
Three different WinZip tests give us plenty of data to pore over.
We’re sorting by the outcome of the CPU test, in red. There, the dual-core Pentium and dual-module Athlon, both overclocked, achieve a similar result slightly behind a much more expensive Core i3-4330.
When you push maximum compression using the –ez switch, AMD falters. Intel’s overclocked Pentium basically ties the Core i3, and both best the tweaked Athlon X4 750K by almost 15%.
Our OpenCL-accelerated test doesn’t punish AMD as severely as our Photoshop-based test did. Then again, work is only offloaded to the GeForce card when a file larger than 8 MB needs to be compressed, so the API isn’t in play throughout this benchmark.

Overclocking benefits both AMD and Intel, though the Pentium’s architecture appears better-suited to WinRAR right out of the gate. Even at 4.3 GHz, the Athlon X4 750K can’t match a stock Pentium G3258.

The tables turn in 7-Zip, where the overclocked Pentium cannot touch AMD’s stock Athlon X4 750K. 7-Zip is well-known to lean heavily on available cores/threads, and the more parallelized architectures leave Intel’s dual-core solution in the dust.
- An Enthusiast-Oriented Pentium CPU?
- Overclocking Pentium G3258 And Athlon X4 750K
- How We Tested Intel’s Pentium G3258 And AMD’s Athlon X4 750K
- Results: Arma 3
- Results: Battlefield 4
- Results: Grid 2
- Results: Metro: Last Light
- Results: Thief
- Results: Tomb Raider
- Results: World of Warcraft
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Content Creation
- Results: Adobe CC
- Results: Productivity And Media Encoding
- Results: Compression Apps
- Power Consumption And Efficiency
- Haswell, Unlocked, For $75
Because of course buying a pentium G and fitting it with a 150USD board and 50USD cooler does not make sens by itself ,but you have a 100% future-compatible system that can be upgraded very very easily...
No, sorry. That is not true. Check this article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-10.html
You should overclock your Q9550 to get performance that barely comes close to an ivy-bridge I3 on games and lightly threaded workloads (and it gets stomped by any i5 on any workload)... I personally have an OC'd QX9650 and am not even close. I believe if I change to that Pentium G, and overclock it as well, that would still be an upgrade...
Because of course buying a pentium G and fitting it with a 150USD board and 50USD cooler does not make sens by itself ,but you have a 100% future-compatible system that can be upgraded very very easily...
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $629.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-17 04:48 EDT-0400
No, sorry. That is not true. Check this article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-10.html
You should overclock your Q9550 to get performance that barely comes close to an ivy-bridge I3 on games and lightly threaded workloads (and it gets stomped by any i5 on any workload)... I personally have an OC'd QX9650 and am not even close. I believe if I change to that Pentium G, and overclock it as well, that would still be an upgrade...
Yeah that would be better unless Intel decides to let o/c on Pentium with other chipsets like H97.
Leaked BIOS Enables Pentium Anniversary Edition OC on Some MSI H97 Boards
MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $88.99
So if this happens and intel decide to let even lower mobo chipsets to do o/c only for pentiums it would be nice to pair $60 mobo, $75 CPU and a $25-30 CM 212 EVO or plus, to a total of ~$160 for a o/c ready system.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $629.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-17 04:48 EDT-0400
As you say, the price difference is negligible. The performance difference is also fairly small, and both platforms leave lots of headroom for future upgrades. I am under the impression that any motherboard that can house this new Pentium can also run a blazing-fast i7. The article, unfortunately, doesn't mention that the AMD solution can't even run a FX chip. For someone looking to just get into an inexpensive PC with an eye towards future upgrades, the Intel solution is dramatically more attractive.
Compelling CPU, unfortunately your still stuck with buying a mildly overpriced Z-series board.
Now if this CPU had Iris or Iris Pro, then it would be MUCH MUCH more compelling.
Anyway I can see this being a good buy for an enthusiast that isn't quite making it to get an I5 or I7 at their price point but needs a machine performing decently NOW and wants to overclock, he can then upgrade to and I7 or I5 at a later date.
As you say, the price difference is negligible. The performance difference is also fairly small, and both platforms leave lots of headroom for future upgrades. I am under the impression that any motherboard that can house this new Pentium can also run a blazing-fast i7. The article, unfortunately, doesn't mention that the AMD solution can't even run a FX chip. For someone looking to just get into an inexpensive PC with an eye towards future upgrades, the Intel solution is dramatically more attractive.[/quote]
The point is rather moot as you probably wouldn't upgrade from a Kaveri-based APU to a Piledriver-based CPU, and FX in its current form is dead anyway.
> Could get a Q9550 for that price on Ebay ...
An i7 870 on P55 would be a better buy than a Q9550. 870s dropped below
50 UKP on ebay UK this week. Never mind S775, my 870/P55 setup was faster
than a friend's X58/930 system for gaming (lower latency with P55, and some
boards do have x16/x16 CF/SLI).
Ian.
I would expect a round of price drops from AMD over this; otherwise they're done in the gaming market.