Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-4790

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   If there are difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-4790 and understand which is better for games or simple use for rendering, video editing, machine learning, streaming, programming. Here is all information from real video editing and streaming tests or several benchmarks. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications like Blender, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, WPrime, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, MATLAB, RealBench, 7zip, Blender, SuperPi, Handbrake, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 3DMark, Gears 5, PassMark, AIDA64.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-4790 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 i7-4790

52%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i7-4790 is 1% better than Pentium Gold G6500. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Pentium Gold G6500

51%

Core i7-4790

52%

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 play games. Because the cost of this processor reaches 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 less popular games in which processors were compared: Horizon Zero Dawn, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Control, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Battlefield V, Half-Life: Alyx, Microsoft Flight Simulator, NBA 2K20, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, DOTA 2A.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.3	92.1
Valorant	102.6	104.7
Cyberpunk 2077	57.5	58.6
Apex Legends	96.5	98.4
Call of Duty Warzone	77.0	78.5
Overwatch	83.1	84.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.8	72.2
DOOM Eternal	51.3	52.3
Warzone	80.1	81.6
Assassin's Creed	86.2	87.9
Valheim	85.2	86.9

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 comparing not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. So 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 i7-4790

31%

To make a final decision 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 i7-4790 as it consumes less power: 58W vs. 84W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is 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, video rendering or video editing, streaming, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum efficiency, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has. 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 are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-4790
Cinbench 15 Single-core	171	145
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	427	728
Cinbench 20 Single-core	424	384
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	964	1819
Cinbench 23 Single-core	628	974
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2125	4564

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-4790
Single-Core	2592	2247
Multi-Core	4200	7177

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-4790
Single-Core	1030	785
Multi-Core	2280	4018

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 later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-4790
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2014
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA1200	FCLGA1150
Core name	Comet Lake	Haswell
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	4
Turbo Frequency		4 MHz
Frequency	4.1 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	2	4
Threads	4	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	5 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	22 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1480 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	58 W	84 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V
Max. Memory	128 Gb	32 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	25.6 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 12% better than Core i7-4790 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-4790 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: 13
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-4790 is better: 22
However, it should be realized that all the data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should fully trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Pentium Gold G6500 and Intel Core i7-4790 before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Pentium Gold G6500 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-4790 specs and review.