Conclusion
At the end of a review, the real question always comes down to whether or not I’d recommend the product. Regarding the Ryzen 5 3400G, that question ends up being far more complicated to answer than I’d like it to be. There are simply way too many ways we can place the Ryzen 5 3400G into the proper context which skew the results into a firm yes, firm no, maybe yes, or maybe not.
From a pure performance standpoint, the CPU is a decent enough performer in its price segment. However, it gets beaten by the Core i5 9400 allot of the time which is the chief reason why a conclusion about the Ryzen 5 3400G is difficult to draw. Really, whether or not you should buy this processor comes down to a number of potential scenarios and whether or not you can flex that budget a few more dollars for a part that performs significantly better much of the time. One thing to keep in mind here is that Intel has two variants of the Core i5 9400. It also has an “F” model with the iGPU disabled. Intel charges less for this version of the CPU which is important to consider.
Pricing
At the time of this writing, the Ryzen 5 3400G can be had for $138 dollars on Amazon. At that price, it’s much cheaper than the Core i5 9400 and slightly cheaper than the Core i5 9400F. These CPUs can be had for $189.88 and $144.99 respectively. At $144.99, the Core i5 9400F is a faster processor most of the time. It costs a mere $7 more than the Ryzen 5 3400G and I think most people would agree the performance would be worth it if that $7 was the only difference in overall system cost. Conventional wisdom suggests that AMD’s platform is going to be cheaper overall. But is it? Ultimately, the answer is almost a definite yes but not by the leaps and bounds you might imagine.
The cheapest Z390 motherboard I could find that wasn’t refurbished is the ASRock Z390 Pro4 for $114 at Newegg. On the AMD side, let’s be realistic and say no one is going for anything higher-end than a B450 motherboard in most cases. I’m sticking with full ATX motherboards here as they are still statistically the best sellers. In that vein, I have found an MSI B450 Tomahawk for around $110.99. Going cheaper, I found the MSI Performance Gaming B450 Plus for $84 at Amazon. Next, you’ll need a CPU cooler for the Intel system as it doesn’t come with one and that can be done for $10 or so. It isn’t fancy but neither is the solution that ships with the Ryzen 5 3400G. Ultimately, I think you can get within $50 or $60 of the AMD system going to the Core i5 9400 and I’d argue the performance in games may be worth it.
So price-wise in the context of a whole system build, the Core i5 9400 may or may not be too much of a stretch in the grand scheme of things. Whether or not you can shoulder the extra cost is up to you but I think it’s worth it for the performance advantages the Core i5 9400 brings to the table. We never got around to overclocking the Core i5 9400 either and frankly, non-K models aren’t great at that, but it is possible to extend that performance slightly.
iGPU
With or without factoring in platform costs, the Core i5 9400 with an integrated GPU is I think a non-starter competing with the Ryzen 5 3400G. While faster on the CPU front, it costs considerably more and I think it is too expensive at this price point to justify it. We didn’t test the APU and iGPU a whole lot, but where we did the APU was faster as well. If you don’t need a discrete GPU, then AMD’s solution is clearly the better value as Intel’s costs substantially more and is generally considered weaker on the graphics front.
Arguments can always be made that Intel’s platform is more dated and that you have a longer upgrade path with AM4. This is true, but if you keep your CPU’s and motherboards for longer than a couple of years, its likely to be a moot point as AM4 is likely to be irrelevant after 2020.
Other Uses
So, distilling it all down I think if you need the integrated graphics, its AMD all the way. If you are using a discrete graphics card and your budget is absolutely fixed, AMD is still the way to go. However, extending your budget just $60 or so will net greater performance in many if not most cases. We didn’t really talk about HTPC usage scenarios or SFF usage and I think that’s something too big for the scope of this article. However, if you do start to consider those situations, the Ryzen 5 3400G makes even more sense as that brings the APU into the mix (potentially) and cuts platform costs as well as power consumption. Remember, the Ryzen 5 3400G pulled the same consumption as the 9400 did, albeit with a much greedier platform power-wise. This is a crude way of looking at it, but the Ryzen 5 3400G is going to be the more efficient CPU paired with a less power-hungry motherboard.
Final Points
Well, this conclusion ended up way more complex and longer than I had wanted. That said, it comes down to this: If you need an APU, go AMD. If you don’t and cost carries more weight with you, I’d still go AMD. If you can flex your budget a bit and are using a discreet GPU, then I think the Core i5 9400F is certainly worth a look, especially if you keep your motherboards and CPU’s long enough to avoid the need for an upgrade in the near future.
Lastly, I’m not issuing an award for this CPU despite the fact that I think its a good buy in some situations. I think whether or not it makes a good offering is entirely too conditional. It’s also not really the victor here at anything aside from being the absolute cheapest option in the segment. I also hate the fact that the naming convention is somewhat deceptive, indicating a connection to the Ryzen 3000 series this CPU doesn’t have, it is based on the 2000 series Zen+ core, not Zen 2.