Intel Core 3 N355 vs Intel Core i5-10400 Comparison

The Intel Core i5-10400 and Intel Core 3 N355 sit on opposite ends of Intel's current lineup, one a desktop part from the Comet Lake generation and the other a mobile part from the Twin Lake generation. The recorded data shows the i5-10400 takes 13 of the 17 direct head-to-head tests, while the N355 wins 4. The i5-10400 posts an average benchmark score of 14037 against 13492 for the N355, a gap of roughly 4%, and both land at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The way they achieve those results, however, is completely different, and the benchmark breakdown reveals which workloads favor the older desktop chip and which favor the newer mobile chip.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The i5-10400's largest victory comes in Cinebench R23 multi-core, where it scores 8316 against the N355's 5262, a 58% lead. That is a decisive margin for heavily threaded rendering and compilation work. The i5-10400 also dominates Passmark extended instructions, scoring 12501 versus 5968, a 109.5% advantage, which points to a major difference in SIMD and instruction-level throughput. Data compression follows the same pattern: the i5-10400 scores 187207 against 117435, a 59.4% lead, and random string sorting goes to the i5-10400 by 57.8% (23206 vs 14706). These are all workloads that scale with strong multi-threaded execution and large caches.

The N355 fights back in a few specific areas. Its Cinebench R15 single-core score of 168 is 29.8% higher than the i5-10400's 118, a surprising result given the i5-10400's higher boost clock. The N355 also wins Passmark data encryption decisively, scoring 8121 against 4078, a 49.8% margin, suggesting its architecture handles cryptographic instructions more efficiently. In Cinebench R20, the N355 takes both multi-core (3612 vs 3492, 3.3% ahead) and single-core (509 vs 493, 3.1% ahead), showing that in this specific rendering test, the newer mobile core has a slight edge.

The remaining tests all favor the i5-10400. In Cinebench R23 single-core, it scores 1174 against 1039, a 13% lead. Passmark multithread goes to the i5-10400 by 18% (12006 vs 10174), integer math by 23.1% (41715 vs 33894), and floating point math by 14.9% (26080 vs 22695). The i5-10400 also wins Passmark find prime numbers by 25.9% (34 vs 27), physics by 7% (669 vs 625), and the single-thread test by 18.9% (2560 vs 2153). The overall picture is clear: the i5-10400 is the stronger processor for most compute-heavy tasks, while the N355 holds its own in encryption and a couple of specific Cinebench iterations.

The Verdict

The data points to the Intel Core i5-10400 as the better choice for anyone building a desktop system that will handle sustained multi-threaded workloads. Its 58% lead in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 59.4% lead in data compression, and 109.5% lead in extended instructions make it the clear pick for video rendering, code compilation, and scientific computing. The i5-10400 also holds a 18.9% advantage in single-thread Passmark, so it is not just a multi-core brute; it wins in everyday responsiveness as well.

The Intel Core 3 N355 is a different animal. It is a mobile part with a 15W TDP, and its wins in data encryption (49.8% ahead) and Cinebench R15 single-core (29.8% ahead) show that it has specific strengths. If you are building a low-power laptop or a compact embedded system and your primary workload involves encryption or certain legacy single-threaded applications, the N355 is the better fit. For raw desktop throughput, the i5-10400 is the winner. The N355's average score of 13492 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i3-12100F (0% delta) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500, while the i5-10400's 14037 sits within 1% of the AMD EPYC 7552 and Intel Xeon 6756E, and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7443.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from different architectural eras. The i5-10400 uses the Comet Lake architecture on a 14 nm process, while the N355 uses Twin Lake on a 10 nm process. The i5-10400 has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the N355 has 8 cores and 8 threads. That means the N355 has more physical cores but no hyper-threading, which explains why the i5-10400 wins in heavily threaded tests despite having fewer cores.

Cache layouts differ sharply. The i5-10400 has 64 KB of L1 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core, plus 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The N355 has 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of shared L2 cache, and 6 MB of shared L3 cache. The i5-10400's larger L3 cache is a major factor in its multi-threaded wins, particularly in data compression and sorting. The N355's larger L1 per core helps it in single-threaded bursts, as seen in its Cinebench R15 single-core win.

Memory support is another split. The i5-10400 runs DDR4 on a dual-channel bus with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The N355 supports DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5, but only on a single-channel bus with 38.4 GB/s. The i5-10400's dual-channel memory gives it a bandwidth advantage that shows up in memory-intensive workloads. PCIe connectivity also differs: the i5-10400 has 16 Gen 3 lanes, while the N355 has 9 Gen 3 lanes. The integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 630 on the i5-10400 and UHD Graphics 770 on the N355. The i5-10400 is a desktop part on Socket 1200 with a 65W TDP, released in April 2020. The N355 is a mobile part on BGA 1264 with a 15W TDP, released in January 2025.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has the higher multi-core score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400 scores 8316, which is 58% higher than the Core 3 N355's 5262.

Q: Where does the Core 3 N355 beat the i5-10400?

A: It wins in Cinebench R15 single-core (168 vs 118), Cinebench R20 multi-core (3612 vs 3492), Cinebench R20 single-core (509 vs 493), and Passmark data encryption (8121 vs 4078).

Q: How do the core and thread counts compare?

A: The i5-10400 has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the N355 has 8 cores and 8 threads. The N355 has more physical cores but no hyper-threading.

Q: What memory types does each support?

A: The i5-10400 supports DDR4 on a dual-channel bus. The N355 supports DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5 on a single-channel bus.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The i5-10400 has a 65W TDP, while the N355 has a 15W TDP. This makes the N355 far more suitable for battery-powered or passively cooled systems.

Q: Which has the higher single-thread Passmark score?

A: The i5-10400 scores 2560, which is 18.9% higher than the N355's 2153.

Where Each One Wins

The i5-10400 is the pick for desktop workloads that demand sustained multi-threaded performance. Its 58% lead in Cinebench R23 multi-core makes it the obvious choice for 3D rendering and video encoding. The 59.4% lead in data compression and 57.8% lead in random string sorting make it ideal for file archiving, database operations, and any task that moves large amounts of data. The 109.5% lead in extended instructions means it will handle advanced SIMD workloads, such as scientific simulations and signal processing, far better. It also wins in integer math by 23.1%, floating point by 14.9%, and prime number finding by 25.9%, covering a broad range of general compute.

The Core 3 N355 wins in data encryption by 49.8%, making it a strong fit for security-focused applications like VPNs, disk encryption, and secure communications. Its 29.8% lead in Cinebench R15 single-core suggests it handles older, lightly threaded applications with ease. It also edges out the i5-10400 in Cinebench R20 multi-core and single-core, so it is not without merit in rendering tasks. For a low-power mobile system, the N355's 15W TDP and support for DDR5 and LPDDR5 give it a clear place in compact, battery-conscious designs where the i5-10400's 65W desktop footprint is not an option.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in nearly every core specification. The i5-10400 has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the N355 has 8 cores and 8 threads. Base clocks are 2.90 GHz for the i5-10400 and 1.90 GHz for the N355, with boost clocks of 4.30 GHz and 3.90 GHz respectively. TDP is 65W versus 15W. The i5-10400 uses Socket 1200, while the N355 uses BGA 1264. Process nodes are 14 nm for the i5-10400 and 10 nm for the N355. L1 cache is 64 KB per core on the i5-10400 and 96 KB per core on the N355. L2 cache is 256 KB per core on the i5-10400 and 2 MB shared on the N355. L3 cache is 12 MB shared on the i5-10400 and 6 MB shared on the N355. Memory support is DDR4 dual-channel for the i5-10400 versus DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5 single-channel for the N355. Memory bandwidth is 42.7 GB/s versus 38.4 GB/s. PCIe lanes are 16 Gen 3 for the i5-10400 and 9 Gen 3 for the N355. Integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 630 versus UHD Graphics 770. The i5-10400 is a desktop part released in April 2020, while the N355 is a mobile part released in January 2025.