To compete against the Ryzen 5 2600X which is currently selling for $180, Intel released the slightly refreshed i5-9400F which also retails at $180.  As far as the specifications on paper go, the Ryzen offers 6 cores and 12 threads at a top of 4.2GHz while Intel's offering has 6 cores and 6 threads with a top frequency of 4.1GHz; the AMD chip also comes with the Wraith Spire cooler while Intel's supports Optane. 

The real question is how they perform when you use them and to discover the answer you should check out TechSpot's latest CPU review.

"Intel's been having some trouble competing with the wave of Ryzen processors, forcing the chip maker to be a little more creative. Today we have the Intel Core i5-9400F on hand, which is basically a refreshed i5-8400 with a 100 MHz clock speed boost, no integrated graphics and a lower price point."

Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:

Processors