you could build a budget gaming rig for under 500 dollars these days thanks to spiraling GPU prices.
Since gaming is your main focus, you may be tempted to save some bucks in the processor department.
So, how about using an Intel Pentium as the CPU?
Will it be able to handle the demands of modern gaming?
These are the questions I will be answering for you today.
And to help you make the decisions easier I have also provided some data in the form of benchmarks.
Lets get started then.
Intel Pentium Lineups Explored
Pentium processors are divided into two groups namelyGoldandSilver.
These are dual-core processors with the exception of hyperthreading.
The Gold tier them enabled while the SIlver ones come without it.
The 10th gen Pentiums use the LGA 1200 socket.
These are codenamed Comet Lake.
you’re free to use any 10 and 11 gen supported motherboards with these CPUs.
Intel did not release an iteration for the 11-gen processors.
The 12th generation of Pentium processors follow the same architecture.
For the socket, you are looking at LGA 1700.
As of now, there are no 13th gen Pentium processors announced by Intel.
With Pentium, you will miss out on features such as Turbo Boost or overclocking.
Here, I have not included the Pentiums for the 9th generation and earlier models.
We alsocompare an Intel Pentium with an Athloncomprehensively in a separate article.
Do check it out.
What are the Comparable Processors to Intel Pentium?
If we look at the offerings from AMD, Athlon seems to be a like-for-like replacement.
Since AMD announced Ryzen, only two Athlon processors were released for desktops.
They are based on the Zen architecture produced on a 14 nm lithography.
Similar to the Pentium Gold, they are hyperthreaded with 2 cores and 4 threads.
Note that some older Intel processors from the 10th gen and earlier have fallen steeply in price.
For example, the 10th geni3 10100can be found at a similar price to a current-gen Pentium G7400.
If you add $20 more it’s possible for you to get ani5 10400Ftoo!
Additionally,laptop and desktop Pentium processors can be very differentin their respective performance.
Wondering how aPentium differentiates from a Core i3 processor?
This article lists the key differences and makes purchasing easier for you.
How well does Intel Pentium Perform in Games?
Before diving into games, lets look at some purely CPU-focused benchmarks.
For the benchmarks, I have selectedCinebench R15,R23, andGeekbench 5.
These apps focus primarily on the single and multi-core performances of your processor.
This is crucial as most games are multi-threaded these days.
In those games, the CPUs with more cores will result in higher frame rates.
First off is Cinebench R15.
Next up is Cinebench R23.
Finishing off with Geekbench 5.
Its results time now.
Pentium G6400 and Athlon 3000G perform almost similarly in single and multi-core tasks.
With a newer architecture, the G7400 shines here.
It beats the older i3 in single-core tasks but remains30%slower in multi-cores based workloads.
Now lets switch our focus to gaming.
I have selected e-sports titles such asCS: GO,Fortnite,Apex Legends, andCOD Warzone.
For single-player campaigns,GTA 5,Battlefield 5, andCyberpunk 2077makes the cut.
As for testing, I have gone with aGTX 1650as the GPU.
CS: GO is fairly easy to run.
All four CPUs manage over 100 fps using a mixture of low and medium parameters.
I got a few kills too, even though I am not that good in competitive titles.
Here the takeaway is that CS:GO is mostly dependent on the CPU.
Lets see how Fortnite stacks up.
Both Pentiums run Fortnite well.
But we see a huge change as we move to the i3.
That means Fortnite scales up well with more processing power on board.
The 1% lows reflect this too.
With the i3 the FPS never drops below100.
The most intensive scenes where the battle heats up slow down the game mostly.
I ran into some intense fights in Faulty Splilts.
When I had two or more players nearby me, that is when the Athlon dropped the most frames.
The next two competitive titles are quite taxing on your CPU.
On Apex Legends, the minimum frame rate never goes below 50 fps on all CPUs.
Both Pentiums average closer to100 FPSwith the i3 pulling ahead of them.
The Athlon performs well considering its price point.
COD Warzone is where the older Pentium and the Athlon take a hit.
The 1% lows of27and23FPS reflect this.
During intense gunfights, you might expect these frame rates.
The newer Pentium G7400 improves the 1% lows significantly to a respectable55FPS.
This is when it comes really close to the i3 10100.
So, what about single-player titles?
You do not need 200 fps to ace these games and the FPS shows that.
Anything closer to 60 fps will make the game enjoyable.
Lets now see some more results.
All the processors did well here, barring the Pentium G6400.
This happened occasionally during the first few seconds when going into a new location.
Other than that it was a good experience.
I got more than 50 fps from both Pentiums, including the 1% lows.
I did not experience any significant frame drops from any processors.
Even the Athlon did well with a lowest of40FPS.
Finishing off the benchmarks, we have two of the most demanding games on this list.
Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield 2077.
With Cyberpunk, we ran with High options enabled.
Both Pentiums had similar 1% lows nearing 25-30 fps.
But the G7400 got us a maximum of 60 FPS.
This was very close to the i3 10100, which got 65 FPS.
On Battlefield 5, the older CPUs struggled.
The newer Pentium held up well with a minimum fps of 47 FPS.
In BF5, increasing the core count gets you more performance.
The i3 got a minimum of 75 fps.
This proves the point and I got silky-smooth frame rates as a result.
The newer Pentium with the improved golden cove cores gets a good boost too.
Despite having a weak processor, you’re free to easilyoptimize the CPU to get better gaming performance.
Is Intel Pentium Good for Gaming?
Before benchmarking all the results I thought I would have rejected the Pentium used solely as a gaming machine.
But the results surprised my inner budget gamer.
The frame rates are more than acceptable and you will not lose out on any competitive play.
A minimum quad-core processor is needed to hit the sweet 60 fps spot.
Thats when the i3 shines with consistent frame rates.
We also comparedAtom and Celeron processors with Intel Pentium.
When buying a lower-end laptop this comparison will really help you out.
Recommended read for you.
Ryzen 3 is another great choice for gamerson a tight budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pentium good enough?
Pentium is good enough for running office applications, media playback, and web browsing.
But if you want to run games, you need a dedicated GPU.
But still, it will struggle in modern games that are designed to utilize multiple threads.
Which is better Pentium or i3?
Pentium is slower than an i3 due to the presence of two fewer cores.
This makes it slower in games that need at least a quad-core processor to game properly.
But for running simple tasks such as web browsing a Pentium is totally okay.
Is Pentium Silver good for gaming?
Pentium Silver is a toned-down version of Pentium made specifically for laptops.
These come with anIntel UHDiGPU.
And this is not a joke but the fastest Pentiums are still stuck with 2 cores and 4 threads!
So games now utilize more cores that are thrown to them and get you better performance.
That summarizes this piece for you.
Hope you had a great time reading it.
