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Intel Pentium G2100T

Intel Pentium G2100T: A Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

(April 2025)

Key Specifications: Architecture, Process Technology, and Key Features

The Intel Pentium G2100T processor, released in 2013 on the Ivy Bridge architecture, remains an example of an energy-efficient solution for less demanding tasks. Despite its age, it still holds relevance in the budget build niche.

Technical Details:

- Codename: Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Intel Core).

- Process Technology: 22 nm.

- Cores/Threads: 2/2 (without Hyper-Threading support).

- Base Frequency: 2.6 GHz (no turbo boost).

- Cache: 3 MB L3.

- TDP: 35 W.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel HD Graphics (base version, 650–1050 MHz).

Key Features:

- Supports SSE4.1/4.2, AES-NI, VT-x instructions.

- Energy-efficient: ideal for passive cooling systems or compact cases.

- Compatible with Windows 10/11 and Linux (drivers available).

Performance:

In Cinebench R20 tests, the processor scores around 250–270 points (for comparison, the modern Celeron G6905 scores ~600 points). This is sufficient for working with office applications, web browsing (up to 10 tabs), and light editors like Photoshop CS6.

Compatible Motherboards: Sockets and Chipsets

Socket: LGA 1155.

Supported Chipsets:

- Budget: H61, B75 (maximum of 2 DDR3 slots, limited SATA/USB ports).

- Business-oriented: Q75, Q77 (supports vPro, but this is no longer relevant in 2025).

- Premium (rare): Z77 (overclocking is not supported for G2100T).

Examples of Motherboards:

- ASUS P8H61-M LE: a compact mATX (new units priced at $50–70).

- Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H: 4 DDR3 slots, SATA III (price — $60–80).

Selection Tips:

- Ensure the BIOS is updated to the latest version (Windows 11 support is possible through modifications).

- Avoid boards with damaged capacitors — they are common in the secondary market.

Supported Memory Types

Memory Type: DDR3 (not compatible with DDR4/DDR5!).

- Frequencies: up to 1333 MHz (officially), but some boards allow overclocking to 1600 MHz.

- Maximum Capacity: 32 GB (4 slots of 8 GB each).

Recommendations:

- Use dual-channel mode (2 sticks of the same size) for a +10–15% performance increase in gaming and rendering.

- The optimal choice for 2025 is DDR3-1600 8 GB (2x4 GB) for $25–30.

Power Supply Recommendations

With a TDP of 35 W, the processor puts minimal load on the system. However, it is important to consider the other components:

- Integrated Graphics: adds 10–15 W.

- HDD/SSD, fans: ~20 W.

Minimum Requirements:

- 300 W power supply (for example, EVGA 300 W 80+ Bronze, $35).

- For systems with a discrete graphics card (e.g., GT 1030) — 400 W (Corsair CV450, $45).

Tip: Don't skimp on the PSU! Older models with low efficiency can cause instability.

Pros and Cons of the Intel Pentium G2100T

Pros:

- Energy Efficiency: suitable for HTPC or office PCs with passive cooling.

- Low Price: new processor (if found for sale) — $40–50.

- Reliability: a time-tested architecture.

Cons:

- Outdated Platform: no support for NVMe, USB 3.1, Wi-Fi 6.

- Weak Upgrade Potential: maximum upgrade to Core i7-3770, which is also outdated.

- No support for modern games: even CS2 will run on low settings at 30–40 FPS.

Use Cases

1. Office Tasks: Working with documents, email, Zoom.

Example: Paired with an SSD, the system boots in 15 seconds, Excel with spreadsheets of 10,000 rows runs without lags.

2. Multimedia: Watching 1080p video (4K via YouTube lags), streaming via Plex.

Example: A PC in the living room with Kodi on Linux — quiet and economical.

3. Retro Gaming: Games up to 2012 (Half-Life 2, GTA IV on low settings).

4. Server Tasks: NAS based on OpenMediaVault (but not for heavy RAID arrays).

Comparison with Competitors

1. AMD Athlon 200GE (2018):

- Pros: DDR4 support, Vega 3 graphics.

- Cons: secondary market price — $60, higher power consumption (35 W vs 35 W).

- Conclusion: Athlon is better for modern tasks but pricier.

2. Intel Celeron G5905 (2020):

- Pros: LGA 1200 socket, DDR4-2666.

- Cons: new price — $55, but requires a new motherboard ($70+).

3. Raspberry Pi 5:

- Pros: power consumption of 5 W, HDMI 2.1 support.

- Cons: x86 software does not work, weak performance.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Case Selection: Mini-ITX (Cooler Master Elite 110) or compact mATX.

2. Cooling: The stock cooler is sufficient, but for quiet operation, consider the Deepcool GAMMAXX 200T ($15).

3. Storage: An SSD is essential (Kingston A400 240 GB, $20).

4. Networking Options: Add a PCIe Wi-Fi 5 adapter (TP-Link Archer TX50E, $25).

Final Conclusion: Who is the Pentium G2100T Suitable For?

This processor is worth considering:

- Owners of old PCs for upgrades without replacing the motherboard.

- Retro computer enthusiasts building systems from the 2010s.

- Offices where low cost and reliability are important.

Why not choose something newer? If the budget is strictly limited ($100–150 for the whole build), the G2100T remains a viable option. However, for future upgrades, it's better to add $50–70 and opt for the Celeron G6905 or Ryzen 3 3200G.

Price in 2025: New processors are nearly unavailable, but leftovers can be found for $40–50. Motherboards start at $50.

The Intel Pentium G2100T is an example of a "workhorse" that, despite its age, finds application in the era of DDR5 and 5 nm process technologies. Its primary advantage is minimal investment required here and now.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

July 2012

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.

G2100T

Code Name

Ivi Bridge

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

2.60 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.

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1155

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.

22 nm

TDP

35 W

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

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

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

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.

DDR3 1333/1600

Max Memory Size

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

32 GB

Memory Channels

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

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

Bus Speed

5 GT/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

GPU Name

Intel® HD Graphics for 3rd Generation Intel® Processors

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 Base Frequency

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

650 MHz

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.

Instruction Set Extensions

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.

3 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.

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 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

Intel Quick Sync Video

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

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

522

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

958

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1460

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

1691

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E5-4620

557 +6.7%

A10-7870K

537 +2.9%

Pentium G2100T

522

Pentium Silver J5040

507 -2.9%

Celeron G1630

492 -5.7%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

LS3A6000

1103 +15.1%

Core i3-7102E

1053 +9.9%

Pentium G2100T

958

Core i3-2330M

871 -9.1%

Core i3-390M

802 -16.3%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Celeron G1830

1513 +3.6%

Xeon E5-4620

1486 +1.8%

Pentium G2100T

1460

A8-5600K

1428 -2.2%

Xeon E5-4650L

1394 -4.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i5-2430M

2002 +18.4%

Core i5-2510E

1889 +11.7%

Pentium G2100T

1691

A4 PRO-7350B

1544 -8.7%

Athlon 5150

1388 -17.9%