Intel Core i5-13400 Confirmed to Have Two Different Versions

The Core i5-x400 & x400F have become a staple in building budget PCs in recent years, offering just enough cores/threads at a decent enough price, these chips are the go-to bang for the buck from Intel especially when it comes to gaming builds.

For many generations now, all Core i5 offerings from Intel starting with 8th-gen Coffee Lake-S came with 6-cores/12-threads, but unlike all of its x400 predecessors, the Core i5-13400 Raptor Lake processor however breaks the mold, offering 10-cores (six Raptor Cove P-cores + four Gracemont E-cores), and a total of 16-threads.

Thanks to the addition of these efficiency cores, this puts the core i5-13400 in an interesting position, not only does it share the same DNA with its x400 predecessors, it is now a more well-rounded chip, suitable for more demanding multi-threaded workloads, with the E-cores themselves reported to be currently at around Skylake IPC levels.

Core i5-13400: B0 / C0 Stepping

Back in October, before the release of the locked 13th-gen processors, GIGABYTE leaked the entire 13th-gen CPU lineup when the company released the support list for the Z790 motherboards, interestingly among the leaked information, both the Core i5-13400 / 13400F were listed with either a B0 or C0 stepping.

Intel’s official website now confirms this information, on the specification page for the Core i5-13400 on the Intel Ark database, it is listed with two spec codes, SRMBF for B0 steeping & SRMBP for C0 stepping (SRMBG & SRMBN codes for the 13400F). This means that if you order a Core i5-13400/13400F your chip could be based on either die.

Note: No matter which CPU die is used, Intel will trim any additional cores so that the 13400 will always end up a 10-core SKU with a 6P+4E configuration, and there shouldn’t be any noticeable performance differences between the two.

This is not the first time that Intel uses two dies concurrently for the same CPU, as the previous 12th-gen Core i5-12400 also used either the C0 or H0 die. The C0 is the larger full 8P+8E die, used for the Core i9 / Core i7 SKUs, while the H0 is a smaller 6P+0E one, and thus it is more cost-effective to use for Core i5 / Core i3 SKUs.

Since the Core i5-12400 is a 6-core model, the H0 die was mainly used in manufacturing, however, sometimes the C0 die was also used and Intel again trims the extra cores by disabling them so the Core i5-12400 will always end up being a 6-core SKU no matter which die is used.

For the most part, there is no practical difference in terms of performance if the SKU is based on either die, however, using both dies concurrently makes a lot of sense from an economics-of-scale perspective for various reasons. (e.g. in case of die defects, Intel has the flexibility of manufacturing the same SKU using the other die instead)

Intel also used the C0 die for the Core i5-12490F Black Edition that was released exclusively in China, this SKU also came with 6-cores/12-threads just like the 12400, however, it had an additional 2 MB of L3 cache and increased clock speeds. Some rumors suggest a Raptor Lake Core i5-13490F is also happening this year.

Release Date, Price, and Availability

Intel officially introduced the 13th-gen locked processors during CES 2023, however, these CPUs have been quietly listed at online retailers for over ten days now, the Core i5-13400/13400F has a $221/$209 MSRP, and you can order one at these retailers: