The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is the objective winner of this comparison, securing victory in nine out of fourteen measured specifications. Its most significant technical advantage is a 174% larger L2 cache compared to the Intel Core i5-14400. While the latter maintains a lead in thread count, the superior cache capacity of the Ultra 5 235 provides a more substantial edge across the majority of the evaluated hardware metrics.

Users prioritizing high-speed data access and modern architecture should select the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 for its massive L2 cache advantage. Conversely, the Intel Core i5-14400 remains the appropriate choice for workloads that specifically benefit from its 14% higher thread count. Your decision should depend on whether your primary computing tasks rely more heavily on the increased cache capacity of the newer model or the higher thread density of the previous generation.