Kaby Pentium is The New Budget King

The Pentium G4560 really is the best budget processor we've seen in some time and if I'g completely honest, it'southward the merely Kaby Lake processor worth buying.

In fact, it'south and so good nosotros wonder how Intel is going to sell whatever Core i3 processors going forward. Here'southward a quick look at the electric current generation Pentium and Core i3 line-upwardly...

Model Cost Cores/Threads Base Frequency Boost L3 Enshroud TDP
Pentium G4560 $64 2C/4T 3.5 GHz Northward/A 3MB 54W
Pentium G4600 $82 2C/4T iii.6 GHz N/A 3MB 51W
Pentium G4620 $93 2C/4T 3.7 GHz N/A 3MB 51W
Core i3-7100 $117 2C/4T iii.ix GHz N/A 3MB 51W
Core i3-7300 $147 2C/4T four.0 GHz N/A 4MB 51W
Cadre i3-7320 $157 2C/4T 4.i GHz N/A 4MB 51W
Core i3-7350K $168 2C/4T 4.two GHz North/A 4MB 60W

The G4560 at $64 is pretty astonishing. It not only invalidates the Core i3 range but it too kills off the higher end Pentiums equally well. It'due south 22% cheaper than the $82 G4600 and all the same it's clocked just 3% lower. Similarly, it's 31% cheaper than the G4620 while it can't possibly exist more 5% slower.

Intel's Core i3 range doesn't look any improve. For example, the i3-7100 retails for $117 and too a crash-land in operating frequency and a slight change in iGPU, this is the verbal same processor as the G4560. Clocked at 3.9GHz, the i3-7100 is upward to 11% faster, only that doesn't arrive worth 80% more.

Comparisons only get worse as yous go on: the Core i3-7300 costs well over twice the price but comes clocked less than 15% greater. Realistically, your choices are the G4560 at $64 or the Core i5-7400 at $190, everything else in-betwixt is a bit pointless.

Against older chips such every bit the Skylake Core i3-6100, the Pentium G4560 wasn't a bully deal slower in our Excel and Photoshop workloads and the same was true when looking at encoding performance.

The chip is no slouch in gaming either, proving to be the perfect companion for a graphics menu alike to the RX 460, GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti (it worked also well with the GTX 1060 though we call up a sub-$200 GPU makes more sense for playing CPU-intensive games on the G4560).

Shopping shortcuts:

  • Intel Pentium G4560 on Amazon
  • Intel Pentium G4560 on Newegg

With two cores and no Hyper-Threading, Intel's previous entry-level Pentium G4400 struggles in today's games. By adding Hyper-Threading to its Kaby Lake Pentiums, Intel has given this serial a new charter on life, admitting while cannibalizing sales of its Cadre i3 range.

Pros: Very affordable, killer value. Hyper-Threading support is a offset in this course of processor. Performance shines beyond the board. Yous take to spend considerable more coin to get a truly better CPU.

Cons: Information technology'southward not unlocked.