Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-2600

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-2600 and decide which is better for games or simple use for rendering, streaming, programming, machine learning, video editing. Here is all information from real streaming and video editing tests or various benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications such as Handbrake, Furmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, MATLAB, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, WPrime, Blender, 3DMark, Blender, Gears 5, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), SuperPi, RealBench, AIDA64, PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, 7zip, Prime95.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-2600 or Intel Pentium Gold G6500.

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 G6500

51%

Core i7-2600

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Pentium Gold G6500

51%

Core i7-2600

51%

For the maximum in this test, the results of the most powerful processor in the site database are taken. 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. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Horizon Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Hitman 3, Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Battlefield V, Forza Horizon 4, NBA 2K20, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Control, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.3	91.3
Valorant	102.6	103.7
Cyberpunk 2077	57.5	58.1
Apex Legends	96.5	97.5
Call of Duty Warzone	77.0	77.8
Overwatch	83.1	84.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.8	71.6
DOOM Eternal	51.3	51.9
Warzone	80.1	80.9
Assassin's Creed	86.2	87.1
Valheim	85.2	86.1

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 participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance 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 G6500

59%

Core i7-2600

29%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Pentium Gold G6500 is more energy efficient than the Core i7-2600 since it has less power consumption: 58W vs. 95W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. 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

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, machine learning, video editing or video rendering, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the advantages 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 G6500	Intel Core i7-2600
Cinbench 15 Single-core	171	124
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	427	568
Cinbench 20 Single-core	424	257
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	964	1824
Cinbench 23 Single-core	628	759
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2125	3647

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-2600
Single-Core	2592	1751
Multi-Core	4200	5341

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-2600
Single-Core	1030	844
Multi-Core	2280	3227

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-2600
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	October 01, 2010
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1200	LGA1155
Core name	Comet Lake	Sandy Bridge
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10
Turbo Frequency		3.8 MHz
Frequency	4.1 MHz	3.4 MHz
Cores	2	4
Threads	4	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	5 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	32 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	2460 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	58 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR3 1066/1333
Max. Memory	128 Gb	32 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	21 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	4 MB	8 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Pentium Gold G6500 is 17% better than Core i7-2600 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-2600 has 2 more core than Pentium Gold G6500. 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 G6500 is better: 12
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-2600 is better: 22
Although it should be realized that all the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Pentium Gold G6500 and Intel Core i7-2600 before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.

• Intel Pentium Gold G6500 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-2600 specs and review.