Pentium was once the King in Intel’s arsenal of processors. Sadly now its name is associated with budget offerings. With the release of the new Pentium G series processors Intel has brought Sandybridge architecture to the sub 100 dollar market. What do you get for your hard earned cash? Read on to find out.
The Pentium Processors based on second generation Core architecture
| Hyper threading | No |
| Quick Sync | No |
| AVX Instructions | No |
| AESNI Instructions | No |
| Memory Controller | 1066 |
| Over-clocking | No |
| Core Turbo | Are you kidding? No! |
| Graphics Turbo | Yes (Upto 1.1 GHz) |
| Virtualization Technology | Yes |
As you can see Intel has taken a lot away from the Pentium. So what do you get? A low TDP (65 Watts) and Intel HD graphics core with dynamic speed adjustment.
Quick Facts
| Speed | 2.6 GHz |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 |
| L3 (Smart) Cache | 3 MB |
| Instructions Set Extensions | SSE 4.1/4.2 |
| Memory Controller | 1066/1333 ONLY |
| Overclocking | No |
| Graphics Core | Intel HD Graphics @ 850 MHz |
| Graphics Extension Units | 6 |
| Graphics Core Turbo | 1.1 GHz |
Intel powers the Pentium with Intel HD graphics, while the other Sandybridge processors are powered either by HD graphics 2000 or 3000 cores. Feature set rather than execution units differentiate Pentium’s graphics core with those of other processors based on its architecture.
The Pentium G620 Processor
The processor comes in an Intel standard, rather miniscule, box which also contains the heatsink fan as well as the processor information booklet. As with all Intel processors it also comes with a nifty sticker that can be placed wherever you desire!
The fan is a teeny affair. Given that the processor is multiplier locked it should do fine.
The Pentium G620 up close.
CPU-Z
As you can see this review is based on a retail version of the processor.
Testing
| Processors | Pentium G620 (LGA 1156)Core i3 540 (LGA 1155)
Pentium G6950 (LGA 1156) |
| Motherboards | Asus P7H55-V (LGA 1156)Asus P8P67 (LGA 1155) |
| Memory | Corsair DDR3-1333MHz 2x4 GB. Total 8 GB |
| Video | ATi 6950-2GB |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX620 |
| Cooler | Stock (for all processors) |
| Operating System | Windows 7 x64 |
Benchmarks
| Synthetic | PC Mark 7X264 HD |
| Real World | 7-Zip |
| Gaming | Far Cry 2Crysis Warhead |
Synthetic Tests
PC Mark 7
PC Mark 7 comes from the same people who make 3D Mark. Rather than testing 3D graphics subsystem, PC Mark is a jack of all benchmark focusing on day to day computational tasks.
All the minnows are pretty much bunched up together. The Core i3-530 leads the turtle race but they are all in the bottom half of performance table
X264 HD (V3) Benchmark
This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark as the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
There is more separation here. The new Pentium is faster than the old Pentium. The Core i3-530 leads the pack.
Real World
Some might argue against using 7-zip’s compression and decompression benchmark as a ‘real world’ test. But if you try and think about it for a minute, the benchmark does show how fast the program will either compress or decompress, while negating the impact of disk transfers. The chart below shows the total score achieved.
The i3 530 is clearly in the lead while the Pentiums follow their hierarchy (the new is better than the old!)
Gaming
Far Cry 2
| Far Cry 2 | 1680X1050 |
| Benchmark | Inbuilt 'Small Ranch CPU |
| Rendering Path | DX9 - Medium |
Crysis - Warhead
| Crysis - Warhead | 1680X1050 |
| Benchmark | Customized |
| Rendering Path | DX9; Physics set to Enthusiast |
Both gaming tests show that the i3 530 performs better than the two Pentium offerings.
What was once the pride of Intel is now its embarrassment. The Pentium is no more the King of performance, its legacy stands disgraced. Intel continues to use the Pentium name only as it is recognized among consumer of a product that once was. The Pentium is now a budget product. As was seen in our performance review it cannot hope to compete even with last generation’s mid range offering. It does beat its own counterpart for yesteryears but that was to be expected.
If you are looking for a budget processor, you can probably do with the Pentium G620. But keep in mind that you cannot over-clock this minnow. While it might cost <100 dollars, Intel’s older offerings (which retail for less or the same amount the Pentium Dual core and E7xx series) will work faster when over-clocked.
One area where the Pentium G620 will find a home is in the HTPC setup. Its integrated setup is good enough for high definition content playback. But even here there are cheaper offerings which can work in compact cases (like several enhanced Atom boards with dedicated video playback hardware).
Had Intel left these processors with unlocked multiplier and memory over-clocking it would have been much easier recommending them. But as things stand they are a niche product and you’ll have to find a perfect niche to utilize these.
Pentium G620
Core i3-530
Pentium G6950
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