Question 1

Does this contain the thermal paste as well as the heat-sink and fan? also is this compatible with the Intel B360 Chipset?

Accepted Answer

Hello,

This CPU does come with a stock Intel cooler and should be compatible with the B360 chipset, but as other customers have pointed out you might need to install a BIOS update to your motherboard in order for the board to recognize and use the 9th gen CPU.

As another customer mentioned a better CPU cooler would be highly recommended since the stock cooler isn't very good, just adequate.  I would also recommend better thermal compound (I will link recommendations below) to help keep temps down.

The only boards that we currently have available that will support 9th gen CPUs out of the box are Z390 chipset motherboards which are obviously a bit more expensive.  Hope this helped!

Question 2

I'm building my first PC. I've tentatively chosen my motherboard. Will this CPU work with the MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PLUS LGA 1151 (300 Series) motherboard?? It says it supports 9000 series family. This CPU is 9400. Am I to assume "9400" and "9000 family" are the same here, even tho it's i5?

Accepted Answer

Yep it’s compatible, just be aware the “F” means this processor has no built in graphics adapter and will require a PCI-E graphics card to function.

Question 3

How is the stock fan? Should i consider a 3rd party fan? Thanks

Accepted Answer

The fan is your typical (nowadays) Intel E97379-003 -with pretty short aluminum fins. That said, running Prime95 continuously, with all cores at 4-4.1GHz, the max temps are at 68C, which is well below any concern. I always replace the stock thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5. However, I did notice that the stock thermal paste on the cooler, as received, was NOT hardened at all, and I suspect that it would have also performed just fine. The acceptable condition of the stock thermal paste is probably due to these being newly released and not having sat on the shelf for long.

Question 4

I'm Debating to buy this over my Intel I5 6th Gen. What would it help with gaming wise?

Accepted Answer

Not much really, but that depends on the game you're playing. I have two PCs setup for my kids. My daughter has the i5-9400F with 2400MHz DDR4 and my son has the i5-3570 with 1600MHz DDR3. Both of them have an RX580 4GB and Windows 10 loaded on an SSD. I can see no noticeable difference in any of the games they play on their 1080p monitors. Unless you're targeting 144Hz or 4K I wouldn't bother upgrading from your 6th gen right now. Wait until 10th gen comes out next year and they move to 10nm lithography and a new motherboard chipset. I would expect more gains there than you could get switching between 14nm chips.

Question 5

I just picked up a Core I3 8100 a few months ago and I'm very happy with the performance. I'm playing AC Odyssey and Sekiro in High-Ultra detail at 4K on a GTX 98o TI. Would I see any benefit in upgrading to this CPU?

Accepted Answer

You might see a slight increase in performance upgrading the CPU but those games are more graphics driven so video card upgrade would be more noticable. Honestly though I would wait until you need to upgrade to use or play some other software. I have upgraded cpu/gpu in the past and not seen any boost and it is very disappointing.

Question 6

What is a a good CPU cooler for the I5-9400F?

Accepted Answer

I used the one that came in the box with it. Core i5-9400F lacks integrated graphics, which isn't an issue for those who already use add-in GPUs and It helps it to run cooler, it's locked so you can't overclock anyway.

Question 7

Will the I5-9400F CPU work with a MSI Z370M Mortar motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as shown in the MSI motherboard's Processor Support page
(/Motherboard/support/Z370M-MORTAR#support-cpu)
Note, however that the 9400F has no onboard graphics capability, so a discrete PCIe Graphics Card will also be needed.

Question 8

what does the description mean when it says 4.10 GHz turbo when this cpu is not overclockable?

Accepted Answer

Turbo Boost allows the CPU to run at clock speeds higher than the default speed under certain conditions, for example when only one core on the Core i5 is in use, the Turbo Boost frequency is 4.1GHz.
This processor clock-locked, which means that you can't increase the CPU multiplier beyond its rated speed via the motherboard or any cheat software. Hope this helps

Question 9

Does this processor come with a cooling fan, or will I need to buy one separately?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it comes with the stock Intel cooling fan, which is adequate for non-gaming builds. It does require a separate graphics card.

Question 10

Will a rtx 2080 work with this, I am confused on how to check what will work when it says "Discrete GPU Required" ?

Accepted Answer

Hello Cooper,

Any graphics card will work with your CPU of choice, the main things to consider when looking for a graphics card are:

1) Price
2) Physical size (don't want to get a card too big for the case you are going to use)
3) Power requirements (in relation to the power supply you are using

There are a few other things you should consider but those are not as important as these points I have included.  Different cards come at different price points so usually what I like to do is pick a budget and look at your options within that budget.  I recommend saving a little extra just in case there is sales tax or shipping charges that make you go over budget.

The physical size of the card is really more important if you are like me and like to build very small custom builds (mini-ITX form factor).  Typically just about any graphics card will fit inside a standard mid tower case.  But when building in smaller cases you have to consider if the card might be too long or too thick to fit inside your desired case.  If you plan on building in a mid tower case I wouldn't worry about this too much (but do check the max supported length of GPU allowed by the case just to be sure).

The power requirements is something that varies, graphics cards will come with either a 6-pin, 8-pin, or a combination of both connectors on board in order to plug a power supply to the card to provide supplemental power (some entry level cards like the GTX 1050 do not require external power and do not have these power connections, instead drawing power from the PCIe slot).

On that last note I should also mention that the suggested PSU wattage is really just a recommendation and not a requirement.  It is possible to run a card with a lower than suggested wattage power supply, but that is usually not recommended.  Hope this helps!

Newegg Support

Brand	Intel
Processors Type	Desktop
Series	Core i5 9th Gen
Name	Core i5-9400F
Model	BX80684I59400F

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1151 (300 Series)
Core Name	Coffee Lake
# of Cores	6-Core
# of Threads	6-Threads
Operating Frequency	2.9 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	4.1 GHz
Bus Speed	8 GT/s
L3 Cache	9MB
Manufacturing Tech	14nm
Instruction Set	64-Bit
Hyper-Threading Support	No
Memory Types	DDR4 2666
Memory Channel	2
Virtualization Technology Support	Yes
Integrated Graphics	None Integrated Graphics
PCI Express Revision	3.0
Max Number of PCI Express Lanes	16
Thermal Design Power	65W
Cooling Device	Heatsink and fan included
Operating System Supported	Windows 11

Intel Core i5 9th Gen - Core i5-9400F Coffee Lake 6-Core 2.9 GHz (4.1 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 65W BX80684I59400F Desktop Processor Without Graphics

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Item#: N82E16819117981