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Intel Pentium Gold G6405

Intel Pentium Gold G6405: Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

Overview of capabilities, compatibility, and use cases

1. Key Features: Architecture and Performance

Codename and Fabrication Process

The Intel Pentium Gold G6405 processor, released in 2020, is based on the Comet Lake architecture and is manufactured using a 14nm fabrication process. Despite the dominance of 7nm and 5nm chips by 2025 (such as AMD Ryzen 8000 or Intel Core 14th Gen), the G6405 remains popular in the budget segment due to its low cost (around $50–60 in the new devices market).

Cores, Threads, and Cache

- 2 cores / 4 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading.

- Base frequency: 4.1 GHz (no turbo mode).

- L3 Cache: 4 MB.

Performance

- Geekbench 6: 847 (single-core), 1759 (multi-core).

For comparison: the modern Core i3-14100 (4 cores / 8 threads) scores about ~1800/6000 points but costs three times as much.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 610. Suitable for 4K video (with hardware decoding) and light gaming (e.g., Minecraft on low settings).

Key Features

- Support for DDR4-2666.

- Energy efficiency (TDP of 58W).

- Compatibility with Windows 11 (TPM module required on the motherboard).

2. Compatible Motherboards

Socket and Chipsets

- LGA 1200 socket — used in motherboards for Comet Lake processors (10th generation).

- Chipsets:

- H410 / B460 — budget options (from $50). Example: ASRock H410M-HDV.

- H470 / Z490 — advanced features (memory overclocking, more ports). Example: Gigabyte Z490 UD.

Selection Considerations

- For G6405, an H410 board is sufficient: overclocking is not supported, and 2 DDR4 slots are enough for basic tasks.

- If planning to upgrade to Core i5/i7 Comet Lake, it's better to choose a B460 with cooled VRM modules.

3. Supported Memory Types

- Type: Only DDR4 (DDR5 not supported).

- Frequency: Up to 2666 MHz (on H410/B460 chipsets). On Z490, it can be overclocked to 2933 MHz, but this is not critical for G6405.

- Recommendations:

- Use two modules (e.g., 2x8 GB) to enable dual-channel mode.

- Budget DDR4-2666 (16 GB) kits cost around $40.

4. Power Supply Recommendations

- CPU TDP: 58W.

- Integrated Graphics: UHD 610 consumes up to 15W.

- Recommended PSU:

- For a system without a discrete GPU, a 300–400W unit is sufficient (e.g., be quiet! System Power 10, 400W, $45).

- If adding a GPU like the NVIDIA GTX 1650 (TDP 75W), a PSU of 450–500W will be required.

Important: Do not skimp on the PSU. Even for a budget build, choose models with an 80+ Bronze certification.

5. Pros and Cons of the Pentium Gold G6405

Pros:

- Price: One of the cheapest new processors (around $60).

- Energy efficiency: Suitable for compact PCs and office systems.

- Support for modern OS: Windows 10/11, Linux.

Cons:

- 2 cores: Multitasking is limited (e.g., video streaming + browsing with a dozen tabs can cause slowdowns).

- Weak graphics: UHD 610 struggles with AAA games even on minimum settings.

- Outdated fabrication process: 14nm vs. 7nm competitors.

6. Use Cases

Office and Study

- Working with documents, browsers, Zoom.

- Example: A build based on G6405, 8 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD — perfect for Word and Excel.

Multimedia

- Viewing 4K videos (Netflix, YouTube) thanks to VP9 and HEVC decoding.

- Connection to TV via HDMI 2.0.

Light Gaming

- Minecraft (40–60 FPS on low settings), CS:GO (30–40 FPS at 720p).

Not Suitable For:

- Video editing, 3D rendering.

- Modern games (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077 or Starfield).

7. Comparison with Competitors

AMD Athlon 3000G (price: ~$45)

- Pros: Cheaper, unlocked multiplier.

- Cons: No Hyper-Threading (2 cores / 2 threads), weaker in single-threaded tasks (Geekbench 6 Single Core: ~600).

AMD Ryzen 3 3200G (price: ~$80)

- Pros: 4 cores / 4 threads, Vega 8 graphics (twice as fast as UHD 610).

- Cons: Higher TDP (65W), requires more expensive AM4 motherboards.

Conclusion: G6405 is better in energy efficiency and price but lags in multitasking and graphics performance.

8. Assembly Tips for a G6405-Based PC

1. Motherboard: Choose H410/B460 with HDMI output (e.g., ASUS Prime H410M-E).

2. Memory: 2x8 GB DDR4-2666 (Crucial, Kingston).

3. Storage: Use an SSD (WD Green 240 GB, $25).

4. Cooling: The stock cooler is sufficient — minimal noise.

5. Case: Compact Mini-Tower (Deepcool MATREXX 30, $35).

Example Build (Price: ~$250 without OS):

- CPU: G6405 ($60)

- Motherboard: ASRock H410M-HDV ($55)

- Memory: 16 GB DDR4-2666 ($40)

- SSD: 240 GB ($25)

- PSU: 400W ($45)

- Case: $25

9. Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the Pentium Gold G6405?

Choose this processor if:

- The budget is limited, and tasks are simple: office work, study, internet browsing.

- You need a quiet and compact PC for a media center.

- You are building a system for elderly people or children (minimalism, reliability).

Alternatives for 2025:

- For gaming: Intel Core i3-14100 + discrete graphics card.

- For multitasking: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (6 cores, $120).

The Pentium Gold G6405 is not powerful but a practical choice for those who value simplicity and savings.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

March 2021

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

G6405

Code Name

Comet Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

4.10 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

L3 Cache

4 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1200

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

58 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

41.6 GB/s

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 610

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.05 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2160@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096x2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

4 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

847

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1759

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1003

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2148

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2524

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

4252

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 5 3550H

940 +11%

Xeon E3-1230L v3

893 +5.4%

Pentium Gold G6405

847

Core i3-6157U

771 -9%

PRO A6-8570

721 -14.9%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i5-3330

2097 +19.2%

Opteron 6274

1922 +9.3%

Pentium Gold G6405

1759

PRO A10-9700

1592 -9.5%

Celeron 6305E

1461 -16.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i7-7700

1044 +4.1%

Ryzen 5 5500U

1022 +1.9%

Pentium Gold G6405

1003

Xeon Gold 6258R

976 -2.7%

Core i3-7100

959 -4.4%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Ryzen 5 PRO 2500U

2468 +14.9%

Xeon E3-1235L v5

2327 +8.3%

Pentium Gold G6405

2148

Core i3-7300

2007 -6.6%

Core i7-6567U

1884 -12.3%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 5 4500

2597 +2.9%

Core i5-8269U

2561 +1.5%

Pentium Gold G6405

2524

Xeon Gold 6346

2479 -1.8%

Ryzen 5 4600H

2443 -3.2%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-2603

4695 +10.4%

Xeon E5-2609 v3

4444 +4.5%

Pentium Gold G6405

4252

Core i3-6098P

4030 -5.2%

Athlon X4 845

3809 -10.4%