Intel Core i5-9400F vs Intel Celeron N5100 vs Intel Core i9-9900K

Intel Core i5-9400F

Intel Celeron N5100

The Intel Celeron N5100 is a quad-core SoC of the Jasper Lake series that is primarily intended for inexpensive notebooks and was announced in early 2021. The four Tremont CPU cores clock between 1.1 and 2.8 GHz (single core Burst) and offer no HyperThreading (SMT). The N5100 uses 1.5 MB L2 and 4 MB L3 cache. The chip is manufactured in 10nm at Intel (most likely in the same process as Ice Lake).

Architecture

The processor architecture is called Tremont and a complete redesign compared to the old Golmont Plus cores in the predecessor. According to Intel, the single thread performance of a core could be improved by 30% on average (10 - 80% in all tests of SPECint and SPECfp).

Features

In addition to the quad-core CPU block, the SoC integrates a 24 EU Intel UHD Graphics GPU clocked from 350 - 800 MHz and a LPDDR4(x) dual channel memory controller (up to 16 GB and 2933 MHz). The chip now also partly integrates Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 8 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 14 USB 2.0/ 3.2 ports and two SATA 6.0 ports. The package got bigger and measures 35 x 24 mm (compared to 25 x 24 mm for the N5030 e.g.). The SoC is directly soldered to the mainboard (BGA) and can't be easily replaced.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system powered by the N5100 as of August 2023, it's safe to expect the chip to be 10% to 20% slower than the N6000, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned. In other words, this is a fairly slow processor that is unlikely to make anybody happy.

Power Consumption

Like most other N-class Intel processors, this Celeron has a 6 W default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit). This is rather low; a small metal plate is all it takes to dissipate heat generated by such a CPU.

The Celeron N5100 is manufactured on Intel's first-generation or second-generation [no exact data available] 10 nm process for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i9-9900K

The Intel Core i9-9900K is a high end desktop processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture. At the time of announcement in late 2018, the 9900K is the fastest Coffee Lake CPU and offers an open multiplicator for easy overclocking. The CPU integrates 8 cores (16 threads) clocked at 3.6 - 5 GHz and it needs a new Z390 based mainboard.

Thanks to the two additional cores, the performance in multi-threaded applications is up to 25 % faster than the older Core i7-8700K. The single thread performance is only slightly faster due to the higher clock speeds. As a high end desktop CPU, the i9-9900K is suited even for very demanding applications and perfect for 3D gaming.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics card is clocked at up to 1.2 GHz and offers no advantage compared to previous generations. As it is a very low end GPU, only some low demanding games like Hearthstone can be played with it (see GPU page for benchmarks).

Intel specifies the TDP at 95 Watt, so if the CPU is used in laptops a big and chunky cooling system is needed to avoid throttling and lower clock speeds under sustained loads. When overclocking the CPU, the power consumption can easily rise up to 200 Watt and higher.