Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-8550U

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   Perhaps you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Intel Pentium Gold G6500 vs Intel Core i7-8550U and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, video editing, machine learning, streaming, rendering. Here is all information from real streaming and video editing tests or different benchmarks. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software such as Blender, SuperPi, 3DMark, AIDA64, PassMark, 7zip, VeraCrypt, Gears 5, MATLAB, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, Prime95, RealBench, Blender, UserBenchmark, WPrime.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-8550U 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 i7-8550U

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Pentium Gold G6500

51%

Core i7-8550U

52%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.3	91.9
Valorant	102.6	104.4
Cyberpunk 2077	57.5	58.5
Apex Legends	96.5	98.1
Call of Duty Warzone	77.0	78.3
Overwatch	83.1	84.6
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.8	72.0
DOOM Eternal	51.3	52.2
Warzone	80.1	81.4
Assassin's Creed	86.2	87.7
Valheim	85.2	86.6

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: 2K, FullHD or 4K. 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Pentium Gold G6500

59%

Core i7-8550U

228%

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 Core i7-8550U is more energy efficient than the Pentium Gold G6500 since it has less power consumption: 58W vs. 15W. 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, video rendering or video editing, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU includes all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, 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 i7-8550U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	171	167
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	427	564
Cinbench 20 Single-core	424	354
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	964	1211
Cinbench 23 Single-core	628	979
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2125	3111

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-8550U
Single-Core	2592	2072
Multi-Core	4200	5970

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

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-8550U
Single-Core	1030	1027
Multi-Core	2280	3788

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful 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 you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Pentium Gold G6500	Intel Core i7-8550U
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2017
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	FCLGA1200	FC-BGA1356
Core name	Comet Lake	Kaby Lake R
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	8
Turbo Frequency		4 MHz
Frequency	4.1 MHz	1.8 MHz
Cores	2	4
Threads	4	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	4 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1820 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	58 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133
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	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 56% better than Core i7-8550U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i7-8550U 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: 11
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-8550U is better: 23
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Pentium Gold G6500 and Intel Core i7-8550U before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Pentium Gold G6500 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-8550U specs and review.