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Intel Pentium 3805U

Intel Pentium 3805U: Moderate Power for Basic Tasks in 2025

Introduction

The Intel Pentium 3805U processor, released in 2015, remains an example of an energy-efficient solution for undemanding users. Despite its age, it can still be found in budget entry-level laptops in 2025 (new devices cost about $250–$350). This chip is suitable for those who prioritize battery life and minimal price over high performance. Let’s explore what the Pentium 3805U is capable of a decade after its release.

Architecture and Process Technology: 14 nm and Modest Capabilities

Cores, Threads, and Frequencies

The Pentium 3805U is built on the Broadwell architecture (5th generation Intel) with a 14 nm process. It features 2 cores and 2 threads — Hyper-Threading is absent. The base clock frequency is 1.9 GHz, and turbo mode is not supported. This means that the processor cannot dynamically increase its frequency under load, which limits its performance in resource-intensive tasks.

Integrated Graphics (iGPU)

The integrated Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell) with 12 execution units (EUs) and a frequency of up to 800 MHz is only capable of handling basic tasks:

- Playback of video at resolutions up to 1080p.

- Working with office applications.

- Running older games at low settings (for example, Counter-Strike: Source or Minecraft).

For modern gaming or video editing, the iGPU is not suitable.

Power Consumption and TDP: 15 W for Passive Cooling

The processor's TDP is 15 W, which is typical for U-series mobile chips. This allows for passive cooling (without fans) or compact heatsinks, making laptops thin and lightweight.

Power-Saving Technologies

- Intel SpeedStep: Dynamically reduces frequency during idle states.

- C-States: Turns off unused cores to save power.

- Enhanced Intel Smart Cache: Optimizes cache operation to reduce latencies.

These solutions help extend battery life, but do not compensate for the lack of turbo mode.

Performance: Modest Results Even in 2025

Office Tasks

- Geekbench 6 Single-Core: 307, Multi-Core: 553.

- Document work (Word, Excel), browsing (5–10 tabs), and video calls (Zoom, Skype) are possible, but there are delays during multitasking.

- Example: Running an antivirus and YouTube simultaneously causes stutter.

Multimedia

- Watching 4K video on YouTube: possible, but with occasional freezes due to iGPU power constraints.

- Photo editing in Lightroom: processing RAW files takes 2–3 times longer than on modern chips.

Gaming

- World of Tanks (minimum settings, 720p): 20–25 FPS.

- Dota 2 (Low, 720p): 15–20 FPS.

- Modern titles like Fortnite or Apex Legends are inaccessible even at minimum settings.

Turbo Mode

The lack of turbo mode makes performance predictable but low. Even under prolonged load, the frequency does not exceed 1.9 GHz.

Use Cases: Who Is the Pentium 3805U Relevant for in 2025?

1. Students and schoolchildren — for studying, working with texts and presentations.

2. Office employees — basic tasks without complex multitasking.

3. Older users — web surfing, messaging.

4. Secondary devices — a compact laptop for travel.

Not suitable for:

- Gamers and streamers.

- Designers and video editors.

- Working with virtual machines or heavy software (such as AutoCAD).

Battery Life: Up to 8 Hours on Power-Saving Mode

With a battery capacity of 40–50 Wh, laptops with the Pentium 3805U provide:

- 6–8 hours when working with documents and Wi-Fi.

- 4–5 hours while watching YouTube.

Tip: For maximum battery life, disable background applications and reduce screen brightness.

Comparison with Competitors: Outdated but Inexpensive

1. AMD A6-7000 (2014):

- Similar 2 cores, Radeon R4 Graphics.

- Geekbench 6 Multi-Core: ~500. Downside: higher power consumption (17 W).

2. Intel Celeron N4020 (2019):

- 2 cores, 2 threads, 6 W TDP.

- Geekbench 6 Multi-Core: ~650. Upside: support for modern codecs.

3. Apple M1 (2020):

- 8 cores, 7–8 W TDP.

- Geekbench 6 Multi-Core: ~7500. Laptop prices: starting from $800.

Conclusion: The Pentium 3805U lags behind even budget chips from the 2020s, but it competes on price.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Low cost of laptops ($250–$350).

- Passive cooling — silent operation.

- Adequate performance for basic tasks.

Weaknesses:

- No support for modern AVX2 instructions.

- Weak iGPU.

- Limited multitasking capabilities.

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

Types of devices:

- Ultrabooks — for example, ASUS VivoBook or Lenovo IdeaPad Slim.

- Budget convertible laptops — for working on the go.

What to pay attention to:

1. RAM: At least 8 GB (4 GB will be insufficient even for Windows 11).

2. Storage: An SSD of at least 256 GB is essential (HDD will slow down the system).

3. Screen: Matte finish for working in bright light.

4. Ports: USB-C and HDMI for peripheral connectivity.

Example configuration for $300:

- Pentium 3805U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 14" screen (1366x768).

Final Conclusion: Who Is the Pentium 3805U Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for those who:

- Are looking for the cheapest new laptop.

- Do not plan to run heavy applications.

- Value quiet operation and long battery life.

Key benefits:

- Price below $350.

- Compactness and lightness.

- Sufficient for everyday tasks.

However, if the budget allows, it is better to consider laptops with Intel Celeron N or AMD Athlon 3000 series processors (starting from $400) — they will provide a greater performance buffer for the coming years.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

March 2015

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.

3805U

Code Name

Broadwell

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

1.90 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.

FCBGA1168

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

15 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

105°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.

2.0

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.

4x1 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.

DDR3L 1333/1600 LPDDR3 1333/1600

Max Memory Size

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

16 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

5 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).

25.6 GB/s

GPU Specifications

GPU Name

Intel® HD Graphics for 5th Generation Intel® Processors

Graphics Base Frequency

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

100 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.

800 MHz

DirectX Support

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

11.2/12

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI

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 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.

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.

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 Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel OS Guard

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

307

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

553

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

415

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

761

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1092

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

1180

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Celeron 3867U

387 +26.1%

A4-4000

349 +13.7%

Pentium 3805U

307

Celeron N3350

253 -17.6%

Celeron N2808

167 -45.6%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-1410

761 +37.6%

A6-3620

660 +19.3%

Pentium 3805U

553

Celeron B815

439 -20.6%

Atom E3827

233 -57.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E7-4850 v3

456 +9.9%

Core i5-3317U

439 +5.8%

Pentium 3805U

415

Celeron 3965Y

386 -7%

Core i3-3217UE

353 -14.9%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

A6-5400K

896 +17.7%

Pentium G2020T

839 +10.2%

Pentium 3805U

761

Xeon E5-2676 v3

658 -13.5%

Pentium 1405 V2

552 -27.5%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Celeron G550

1205 +10.3%

Xeon E5645

1148 +5.1%

Pentium 3805U

1092

Xeon E5-2603

1046 -4.2%

Core M-5Y10a

993 -9.1%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Pentium 2030M

1413 +19.7%

A6-3420M

1292 +9.5%

Pentium 3805U

1180

Celeron B840

1015 -14%

A4-3310MX

782 -33.7%