Intel Pentium Gold G6400 vs Intel Core i3-8121U

Processor comparisons 11-09-2022

   You may have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Intel Pentium Gold G6400 vs Intel Core i3-8121U and decide which is better for games or normal use for streaming, machine learning, rendering, video editing, programming. Here you can find useful information from many benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications such as Furmark, Prime95, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, RealBench, MATLAB, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, UserBenchmark, 7zip, Gears 5, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, SuperPi, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PassMark, WPrime, Handbrake, Blender, Dolphin Emulator, AIDA64, Blender.
   And how good the processors are in games:

Valorant
DOOM: Eternal
Rainbow Six Siege
Cyberpunk 2077
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Valheim
Grand Theft Auto V
Fortnite
Apex Legends
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Last Man Standing
Death Stranding
Watch Dogs Legion
Fallout 76
Halo Infinite
Overwatch
Borderlands 3
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Red Dead Redemption 2

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i3-8121U or Intel Pentium Gold G6400.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Pentium Gold G6400

51%

Core i3-8121U

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Pentium Gold G6400

51%

Core i3-8121U

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a little game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghostrunner, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, League of Legends (LOL), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, NBA 2K20, Metro Exodus, Control, Monster Hunter World, DOTA 2A, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.4	90.1
Valorant	102.7	102.4
Cyberpunk 2077	57.5	57.3
Apex Legends	96.5	96.2
Call of Duty Warzone	77.0	76.8
Overwatch	83.2	82.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.8	70.6
DOOM Eternal	51.3	51.2
Warzone	80.1	79.9
Assassin's Creed	86.3	86.0
Valheim	85.2	85.0

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers that were in the comparisons not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Pentium Gold G6400

65%

Core i3-8121U

200%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i3-8121U is more energy efficient than the Pentium Gold G6400 as it consumes less power: 58W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Pentium Gold G6400	Intel Core i3-8121U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	166	139
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	416	305
Cinbench 20 Single-core	415	340
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	953	598
Cinbench 23 Single-core	623	563
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2103	2184

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Pentium Gold G6400	Intel Core i3-8121U
Single-Core	2441	1939
Multi-Core	4155	4369

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Pentium Gold G6400	Intel Core i3-8121U
Single-Core	1138	901
Multi-Core	2313	2063

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Pentium Gold G6400	Intel Core i3-8121U
Announcement date	June 24, 2020	July 07, 2018
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	FCLGA1200	Unknown
Core name	Comet Lake	Cannon Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	8
Turbo Frequency		3.2 MHz
Frequency	4 MHz	2.2 MHz
Cores	2	2
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	8 GT/s	4 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	10 nm
Transistors count	2600 millions	1800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	58 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400, LPDDR4/x-2400
Max. Memory	128 Gb	32 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	37.5 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	4 MB	4 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	Expansion Options

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Pentium Gold G6400 is 44% better than Core i3-8121U in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Pentium Gold G6400 is better: 26
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-8121U is better: 5
Although it should be understood that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Pentium Gold G6400 and Intel Core i3-8121U before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Pentium Gold G6400 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Pentium Gold G6400 specs and review.

Intel Core i3-8121U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i3-8121U specs and review.