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Intel Pentium Gold G5420T

Intel Pentium Gold G5420T: Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

April 2025

Key Features: Coffee Lake Architecture and Modest Performance

The Intel Pentium Gold G5420T processor, released in 2019, remains a viable option for budget builds thanks to its low power consumption and affordable price (around $55–65 in 2025).

Architecture and Process Technology:

- Codename — Coffee Lake, 14nm technology.

- 2 cores / 4 threads (Hyper-Threading).

- Base frequency — 3.2 GHz (no Turbo Boost).

- Integrated graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 610 (base frequency 350 MHz).

- TDP — 35 W, making it ideal for compact systems.

Performance:

- In Geekbench 6 (2025): 695 points (single-thread), 1404 points (multi-thread).

- For comparison: The modern Celeron G6900 (2023) scores about 850 points in the single-thread test but costs $20 more.

Key Features:

- Low heat output — suitable for passive cooling.

- 4K support via HDMI 1.4 (maximum 30 Hz) and DisplayPort 1.2.

- Virtualization (VT-x) and hardware encryption (AES-NI).

Compatible Motherboards: LGA 1151 Socket and 300-Series Chipsets

The G5420T requires a motherboard with LGA 1151 (revision 2) socket. However, not all chipsets support the processor out of the box.

Recommended Chipsets:

1. H310 — the most budget-friendly option (starting at $45). Suitable for office PCs but limited to 2 DDR4 slots and lacks USB 3.1 Gen2.

2. B360/B365 — the optimal choice (starting at $60). Comes with 4 RAM slots, M.2 for NVMe, and USB 3.1.

3. H370 — for those needing RAID support (starting at $75).

Important:

- A BIOS update may be required for motherboards released before 2019.

- Avoid Z390 chipsets — their functionality is excessive for the Pentium.

Practical Example: The ASRock B365M-HDV motherboard ($65) is a good compromise between price and functionality.

Supported Memory: Only DDR4

The G5420T works with DDR4-2400 MHz (official support). The maximum capacity is 64 GB, but for most tasks, 8–16 GB will suffice.

Recommendations:

- Use dual-channel mode: 2 modules of 4 GB instead of one 8 GB — this will provide a +15% boost to graphics performance.

- Compatible modules: Kingston ValueRAM DDR4-2400 (8 GB — $25), Crucial DDR4-2666 (compatible but will operate at 2400 MHz).

Limitations:

- DDR5 and LPDDR4x are not supported.

Power Supply: Saving Watts

With a TDP of 35 W and no discrete graphics card, the system will suffice with a 300–400 W power supply.

Examples:

- Be Quiet! System Power 10 350W ($45) — quiet, with an 80+ Bronze rating.

- EVGA 400 BR ($35) — a basic option for office PCs.

Tip: If you plan to upgrade (for instance, adding a graphics card), choose a 500 W PSU (Corsair CX550 — $60).

Pros and Cons of the Pentium Gold G5420T

Pros:

- Energy efficiency: A PC with this CPU consumes ~50 W under load.

- Low price: A bundle of “processor + motherboard + RAM” will cost about $150–200.

- Quiet operation: A cooler up to 40 mm high is sufficient (Noctua NH-L9i — $45).

Cons:

- Weak multi-threading potential: 4 threads are not enough for rendering or streaming.

- Outdated graphics: UHD 610 can only handle 4K video and 2010s games at low settings (CS:GO runs at 30–40 fps in 720p).

- No support for PCIe 4.0/5.0.

Use Cases: Who Is This Processor For?

1. Office Tasks: Document work, browsing (10+ tabs), Zoom.

2. Multimedia: Watching 4K videos (via VLC with hardware acceleration), streaming Netflix.

3. Light Gaming:

- Minecraft (60 fps in 720p),

- Stardew Valley (stable 60 fps),

- League of Legends (40–50 fps in 1080p on low settings).

4. Home Server/NAS: Suitable for 24/7 operation due to low TDP.

Real-world example: A user built a media center on the G5420T using an InWin Chopin case ($90), connected it to a TV, and uses it for streaming TV and emulating older games (up to PS2).

Comparison with Competitors

1. AMD Athlon 3000G (Zen, 14nm):

- Pros: Unlocked multiplier, Vega 3 graphics (20% faster than UHD 610).

- Cons: Higher TDP (35 W vs. 54 W for AMD), more expensive ($70 in 2025).

2. Intel Celeron G6900 (Alder Lake, 10nm):

- Pros: Higher IPC, DDR5 support, priced at $75.

- Cons: No Hyper-Threading (2 cores / 2 threads).

Conclusion: The G5420T only competes successfully when building the absolute cheapest system.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Case: Choose models with limited cooling options (Fractal Design Core 500 — $60).

2. Storage: Always include an SSD (Kingston A400 240 GB — $30). An HDD will slow down the system.

3. Cooling: The stock cooler is adequate, but replace it with an Arctic Alpine 12 ($15) for quieter operation.

4. Networking: Add a Wi-Fi module (Intel AX210 — $25) if the motherboard lacks a wireless adapter.

Final Conclusion: Who Is the Pentium Gold G5420T For?

This processor is a good choice if:

- You need a PC for study or text work under $200.

- A quiet and compact system is required (for instance, in a living room).

- You are building a NAS or router with data storage functions.

Why is it still relevant in 2025? Despite its age, the G5420T remains one of the most affordable CPUs with DDR4 and 4K support. However, for gaming or video editing, it's better to pay extra for the Celeron G6900 or AMD Ryzen 3 5300G.

Summary: The Intel Pentium Gold G5420T is a "workhorse" for undemanding tasks. Its main advantages are price and energy efficiency, but the system does not anticipate future upgrades.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

April 2019

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.

G5420T

Code Name

Coffee Lake

CPU Specifications

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.

Yes

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

35 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

88°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.

4 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

695

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1404

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

749

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1630

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1978

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3452

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon E5-1660 v2

818 +17.7%

Celeron G5920

749 +7.8%

Pentium Gold G5420T

695

A12-9800E

651 -6.3%

Pentium G3258

617 -11.2%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i5-7Y54

1715 +22.2%

Core i7-3612QM

1541 +9.8%

Pentium Gold G5420T

1404

Athlon X4 760K

1236 -12%

Core i5-3360M

1094 -22.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon Gold 6238R

789 +5.3%

Xeon E3-1268L v5

774 +3.3%

Pentium Gold G5420T

749

Core i7-4712HQ

736 -1.7%

Xeon E5-2640 v4

717 -4.3%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2407 v2

1888 +15.8%

Core i5-2400S

1738 +6.6%

Pentium Gold G5420T

1630

Core i3-6100T

1534 -5.9%

Pentium G4600T

1460 -10.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E3-1240 v2

2036 +2.9%

Core i3-7101TE

2007 +1.5%

Pentium Gold G5420T

1978

Ryzen 7 3780U

1953 -1.3%

Xeon Silver 4316

1928 -2.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Pentium Gold G5500

3821 +10.7%

Core i5-2310

3644 +5.6%

Pentium Gold G5420T

3452

Celeron 6600HE

3286 -4.8%

A10-6700

3116 -9.7%