding decent inexpensive mITX boards isn't easy, so that may also play a factor.

Yes ITX is often left behind. Another thing to note is that the AMD CPU is more efficient and probably easier to cool, something that will help in an ITX build. I have a 3600 in my ITX and it's great.
 
Would I be better off considering the Ryzen 5 5500 or i3 12100? Would they be upgrades from a Ryzen 3 1400 (@3.5GHz)?

Yes, but as said above, try to get a 5600 because it is a decent step up from a 5500. The i3-12100 is a fair chunk slower than a 5600, but will blow away a 1400, despite having the same core count. The i3-12100 performs not far off an i5-11400F. There's nothing between a 5600 & 12400, whichever has the cheaper/better board.
 
I wouldnt got for a 5600 in a SFF it will be too hot. My son has one and even with a 280mm AIO its a little toasty at idle. Thats in an ATX midi size case.
Have you thought about a 13400f ? 65w TDP, with my other sons 120mm AIO it idles around 24c. Just picked it up for £218. Really good fast CPU comes with its own redesigned cooler.
 
Last edited:
I wouldnt got for a 5600 in a SFF it will be too hot.
so he should go intel as they run cool... are you mad man

13400f ? 65w TDP
intels new way of guessing TDP is to not include boost

My son has one and even with a 280mm AIO its a little toasty at idle.
and yet mine with a 120mm aio in an ITX case overclocked to 4.75Ghz sites at 38c idel and games at 60c....
we shall await the stock intel numbers

Really good fast CPU comes with its own redesigned cooler.
that wont fit in his case
 
Last edited:
Why did I put 147mm, I must've been thinking 47mm, but would've still been wrong. I tried the Stealth cooler with the 1400 but it wasn't up to much. I've been using the Prism (I think) heatsink with a Cryorig C7 fan fitted instead of the default.

No, don't have any spare parts I could use other than a spare GPU and some RAM, both of which I tried. So thinking it has to be CPU, mobo or at a push PSU but it seems things are still getting power.
Yeah the wraith stealth is pretty bad tbh and would definitely get an aftermarket cooler.
Shame you cannot narrow down the offending component. If it was the CPU a 3600/4500/5500/5600 would be a drop in upgrade (assuming you have the correct bios/bios flashback)
 
Yeah the wraith stealth is pretty bad tbh and would definitely get an aftermarket cooler.
Shame you cannot narrow down the offending component. If it was the CPU a 3600/4500/5500/5600 would be a drop in upgrade (assuming you have the correct bios/bios flashback)
Yeah, I was thinking if going the AMD route to buy the CPU first and try that, but I didn't update the BIOS to the version that supports newer chips and the board doesn't have flashback.
It's the ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac and if you look at the BIOS page there's a whole bunch that basically say "not recommended if you're using pretty much any CPU". It was only November last year they released a new BIOS (other than the bridge BIOS) that didn't have that warning. As it happens I was just thinking of updating the BIOS because I was having memory issues, then something died...

EDIT: I do have a Noctua Noctua NH-L9i with AM4 adaptor kit, but I'm not sure if it'll be any good as it's tiny.
 
Last edited:
I just built a system for my missus' brother and had a similar decision. I put the 12400 in it and it barely hit 60c under full load in CBr23 and this was with the fans always in silent mode ~600rpm with an old Noctua D14.
 
I really feel like people try to be budget-minded with tech and it just ends up causing them to have to upgrade sooner and eats the savings up

By this I mean if you're considering a 12400, how much more could the 13600k be? It's such an impressive part that savings 100 bucks to avoid it just seems backwards to me,

For the record I'm on a 7600x(very happy with it, I only game and watch movies) but if it wasn't at the very start of a new socket, I'd have got the 13600k

If you already have a mobo for the 5600x, it's a great part too. But Idk about buying new years old parts
 
I really feel like people try to be budget-minded with tech and it just ends up causing them to have to upgrade sooner and eats the savings up

By this I mean if you're considering a 12400, how much more could the 13600k be? It's such an impressive part that savings 100 bucks to avoid it just seems backwards to me,

For the record I'm on a 7600x(very happy with it, I only game and watch movies) but if it wasn't at the very start of a new socket, I'd have got the 13600k

If you already have a mobo for the 5600x, it's a great part too. But Idk about buying new years old parts
I'd never cool a 13600k.
Besides which it feels like overkill for something that will mostly just be used for media playback. The amount of gaming I expect to do on it doesn't justify going to powerful.
 
I really feel like people try to be budget-minded with tech and it just ends up causing them to have to upgrade sooner and eats the savings up

By this I mean if you're considering a 12400, how much more could the 13600k be? It's such an impressive part that savings 100 bucks to avoid it just seems backwards to me,

For the record I'm on a 7600x(very happy with it, I only game and watch movies) but if it wasn't at the very start of a new socket, I'd have got the 13600k

If you already have a mobo for the 5600x, it's a great part too. But Idk about buying new years old parts

Personally, I'd consider this a more pertinent argument with a 5500 or 12100, I'd expect the 5600/12400 to last a pretty long time for light gaming.
 
so he should go intel as they run cool... are you mad man

the 13400f is 45c-50c at gaming no I`m not. Thats fortnite, Apex, and the spiderman games he has been playing.

and yet mine with a 120mm aio in an ITX case overclocked to 4.75Ghz sites at 38c idel

as I said thats toasty. Especially when the 13400f is 24c idle. I always aim for sub 30c at idle on the CPU. I've got a 5800x3d and I PBO it at -30 so I know a thing or two about AMD 5xxx series.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom