Home / Intel Pentium / Intel Pentium G4500: Performance and Specs

Intel Pentium G4500

Intel Pentium G4500: Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

A current review for those seeking a minimalist build

Key Features: SkyLake in Detail

Architecture and Manufacturing Process

The Intel Pentium G4500, released in 2016, is based on the SkyLake microarchitecture and is manufactured using a 14nm process. Despite its age, it remains a viable option for ultra-budget builds in 2025. Key features include:

- 2 cores / 2 threads — the lack of Hyper-Threading limits multitasking.

- Base clock speed of 3.5 GHz — fixed multiplier, overclocking is not possible.

- 4 MB L3 cache — sufficient for simple applications.

- Integrated graphics HD Graphics 530 — supports 4K at 60Hz via HDMI 1.4, but is not suitable for gaming.

Performance: In the Geekbench 6 test (2025) the processor scores 697 points in single-threaded mode and 1132 in multi-threaded mode. This level is adequate for basic office work and web browsing.

Compatible Motherboards

Socket and Chipsets

The Pentium G4500 uses the LGA 1151 (version v1) socket. Supported chipsets include:

- H110, B150, H170, Z170 — models from 2015-2016.

- Selection considerations: In 2025, new boards with these chipsets are virtually not produced. Prices for remaining stock range from $60 (ASRock H110M-HDV) to $100 (Gigabyte Z170-HD3).

Important: 100/200 series chipsets do not support DDR5 or PCIe 4.0. Upgrading the system will require replacing both the motherboard and the processor.

Supported Memory

DDR4 and its Limitations

The processor works only with DDR4-2133 MHz (officially). Modern DDR4-3200 modules will function at a reduced frequency. Recommended capacity:

- 8 GB (2x4 GB) — sufficient for Windows 11 and basic tasks.

- 16 GB — excessive but relevant when working with 10+ browser tabs and light applications.

2025 prices for new DDR4 modules:

- 8 GB — starting at $30;

- 16 GB — starting at $55.

Power Supply Recommendations

Energy Efficiency First

With a TDP of 51W, the processor does not require a powerful PSU. However, the choice depends on the configuration:

- Without a discrete graphics card: a 300W power supply is sufficient (for example, be quiet! Pure Power 11 300W — $45).

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

Tip: Do not skimp on the PSU for stability. Even in a budget build, it's better to choose models with an 80+ Bronze certification.

Pros and Cons of the Pentium G4500

Strengths:

- Low price: New processors (if available) — $50–70.

- Energy efficiency: Suitable for compact PCs and systems with passive cooling.

- HD Graphics 530: Saves on the graphics card for office tasks.

Weaknesses:

- 2 cores: Multitasking is limited — the system can struggle when running Photoshop and a browser simultaneously.

- Outdated platform: No support for NVMe, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Wi-Fi 6.

- No future-proofing: Even in 2025, two cores are insufficient for demanding OS and software.

Use Scenarios

Who is the G4500 Suitable For?

1. Office PCs: Working with documents, email, and video calls.

Example: A build based on G4500 + 8 GB DDR4 + 256 GB SSD would cost $200–250.

2. Home Media Center: Streaming video (Netflix, YouTube 4K), music.

Limitation: HDR and AV1 are not supported.

3. Educational Projects: PCs for students or seniors.

Not Suitable For:

- Modern games (even Fortnite on low settings — frames below 30 FPS).

- Video editing, 3D modeling.

Comparison with Competitors

Budget Alternatives for 2025

1. AMD Athlon 3000G (Zen, 2 cores/4 threads):

- Pros: SMT, Vega 3 graphics.

- Cons: Clock speed of 3.5 GHz, price $60.

- Conclusion: Better in multitasking, but the AM4 platform is also aging.

2. Intel Celeron G5925 (Comet Lake, 2 cores):

- Pros: Supports DDR4-2666, price $55.

- Cons: No significant advantages over G4500.

3. Mini-PCs on ARM: For example, Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB) for $100.

- Pros: Energy efficiency, quiet operation.

- Cons: x86 compatibility is questionable.

Practical Assembly Tips

How to Avoid Mistakes

1. Motherboard: Look for models with HDMI 2.0 if 4K is needed (e.g., ASUS B150M-A/M.2).

2. Cooling: The boxed cooler is sufficient, but replace it with a Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 V2 ($20) for quiet operation.

3. Storage: Choose SSD (Kingston A400 480 GB — $35); HDD will slow down the system.

4. Case: A compact Mini-Tower will do (Fractal Design Core 1100 — $45).

Example Build:

- Processor: G4500 ($60)

- Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDV ($65)

- Memory: 8 GB DDR4-2133 ($30)

- SSD: 256 GB ($30)

- PSU: 400W ($45)

- Case: $40

Total: $270.

Final Conclusion: Who is the Pentium G4500 Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for those who:

- Are building a cheap PC for office or study.

- Do not plan to run modern applications.

- Want to use leftover old components (DDR4, case).

Reasons Not to Choose the G4500 in 2025:

- For similar money, one can buy a used Core i5 7th generation with 4 cores.

- New ARM solutions are more efficient for media centers.

Final Thought: The Pentium G4500 is a niche product. It only makes sense for a strict budget of up to $300 and no performance requirements.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

September 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.

G4500

Code Name

SkyLake

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

3.50 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

4 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

51 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.

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.

DDR4-1866/2133 | DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V

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).

34.1 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 530

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

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

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

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

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.

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.

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

OpenGL Support

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

4.4

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

697

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1132

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

880

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1563

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2141

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

2761

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon E5-1660

818 +17.4%

Ryzen 3 2300U

753 +8%

Pentium G4500

697

Pentium D1508

652 -6.5%

PRO A8-9600

617 -11.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Celeron 6305E

1461 +29.1%

FX-4350

1289 +13.9%

Pentium G4500

1132

Phenom II X4 840

1024 -9.5%

Athlon X4 740

927 -18.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E3-1535M v5

917 +4.2%

Core i7-4930K

896 +1.8%

Pentium G4500

880

Ryzen 5 2400GE

869 -1.3%

Xeon Gold 5218T

852 -3.2%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2650 v2

1811 +15.9%

Core i7-7500U

1658 +6.1%

Pentium G4500

1563

Core i5-3340S

1478 -5.4%

PRO A12-9800E

1408 -9.9%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i5-4690K

2195 +2.5%

Core i5-4670R

2164 +1.1%

Pentium G4500

2141

Core i7-7820HK

2117 -1.1%

Xeon Gold 6138T

2087 -2.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i5-4570TE

3074 +11.3%

Core i3-10100Y

2940 +6.5%

Pentium G4500

2761

Pentium Silver N5000

2598 -5.9%

A8-3850

2368 -14.2%