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Intel Celeron G4900

Intel Celeron G4900 in 2025: Budget "Workhorse" or Obsolete Solution?

Key Specifications: What Does Coffee Lake Hide?

The Intel Celeron G4900, released in 2018, belongs to the Coffee Lake generation. Despite its age, it continues to be found in budget builds due to its low cost and minimal system requirements. Let's take a look at its key parameters:

- Architecture and Process Technology: 14-nanometer process technology, 2 cores, and 2 threads. Operating frequency is 3.1 GHz without Turbo Boost. This is a classic dual-core configuration without hyper-threading, which limits multitasking capabilities.

- Performance: Geekbench 6 scores (611 Single-Core / 1040 Multi-Core) indicate that the processor can handle basic tasks, but it significantly lags behind even modern Pentium Gold processors. For instance, rendering video in Handbrake will take 2–3 times longer than on a Core i3 of the 10th generation.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 610 supports 4K@60 Hz via HDMI but is poorly suited for gaming. By 2025, this solution is only adequate for office applications and video playback.

- Cache and TDP: A modest L3 cache (2 MB) and a TDP of 54 W make it energy-efficient, but not performance-driven.

The Key Feature — an extremely low price (around $40–50 for new units) and compatibility with LGA 1151v2 motherboards.

Compatible Motherboards: What to Look Out For?

The Celeron G4900 uses the LGA 1151v2 socket, which supports 300 series chipsets:

- H310/B360/H370: The optimal choice for budget builds. For example, the ASRock H310CM-HDV ($55–70) provides basic functionality without excess features.

- Z370/Z390: Overkill for the Celeron but may be useful if planning to upgrade to a Core i5/i7 from the 8th or 9th generation. However, by 2025, such boards are hard to find new.

Choosing Tips:

- Check for processor support through the compatibility list on the motherboard manufacturer's website.

- Avoid boards with outdated interfaces (e.g., those without M.2 for NVMe SSDs).

- Be aware that new motherboards for LGA 1151v2 are rarely manufactured — look for stock on shelves or reliable refurbished options.

Supported Memory: DDR4 as Standard

The Celeron G4900 operates with DDR4-2400 (officially). The maximum capacity is up to 64 GB, but 8–16 GB is sufficient for practical tasks:

- For an office PC: 8 GB (2x4 GB) in dual-channel — for example, Patriot Signature Line DDR4-2400 ($25 for a set).

- For a media center: 16 GB, if working with a browser and background applications.

Important: H310/B360 motherboards may limit the memory speed to 2666 MHz. DDR5 and PCIe 4.0/5.0 are not supported.

Power Supply: How Many Watts Do You Need?

With a TDP of 54 W, the processor does not require a powerful power supply:

- For a system without a discrete graphics card: a 300 W unit is sufficient (e.g., EVGA 400 N1, $35).

- With a graphics card like the NVIDIA GTX 1650: a recommended PSU is 450 W (Corsair CX450, $55).

Tip: Don't skimp on PSU quality. Cheap models with low efficiency can lead to unstable operation.

Pros and Cons of the Celeron G4900 in 2025

Pros:

- Price below $50 — one of the most affordable processors on the market.

- Low energy consumption: suitable for compact cases and systems without active cooling.

- Integrated graphics: no need for a discrete graphics card for basic tasks.

Cons:

- Weak multi-threaded performance: 2 threads create a "bottleneck" even for browsers with a dozen tabs open.

- Obsolete architecture: Coffee Lake falls behind even budget AMD Ryzen 3 5300U in multitasking.

- Limited upgrade path: transitioning to a Core i5/i7 from the 9th generation will require a motherboard replacement in the future.

Use Cases: Where is the Celeron G4900 Still Relevant?

1. Office PCs: Work with documents, email, Zoom. Example: A setup based on G4900, 8 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD — ideal for small businesses.

2. Home Media Center: Streaming video (Netflix, YouTube 4K) via HDMI 2.0.

3. Entry-level Servers: NAS for data storage based on OpenMediaVault.

4. Educational Projects: PCs for students or teaching the basics of programming.

Not Suitable for:

- Gaming (except for older titles like Half-Life 2 at low settings).

- Video editing or 3D modeling.

- Running virtual machines.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Athlon 3000G ($50–60): 2 cores/4 threads, Vega 3 (30% faster than UHD 610). Better multitasking, but more expensive.

- Intel Pentium Gold G7400 ($80–90): 2 cores/4 threads, UHD 710, DDR5 support. More modern but twice the price.

- Intel Celeron G6900 ($60): Alder Lake, 2 cores/2 threads, DDR5. Higher IPC, but price undermines advantages.

Conclusion: The G4900 only wins in price. If the budget is strictly limited — it's an option, but even the Athlon 3000G offers a better price-to-performance ratio.

Practical Tips for Building

1. Choosing Motherboard: Look for models with HDMI and USB 3.1 (ASUS Prime H310M-K R2.0).

2. RAM: 8 GB DDR4-2400 is the minimum. For Windows 11, 16 GB is preferred.

3. Storage: An SSD is a must (Kingston A400 240 GB, $20) — an HDD will "stifle" even this processor.

4. Case and Cooling: A compact case with a PSU (InWin BP655) is sufficient; the stock cooler will handle cooling well.

5. Upgrade: Don't invest in an expensive motherboard — this platform is morally outdated.

Final Conclusion: Who is the Celeron G4900 For?

This processor is an option for those who need an extremely cheap PC for simple tasks:

- Small business owners needing a computer for a cash register or accounting software.

- Parents buying the first PC for a child.

- Enthusiasts building a NAS or router based on x86 architecture.

Why G4900? It's accessible, energy-efficient, and sufficient for basic needs. However, if the budget allows for an additional $20–30, it's better to choose the Athlon 3000G or a used Core i3 from the 8th generation — this will significantly expand the system's capabilities. In 2025, the Celeron G4900 is not an investment in the future, but a temporary solution for very specific tasks.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

April 2018

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.

G4900

Code Name

Coffee 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

3.10 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.

L3 Cache

2 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1151

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

54 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.

DDR4-2400

Max Memory Size

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

64 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).

37.5 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

Yes

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.

4096x2304@24Hz

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.

2 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

611

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1040

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

761

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1408

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1881

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

2440

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core m3-6Y30

693 +13.4%

Core i3-6167U

647 +5.9%

Celeron G4900

611

Xeon E5-2603

571 -6.5%

Xeon E5-1607 v2

536 -12.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

PRO A12-9800

1331 +28%

A10 PRO-7850B

1171 +12.6%

Celeron G4900

1040

Athlon II X3 460

944 -9.2%

Celeron G1840

832 -20%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon Gold 5220

799 +5%

Xeon E3-1220 v3

780 +2.5%

Celeron G4900

761

Xeon Gold 6130

741 -2.6%

Pentium Silver N6000

726 -4.6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

A10-5700

1558 +10.7%

A10-9700

1474 +4.7%

Celeron G4900

1408

FX-4170

1346 -4.4%

Xeon E5-4640

1247 -11.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen Embedded R2312

1943 +3.3%

Xeon E5-2686 v3

1910 +1.5%

Celeron G4900

1881

Core i7-3770T

1837 -2.3%

Athlon X4 970

1805 -4%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

A8-5600K

2832 +16.1%

Celeron G5900

2643 +8.3%

Celeron G4900

2440

Core i3-6006U

2283 -6.4%

Celeron G5905T

2100 -13.9%