The Intel Core i5-14600K is the objective winner of this comparison, securing victory in eight of the sixteen analyzed specifications. While the Intel Core i5-12400F maintains a notable advantage in power efficiency with a 48% better TDP, the Intel Core i5-14600K provides a substantial technical lead in memory architecture. Specifically, the Intel Core i5-14600K offers a 167% better L2 cache, which serves as its most impactful advantage over the alternative processor in this head-to-head evaluation.

Users prioritizing power efficiency should select the Intel Core i5-12400F, as it benefits from a significantly lower TDP. Conversely, those who require the superior L2 cache capacity provided by the Intel Core i5-14600K should opt for that model. By choosing based on these specific technical strengths, buyers can align their hardware selection with either the power-conscious profile of the Intel Core i5-12400F or the cache-heavy architecture of the Intel Core i5-14600K.