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Intel Pentium G3250

Intel Pentium G3250 in 2025: Budget Classic or Obsolete Relic?

A complete analysis of the processor for budget-conscious users

Key Specifications: What's Inside?

The Intel Pentium G3250, released in 2014, is still found in budget builds. Its Haswell architecture (4th generation Intel Core) is built on a 22nm process technology, which was progressive for its time. However, in 2025, this looks archaic compared to AMD and Intel's 7nm chips.

Cores and Threads: 2 cores, 2 threads. This is the minimum configuration even for basic tasks. The L3 cache is 3MB, which is half that of modern Pentium Gold processors. Integrated Graphics — Intel HD (GT1) for the 4th generation: supports 4K via DisplayPort, but is not suitable for gaming.

Performance:

- Geekbench 6: 573 (Single-Core), 975 (Multi-Core).

For comparison, the Pentium Gold G7400 (2023) scores around ~1500/2800. However, it's sufficient for document work or YouTube.

Key Features:

- Unlocked multiplier (but only in G3258, not in G3250).

- Low power consumption (TDP 53W).

- Support for SSE4.2 and AVX2 instructions.

Compatible Motherboards: What to Choose in 2025?

Socket: LGA 1150 — an outdated format. New boards are not being produced, but some new models can still be found on the market:

- ASRock H81M-HDS ($70-90).

- Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H ($80-110).

Chipsets:

- H81/B85 — basic, no overclocking.

- H97/Z97 — support for RAID, more SATA 6Gb/s ports.

Selection Tips:

- Look for boards with HDMI/DVI for connecting modern monitors.

- Check for USB 3.0 availability (relevant for external SSDs).

- Avoid boards with swollen capacitors — a common defect in older models.

Memory: DDR3 vs. Modern Standards

The Pentium G3250 works only with DDR3-1333/1600. DDR4/DDR5 are not supported.

Recommendations:

- Use dual-channel mode (2x4GB or 2x8GB) to increase bandwidth.

- Maximum capacity is 32GB, but 8GB is enough for an office PC.

- Prices: new 8GB DDR3-1600 modules cost $25-30 (e.g., Kingston HyperX Fury).

Limitations:

- No support for XMP profiles — memory speeds above 1600 MHz are not achievable.

Power Supply: How Many Watts Do You Need?

With a TDP of 53W, the processor is extremely power-efficient.

Recommendations:

- For a system without a discrete graphics card: 300-400W (e.g., be quiet! System Power 9 400W, $45).

- With an NVIDIA GT 1030 level GPU: 450-500W (Corsair CX450, $55).

Important:

- Don't skimp on the power supply! Cheap models (like Apevia) can "kill" components.

Pros and Cons: Who Should Consider It?

Pros:

- Price: new processor — $50-60 (if you find it), used — $15-20.

- Energy efficiency: suitable for compact HTPCs.

- Easy installation: the stock cooler works fine without thermal paste.

Cons:

- Weak multithreading: 2 threads are insufficient even for a browser with 10 tabs open.

- No support for PCIe 4.0, USB 3.1, NVMe (only through adapters).

- Outdated graphics: CS:GO on minimum settings — 30-40 FPS.

Use Cases: Where is the G3250 Still Relevant?

1. Office PCs: Word, Excel, Zoom — the processor can handle it but may lag when multitasking.

2. Media Center: Streaming video at 1080p/4K (with hardware decoding) through Kodi or Plex.

3. Servers: NAS based on OpenMediaVault — low power consumption and sufficient power for file storage.

4. Educational Projects: PC for a student — running Scratch and educational programs.

Real Example: A build for parents — G3250 + 8GB DDR3 + 240GB SSD. Result: Fast booting of Windows 11 (bypassing TPM), smooth YouTube viewing.

Comparison with Competitors: Who's Better?

1. AMD Athlon 3000G (2023):

- 2 cores/4 threads, Vega 3 GPU.

- Geekbench 6: ~650/1350.

- Price: $60 (new).

Conclusion: Better in multithreading, but more expensive.

2. Intel Celeron G5920 (2020):

- 2 cores/2 threads, UHD 610.

- Geekbench 6: ~600/1100.

- Price: $45 (new).

Conclusion: An alternative, but without advantages.

Building Tips: How Not to Go Wrong

1. SSD is a Must: Kingston A400 240GB ($25) will eliminate HDD "lags."

2. Optimal RAM: 8GB DDR3-1600 (2x4GB).

3. Cooling: The stock cooler is enough, but for silence, consider Deepcool GAMMAXX 200T ($18).

4. Case: Mini-ITX (Fractal Design Node 304) for a media center.

Mistakes to Avoid:

- Buying an expensive motherboard — don't overpay for Z97.

- Installing a powerful graphics card (like RTX 3050) — the processor will become a "bottleneck."

Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the Pentium G3250?

This processor is a choice for those who:

- Are building a cheap PC for basic tasks (up to $200 for the system).

- Need an energy-efficient solution for 24/7 operation (e.g., a home server).

- Are looking for an upgrade for an old computer with LGA 1150.

Reasons Against Purchase:

- If you plan to work in Photoshop, edit videos, or play games in 2025 — it's a waste of money.

Alternative for 2025:

- For $100-120, you can get a used Intel Core i5-6500 + motherboard — this would provide a significant performance boost.

Conclusion: The Pentium G3250 in 2025 is a niche product. It survives due to its low price and simplicity, but its time is close to an end. Choose it only if your budget is strictly limited and your tasks are minimal.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

July 2014

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.

G3250

Code Name

Haswell

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

3.20 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

3 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1150

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

53 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.

Up to 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.

DDR3-1333 | DDR3L-1333 @ 1.5V

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.

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).

21.3 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® HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel® Processors

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.

1.10 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

1.7 GB

DirectX Support

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

11.1/12

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.

1920x1080@60Hz

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.

2560x1600@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.

2560x1600@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

1920x1200@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

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

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI/VGA

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.

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.

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 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

OpenGL Support

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

4.3

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

573

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

975

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

632

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1146

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1813

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

1989

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Celeron G5900E

650 +13.4%

Core i7-3820QM

614 +7.2%

Pentium G3250

573

Core i7-2720QM

537 -6.3%

FX-8350

498 -13.1%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Pentium D1508

1236 +26.8%

A10 PRO-7800B

1095 +12.3%

Pentium G3250

975

Pentium 1403 V2

891 -8.6%

Pentium G860

743 -23.8%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i7-3630QM

677 +7.1%

Xeon E5-2687W v3

656 +3.8%

Pentium G3250

632

Core i5-3340M

609 -3.6%

Xeon Gold 5220R

587 -7.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Pentium Silver N5000

1317 +14.9%

Core i7-2710QE

1231 +7.4%

Pentium G3250

1146

Pentium G2140

1070 -6.6%

Pentium G3260T

993 -13.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen Embedded R1606G

1894 +4.5%

Pentium G4500T

1861 +2.6%

Pentium G3250

1813

Core i3-1000NG4

1790 -1.3%

Celeron 6600HE

1764 -2.7%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

A8-3870K

2294 +15.3%

Pentium G3450

2167 +8.9%

Pentium G3250

1989

PRO A6-8550B

1882 -5.4%

Pentium G2020

1681 -15.5%